Neil Young "Powderfinger"

I know you love those alternate history stories.  The ones where they go back in time and send Hitler to art school, or put a bullet-proof vest on Lincoln or convinced Buddy Holly to take the tour bus.

Here's an alternate music history story . . .

You may know Neil Young's "Powderfinger" from Side 2 of 1979's "Rust Never Sleeps."  But Young had been hanging onto that song for a while.

There are (unreleased) acoustic versions of the song that go back to 1975.  And reportedly, Young sent one of these versions to Ronnie Van Zandt, for Lynyrd Skynyrd to use on their next album.

Van Zandt died in a plane crash in 1977, and as far as anyone knows, his band had not recorded a version of Neil Young's song.

But imagine if they had, prior to the unfortunate plane crash?  Imagine if Van Zandt had sung Young's lines:

Just think of me as one you never figured

Would fade away so young

With so much left undone

Remember me to my love; I know I'll miss her

No doubt that right now in an alternate timeline, "Freebird" is a forgotten hit of the 70s, and when the bar band is between songs, the drunk idiots yell:

"POWWWWWDERRRRRFINGGGGGEERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!"


Hear the "Rust Never Sleeps" version on Youtube.


Hear the acoustic version on Youtube.


Hear a live version of "Freebird" on Youtube.