Winnipeg’s own rock-and-roll legend, Neil Young has made an outstanding contribution to the field of music, while giving his time and energy to help people in need. Born in Toronto in 1945, he moved with his mother to Winnipeg in the 1960s where he formed Winnipeg-based bands The Esquires, The Classics and Neil Young and the Squires. A former member of Buffalo Springfield and Crazy Horse, he also performed with super group Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young for more than 30 years. A three-time Juno Award winner and member of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, he was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1985, after participating in England’s Live Aid benefit concert, he became, along with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, a founding member of Farm Aid and continues to sit on its board. In 2005, Young participated in the Canadian segment of the Live 8 concert to promote the elimination of world poverty. In addition, with his wife Pegi in 1986, he founded the Bridge School for children with speech and other physical impairments for which he continues to organize and hold an annual benefit concert.
