Pegi Young sadly passed away on New Year’s Day at the age of 66 following a yearlong battle with cancer. The musician and activist co-founded northern California’s Bridge School for severely disabled children in 1986 in order to address the needs of her and Neil Young’s son Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy.
Starting in 1986, the couple hosted annual Bridge School Benefit concerts at Mountain View, California’s Shoreline Amphitheatre. The yearly all-star events continued through 2016, despite the pair’s divorce in 2014 after 36 years of marriage. Pegi regularly performed at the Bridge School Benefit concerts, often joining Neil with various supporting groups. She also appeared with her band The Survivors, which included acclaimed keyboardist Spooner Oldham.
The 30th anniversary Bridge School Benefit concerts were held at Shoreline on October 22 and 23, 2016. Pegi accompanied guitarist Nils Lofgren and harmonica player Mickey Raphael on a rendition of “I Don’t Want To Talk About It.” The song was written by Lofgren’s former Crazy Horse band mate, the late Danny Whitten, and included on the band’s 1971 self-titled LP. Both Rod Stewart and Everything But The Girl had hits with their respective “I Don’t Want To Talk About It” covers.
Watch Pegi, Nels and Mickey performing together via Cornello below:
