RockLists.com
Cover of Harvest by Neil Young
Cover: Harvest

Song · Neil Young

“The Needle And The Damage Done” by Neil Young

From the album Harvest (1972)

“The Needle And The Damage Done” by Neil Young appears on 33 radio countdowns from 12 stations between 2001 and 2025. It was first released in 1972 on the album Harvest. Its best result is #67 on the 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,458 alternative song of all time.

33countdowns
12stations
#67best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
2001–2025years charted

Watch

Neil Young - The Needle and the Damage Done (Official Audio)

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

"The Needle and the Damage Done" is the moment on Neil Young's 1972 album Harvest where the room goes still. It's just Young, his voice and an acoustic guitar, and he never re-cut it in a studio: the take on the record is a live one from January 1971, captured by Henry Lewy, who produced it with him.

The song watches heroin hollow out musicians Young knew, among them Danny Whitten, his friend and bandmate in Crazy Horse, who died of an overdose the same year the record came out. It pointed the way to Tonight's the Night in 1975, where Young would reckon with the deaths of Whitten and the roadie Bruce Berry. Years later, in his notes for Decade, he put it plainly: he was no preacher, but drugs had taken a lot of great men.

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
2001 297 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 917 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 917 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2004 660 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2007 1519 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 775 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 1460 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1478 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 491 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2010 1507 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 1573 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2011 587 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 594 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2013 1632 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 402 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 260 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2013 67 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 1704 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 436 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2014 245 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 486 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 227 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 326 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2015 67 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 344 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2019 320 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 483 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2019 320 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2020 1808 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 477 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2021 418 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2022 582 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2025 221 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498

Also listed as: Needle and the Damage Done; Needle & The Damage Done; The Needle and the Damage Done; Needle & the Damage Do; The Needle & the Damage Done; Needle And The Damage Done.

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "The Needle And The Damage Done" by Neil Young.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.