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Cover of Harvest by Neil Young
Cover: Harvest

Song · Neil Young

“Heart Of Gold” by Neil Young

From the album Harvest (1972)

“Heart Of Gold” by Neil Young appears on 72 radio countdowns from 23 stations between 1982 and 2026. It was first released in 1972 on the album Harvest. Its best result is #28 on the 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,712 alternative song of all time.

72countdowns
23stations
#28best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1982–2026years charted

Watch

Neil Young - Heart of Gold (from Across The Water) - (Archives Vol. III ) - (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (neilyoungchannel). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Heart of Gold" is the sound of Neil Young sitting down. A back injury kept him from standing long enough to wrestle with an electric guitar, so he went back to the acoustic, and this soft, plainspoken song from Harvest (1972) turned that setback into his only number one single in the US. He cut it in Nashville in February 1971 at Quadrafonic Sound Studios, co-producing with Elliot Mazer, with Kenny Buttrey on drums, Tim Drummond on bass and Ben Keith's pedal steel sighing along underneath.

Young's harmonica opens it and keeps drifting back between verses, his thin, aching voice rides on top, and James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt float in on backing vocals. Canada sent it to the top as well, and Rolling Stone has kept it on its list of the 500 greatest songs.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1982 414 95.5 KLOS KLOS Memorial Day 500 (1982) 499
1990 67 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1990) 100
1991 599 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1997 161 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) 499
1997 584 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
2001 454 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 385 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2002 733 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 740 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2004 359 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2007 342 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2009 477 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2009 257 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2011 183 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 203 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 184 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2013 308 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 282 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 227 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 137 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2014 156 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 108 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2014 304 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 163 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 281 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 28 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2015 66 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2015) 100
2015 475 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2016 310 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 362 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 150 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 65 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2016) 100
2017 79 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2017) 100
2017 321 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2017 344 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2018 77 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2018) 100
2018 325 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2018 254 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 79 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2019) 100
2019 221 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 234 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2020 60 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2020) 100
2020 227 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 245 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2021 147 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 266 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 454 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 87 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2021) 100
2022 125 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2022 208 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2022 444 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 212 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 200 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 252 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 90 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2022) 100
2023 160 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 403 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 382 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 98 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2023) 100
2023 840 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2024 157 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2024 229 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 108 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2024) 500
2024 381 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2025 430 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2025 487 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 371 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 307 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 381 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498
2026 444 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500
2026 167 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 121 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Heart of Gold; Heart of gold.

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