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Against All Odds

Neil Young
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Neil Young

This week it’s stories about artists with diseases, disabilities and injuries who have had great success in the music biz. From Beethoven to Def Leppard with stops in between at Django Reinhardt and the Blind Boys of Alabama.Our “poster boy” is Neil Young, who overcame childhood polio, later developed epilepsy, diabetes, and more recently suffered a brain aneurysm. And he survived the 1960’s.

He once wrote “It’s better to burn out than fade away”.

He’s not doing either, still making records and touring.

Here are some quotes attributed to Neil Young:

As you go through life, you've got to see the valleys as well as the peaks.

The '60s was one of the first times the power of music was used by a generation to bind them together.

I totally have no other talent and I would be totally out of work if I did anything else.

Remember when you used to watch TV in the Sixties and you'd see Perry Como in a cashmere sweater?      That's what rock'n'roll is becoming. It's your parents' music.

Well, you know what they say...

My my, hey hey Rock and roll is here to stay

John has worked as a professional bassist for 20 years, including a 15 year stint as Musical Director of the Mountain Stage radio program. John has been at KNKX since 1999 where he hosts “All Blues”, is producer of the BirdNote radio program, and co-hosts “Record Bin Roulette”. John is also the recording engineer for KNKX “In-Studio Performances”. Not surprisingly, John's main musical interests are jazz and blues, and he is still performing around Seattle.
John Maynard started working in radio in the seventies as a DJ at Seattle’s KJR AM which at the time was the dominant AM station in the Seattle market. After a brief stint as a restaurateur and night club owner, Maynard returned to radio with Robin Erickson, creating the hugely popular “Robin and Maynard Show.” In the more than 20 years under that marquee, Maynard flew with the Blue Angels, piloted the Goodyear Blimp, sang with Donny Osmond and hung out in a Universal Studios bar with Kojak (Telly Savalas).