Neil Young recorded a song in 1974 but kept it from the public. A year later, it topped Billboard’s Hot Country Singles

Some hit songs spend years searching for the right voice. Others are recorded by their creators, put aside and unexpectedly find a second life with another artist. In 1975, Linda Ronstadt accomplished precisely that with Neil Young’s “Love Is a Rose”. Young had already recorded the song, but his version was destined for an album he decided not to release. Ronstadt stepped in, reshaped the composition with her country-influenced sound and took it to the upper reaches of the charts before much of the public had even heard Young sing his own song.

When did Neil Young record the song first

Neil Young recorded “Love Is a Rose” in 1974 while working on Homegrown, an intensely personal collection created during a difficult period in his life. Instead of releasing Homegrown, however, Young shelved the project. The album remained largely unheard for decades, eventually receiving an official release in 2020.

The song itself had connections to Young’s earlier work. Its melody was adapted from “Dance, Dance, Dance”, a Young composition that Crazy Horse had recorded for their 1971 album Crazy Horse. Ronstadt therefore wasn't discovering an entirely unknown songwriter. She was interpreting the work of someone with whom she already shared considerable musical history.

Ronstadt and Young worked together before

Years before “Love Is a Rose”, Ronstadt had lent her voice to one of Young’s most celebrated records. She and James Taylor provided backing vocals during sessions for Young’s 1972 album Harvest, appearing on “Heart of Gold” and “Old Man”. Ronstadt later recalled that Young invited them to record after the three musicians had been appearing on The Johnny Cash Show.

Their professional relationship continued when Ronstadt opened shows during Young’s 1973 Time Fades Away tour. Neil Young later praised her performances in his memoir Waging Heavy Peace, describing Ronstadt as “dynamite”. By 1975, however, their positions had changed considerably. Ronstadt's Heart Like a Wheel had transformed her into a major star, propelled in part by her chart-topping recording of “You’re No Good”.

‘Love Is a Rose’ found its audience

Ronstadt included “Love Is a Rose” on her sixth studio album, Prisoner in Disguise, released in 1975. Her interpretation leaned into country music, and audiences responded. The song reached No. 5 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, giving Young's composition commercial success while his own recording remained unavailable on its intended album.

“Love Is a Rose” shared a single with Ronstadt's version of Martha and the Vandellas' “Heat Wave”. While country listeners embraced Young's composition, pop radio preferred the other side. “Heat Wave” eventually climbed to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Love Is a Rose” reached No. 63 on the pop chart. Young's own recording finally became commercially available on his 1977 retrospective Decade.

Their musical connection continued

The success of “Love Is a Rose” was not the end of Ronstadt and Young's musical association. Years later, Ronstadt again contributed vocals to Young's music, including his 1992 album Harvest Moon. Young remained one of her greatest admirers, writing warmly about her talent in Waging Heavy Peace and arguing that she deserved induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That honour eventually arrived in 2014, when Ronstadt entered the Hall alongside Nirvana, KISS, Cat Stevens, Hall & Oates and the E Street Band.

A song that found the right moment

The unusual history of “Love Is a Rose” demonstrates how unpredictable a song's journey can be. Young wrote it, borrowed from one of his earlier melodies and recorded it for an album he ultimately withheld. Ronstadt then recognised something worth revisiting and introduced it to a much larger audience. More than five decades later, the recording remains more than another entry in Ronstadt's extensive catalogue. It captures a period when two major American artists repeatedly crossed musical paths and when one singer turned another's shelved song into a hit before his original version had received its proper chance to be heard.