Jesse Colin Young
Jesse Colin Young | |
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 Young performing in Los Angeles California on July 3, 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Perry Miller[1] |
| Born | November 22, 1941 Queens, New York |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Instrument(s) |
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| Years active | 1960s–2012, 2016-present |
Perry Miller (born November 22, 1941), known professionally as Jesse Colin Young, is an American singer and songwriter. He was a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s group the Youngbloods.[2] After their dissolution in 1972, Young embarked on a solo career, releasing a series of albums through Warner Bros. Records, including Song for Juli (1973), Light Shine (1974), Songbird (1975) and the live album On the Road (1976). Young continued to release music in the 1980s with Elektra Records and Cypress Records, before deciding to release music through his personal label, Ridgetop Music, in 1993. After the Mount Vision Fire in 1995, Young relocated with his family to a coffee plantation in Hawaii, periodically releasing music. Young received a diagnosis of "chronic Lyme disease" in 2012, and decided to retire from music. He began performing again in 2016 with his son Tristan, releasing a new album Dreamers in 2019 through BMG.
Young's song "Sunlight" was covered by Three Dog Night on their album Naturally (1970), and “Darkness, Darkness” by Robert Plant in 2002, which received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
Early life[edit]
Perry Miller was born and raised in Queens, New York, to musical parents both originally from Lynn, Massachusetts.[3] His mother was a violinist and singer with perfect pitch, while his father was a Harvard educated accountant.[4] Both of his parents had a passion for classical music, and encouraged Young to play, and he learned piano from a young age.[1] In 1959, Young won a scholarship to attend Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he studied classical guitar; however, he was expelled from the strict academy.[1][4] After finishing high school, Young enrolled in Ohio State University, where he broadened his musical tastes by living behind a record store.[5] After a semester, Young returned to his parents' home in Pennsylvania,[1] later transferring to New York University in 1961.[1] Young balanced his studies with performances in Greenwich Village; however, he later decided to leave college and become a full-time musician.[5] During this period, he decided on his stage name Jesse Colin Young as a blend of the names of outlaws Jesse James and Cole Younger, and Formula One design engineer and team owner Colin Chapman, as he felt like this was a more appropriate name for the music he performed.[5][1]
Young met producer Bobby Scott in the early 1960s, who assisted Young in getting studio time. Young's debut album, The Soul of a City Boy, was released in 1964, the result of a four hour recording session backed by an acoustic guitar.[4][1] Young's cover of the George Remaily song "Four in the Morning" received some radio airplay,[1] and in 1965 Young released a second album produced by Scott, Young Blood.[1]
The Youngbloods[edit]
Young met guitarist Jerry Corbitt, a folk singer from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the pair decided to form a band as a duo called the Youngbloods (named after Young's sophomore album[1]), touring Canada together. Eventually Corbitt's friend Lowell "Banana" Levinger (guitar and electric piano) and drummer Joe Bauer were added to the band, and the group became the house band for the Greenwich Village night club Cafe Au Go Go.[6] During this period, Young switched from performing guitar to performing bass, as the band already had two guitar players.[7] Signing to RCA Records, the band released their debut single "Grizzly Bear" in 1966, and their debut album The Youngbloods in 1967.[8] The group's first album contained the song "Get Together", written by Chet Powers, and was released as a single in 1967 to moderate success; however, after its use in a public service commercial for the National Council of Christians and Jews was released in 1969, it became an international hit for the band.[2] Few of the band's early songs were written by Young: only "Tears Are Falling" and "Foolin' Around (The Waltz)" from their debut album, and four on their Felix Pappalardi-produced follow up album Earth Music (1967) (however the B-sides of both issues of "Get Together" featured songs written by Young).
