Lookin' for a Love

Album: Zuma (1975)
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Songfacts®:

  • Named after Zuma Beach in Los Angeles, where Young owned a house, The Zuma album is a breakup record of sorts. From late 1970 to 1975, Young was in a relationship with the actress Carrie Snodgress, who gave birth to their son Zeke in 1972. Some of the songs on the record, such as "Pardon My Heart," lament his lost love, but others find Young happy to be moving on. "Lookin' for a Love" is about Young looking forward to the possibility of a new relationship.
  • Seven of Zuma's nine songs, including "Lookin' for a Love," were recorded with a new lineup of Crazy Horse; the rhythm section of bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina, who had played with Young since 1968, plus rhythm guitarist Frank Sampedro, who replaced the late Danny Whitten.
  • This track was recorded at Broken Arrow Ranch, a property of about 1,000 acres near La Honda, California,that Young purchased in 1970 for $350,000 cash. Sampedro told Uncut the story behind the song:

    "We went up to Neil's ranch, Broken Arrow. We were up there for maybe a year and a half, just recording. We didn't know what an album meant. One day, Neil said, 'Hey, man, Warner Brothers called. We have to turn in a record. We've got to pick some songs. Which ones do you think we should choose?' At one point, between leaving Zuma beach and going to the Ranch, he had an operation on his throat and he couldn't speak for a long time. I bought him a bunch of those Etch-A-Sketch toys so he could write. We went to bars like that. Once, he came to us and wrote, 'I have a new song.' At that point, he could just about blow out the wind between his teeth, so he taught us the melody. When Neil could speak again, he recorded the vocals. That was 'Looking For a Love,' the first song we recorded up at the ranch."
  • The harmonies were sung by Crazy Horse's Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot.

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