Hearing the sad news (again) of the passing of yet another legend yesterday – Jesse Colin Young was 83 and had a remarkable life; first as founder and lead singer for The Youngbloods and then as a solo singer-songwriter.
Although he’s remembered primarily as a solo artist, his time with The Youngbloods helped establish a career and a visibility. Sadly, known for their single hit Get Together, which Young was reported to have hated and does go against the grain of what The Youngbloods really sounded like, it still ranks as one of the most recognizable songs of the 60’s West Coast sound and encapsulates the vibe at the time.
Johnny Carson once reportedly refused to allow the band to perform on The Tonight Show, saying they were overly demanding during the pre-show soundcheck. In a 2009 interview, Young stated that the band refused to perform because the show reneged on a promise that they could play a song from their new album Elephant Mountain, instead demanding that they play only “Get Together”.
In 1970, Young built a recording studio next to his home in Inverness, California, where he began recording his solo album Together, released in 1972 through Warner Bros. Records. Due to the album’s success, Young disbanded the Youngbloods after their final album in November 1972, High on a Ridge Top. Young’s fourth solo album, Song for Juli (1973), was a sleeper hit, staying on the Billboard 200 for almost a year. Young toured his fifth album, Light Shine (1974), as an opening act for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Young’s third Warner album, Songbird (1975), was his highest charting album (reaching number 26 in the US and number 20 in Canada), and his further Warner releases, the live album On the Road (1976) and Love on the Wing (1977), all charted on the Billboard top 200 albums chart.
In late 1984, the Youngbloods briefly reunited for a club tour. The 1984 line-up contained Jesse Colin Young, Jerry Corbitt and Lowell Levinger, plus new members David Perper (drums, ex-Pablo Cruise) and Scott Lawrence (keyboards, woodwinds). Once the tour was completed, the group disbanded once again by mid-1985.
This concert, recorded for KMPX at the Avalon Ballroom on March 23, 1969.
The passing of another legend. RIP: Jesse Colin Young
