Heart of Gold

Featuring James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt on backing vocals, this gentle acoustic ballad became the sole number-one hit of his extensive career. Recorded during the 'Harvest' sessions after a back injury forced him to temporarily abandon electric guitar, the track leans heavily into a warm, pastoral country-rock aesthetic. Its massive commercial crossover famously alienated Young, prompting him to purposefully steer his subsequent music into darker, less accessible territory.