Neil Young, (born November 12, 1945) is a singer/songwriter and guitarist who grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His work is characterized by deeply personal lyrics, distinctive guitar work, and an almost instantly recognizable nasal tenor (and frequently alto) singing voice. Although he accompanies himself on several different instruments—including piano and harmonica—his style of hammer-on acoustic guitar and often idiosyncratic soloing on electric guitar are the lynchpins of a sometimes ragged, sometimes polished, yet consistently evocative sound. In more recent years, Young has started to adopt elements from newer styles of music, such as industrial and grunge, the latter of which was profoundly influenced by his own style of playing. Although Young has experimented widely with differing music styles, including swing, jazz, rockabilly, blues and electronica throughout a varied career, his most accessible and best known work generally falls into either of two distinct styles: acoustic, country-tinged folk rock, as heard in songs such as "Heart of Gold", "Harvest Moon" and "Old Man," and 1960s era garage rock, in songs like "Cinnamon Girl", "Rockin' in the Free World" and "Southern Man." He reached his commercial peak during the singer-songwriter boom of the early 1970s with the albums "After the Gold Rush" and "Harvest" as well as with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Young has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2000, the cable music channel VH1 ranked Young 30th on a list of the Top 100 Artists of Rock and Roll. He was also 39th on VH1's list of Top 100 Hard Rock Artists.Young has directed or co-directed a number of films using the pseudonym Bernard Shakey, including Journey Through the Past (1973), Rust Never Sleeps (1979), Human Highway (1982), and Greendale (2003). He is also an outspoken advocate for environmental issues and small farmers, having co-founded the benefit concert Farm Aid, and in 1986 helped found The Bridge School together with his wife Pegi.