NEIL YOUNG has always hovered in and around the works of singer/songwriter John K. Samson. Young grew up in the Canadian city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Samson did, too, and he’s arguably the current-day artist most closely associated with the city. In 2003, Samson’s old band, the Weakerthans, released an ode to Winnipeg called “One Great City!” (The chorus: “I hate Winnipeg.”)
Both Young and Samson attended Kelvin High School, a quarter-century apart. Unsurprisingly, Samson has been listening to Young’s music for years. “I bought my first electric guitar after watching Dead Man,” he says, referring to Jim Jarmusch’s 1995 western, for which Young composed the soundtrack.
So when Samson was commissioned by Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers to record a batch of songs that respond to tracks from Young’s 1974 classic On the Beach, what might have been a daunting project for some wasn’t quite so daunting for this particular songwriter.
“He’s someone I’ve been inspired by and influenced by for most of my life. I feel like he’s kind of always been there,” Samson says in a telephone interview. “I don’t really write like him, I don’t think. But he’s always been an example of a unique voice and a really thoughtful player, so I did find it easier than I thought I would.”