Jesse Colin Young, who left an indelible mark on the middle ground between folk, blues, jazz, country, and rock & roll, died in his home in Aiken, South Carolina on Sunday, March 16. He was 83. The news was announced by his wife and manager, Connie Young.
“As the frontman of The Youngbloods, he immortalized the ideals of the Woodstock generation with ‘Get Together,’ an international hit that called for peace and brotherhood during the turbulent 1960s,” a statement released following Young’s passing noted. “During the decades that followed, Young expanded both his audience and his artistic range, releasing a string of solo albums that mixed socially conscious lyrics with top-tier guitar skills and gorgeous vocals.”
Celebrated solo efforts include his debut release, The Soul of a City Boy, which was originally released back in 1964. In an AllMusic review of that album, writer William Ruhlmann wrote that the album demonstrated that, “he had a good grasp of the playing, singing, and writing talents upon which he would build in later years.”
His second solo album, Young Blood, was released a year later. Richie Unterberger noted in the AllMusic review that it was “highlighted by his already excellent vocals, which blend soulfulness and gentleness as well as any of his folk and folk-rock peers from the era.”
In a 2019 interview with Songwriting Magazine, Young reflected on his introduction to music. He said: “They call those the formative years. Alan Freed, a disc jockey in New York came on the radio when I was 10. There was a lot of doo-wop back then and all of a sudden we got Fats Domino, Little Richard and eventually Elvis. I used to leave my radio on all night, turned way down low so my parents couldn’t hear it, but it was right in my headboard a foot from my head. Then I fell in love with folk music and found the blues and then it started to click. When I discovered T-Bone Walker, I thought ‘Elvis has been listening to the blues.’ He was the one that brought it anyone who was never exposed to any roots blues. Then there was folk music.
“All of that connected and formed me. The first recording I ever made was at prep school, they had a machine where you could cut a one-off record and I recorded ‘Trying To Get To You’ and then I started writing my own music when I was 15, being locked away in the Monastic boys school that I was attending, and that’s where I learnt to play the guitar.
The statement issued upon Young’s passing concluded added: “An acclaimed songwriter, singer, instrumentalist, producer, label owner, podcast host, and longtime social/environmental activist, [Young] has established a permanent place in America’s musical landscape – while continuing to make modern music that’s every bit as vital as his work during the counterculture era.”