During the production stages of the band's third album, the Charlie Daniels-produced Elephant Mountain (1969) when the band relocated from New York to California, Corbitt left the band, and Young became the group's main songwriter.[1] The Young-penned singles from the album, "Sunlight" and "Darkness, Darkness", both became hit singles.[1] "Sunlight" was covered the next year by Three Dog Night on their album Naturally (1970). The band formed their own imprint with Warner Bros. Records, Racoon Records, on which they began releasing music in the 1970s.[8]
Return to solo career[edit]
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.[1] Due to the album's success, Young disbanded the Youngbloods after their final album in November 1972, High on a Ridge Top.[8] Young's fourth solo album, Song for Juli (1973), was a sleeper hit, staying on the Billboard 200 for almost a year.[4] Young toured his fifth album, Light Shine (1974), as an opening act for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.[9] 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 1978, Young switched labels to Elektra Records, releasing American Dreams (1978),[1] and in 1979 performed as a part of the No Nukes protest concerts organized by Musicians United for Safe Energy.[10] Young's follow up on Elektra, The Perfect Stranger (1982) and a further album on Cypress Records entitled The Highway Is for Heroes (1987) did not meet with as much commercial success as his previous works.[1][8]
In 1993, Young and his wife Connie founded Ridgetop Music, a label based out of their home in Inverness, in order to re-release Young's 1970s catalog on CD, and as an outlet to release new music.[11][10] On the label, Young released his albums Makin' It Real (1993), Swept Away (1994) and the compilation album Crazy Boy (1995).[8] Young's house in Inverness was destroyed in the Mount Vision fire in October 1995,[12] after which the family relocated to the Kona Coffee Belt of the Big Island of Hawaii, moving into a coffee farm that Young had purchased in 1987.[11]
Young released the album Walk the Talk in 2001 independently, collaborating with his son Cheyenne Young, godson Ethan Turner, and former Youngbloods member Lowell "Banana" Levinger.[13] followed by Songs for Christmas in 2002, released as a part of a CD re-release project with Liquid 8 Records.[14] Young's song "Darkness, Darkness" was covered by Robert Plant in 2002, which received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.[15] In 2004, Young released the Hawaii-influenced album Living in Paradise with Artemis Records.[16]
Young quit performing music in 2012,[5] at the time when he was diagnosed with "chronic Lyme disease".[4][17] He was inspired to start performing again in 2016, after being impressed by the musicians at his son's graduation recital at the Berklee College of Music,[7] and asked his son to put together a band of his classmates to perform at Young's performance at SXSW. After touring for a year, Young recorded a new solo record with the band,[18] Dreamers, which was released in February 2019.[19]
Influences[edit]
Jesse Colin Young was influenced musically by country blues musicians Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin' Hopkins, blues musician T-Bone Walker and folk singer Pete Seeger.[7]
Personal life[edit]
Young was originally married to Suzi Young, with whom he had two children: Juli (born 1966[10]) and Cheyenne.[1] Young's song "Song for Juli" was co-written with Suzi about Juli, while Young wrote “Morning Sun" from Song for Juli (1973) after the birth of his son Cheyenne.[20] In 1967, Young and his Youngbloods bandmates moved to Marin County, California,[20] and in 1971 he built a house on a ridgetop in Inverness, California.[1] The recording studio at Young's Inverness property, built by Young in 1972, was untouched by the 1995 forest fire,[21] and is currently used as a recording studio by his son Cheyenne's band Beso Negro.[11]
Young met his current wife, Connie Darden-Young, in the 1980s.[22] Together they have two children, Tristan and Jazzie.[23] Tristan graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2016. He currently tours with his father as a member of his back-up band, and co-produced Young's album Dreamers (2019).[18] Jazzie (born 1994[24]) https://www.jazzieyoung.com/ is an independent musician, who began releasing music independently in 2017.[7]
In 2006, Young and his family moved to Aiken, South Carolina, which is the hometown of his wife, Connie Young.[25]
Three of Young's children also play bass guitar.[11]
Discography[edit]
Studio albums[edit]
| Title | Release | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [26] |
CAN [27] | ||||||||
| The Soul of a City Boy | 172 | — | |||||||
| Young Blood |
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— | — | ||||||
| Together |
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157 | — | ||||||
| Song for Juli |
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51 | 81 | ||||||
| Light Shine |
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37 | 37 | ||||||
| Songbird |
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26 | 20 | ||||||
| Love on the Wing |
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64 | 60 | ||||||
| American Dreams |
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165 | — | ||||||
| The Perfect Stranger |
|
— | — | ||||||
| The Highway Is for Heroes | — | — | |||||||
| Makin' It Real |
|
— | — | ||||||
| Swept Away |
|
— | — | ||||||
| Walk the Talk |
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— | — | ||||||
| Songs for Christmas |
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— | — | ||||||
| Living in Paradise | — | — | |||||||
| Celtic Mambo |
|
— | — | ||||||
| Dreamers | — | — | |||||||
| "—" denotes that the recording did not chart. | |||||||||
Compilation albums[edit]
| Title | Release |
|---|---|
| Two Trips |
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| Classics: Volume 1 |
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| The Best of Jesse Colin Young: The Solo Years |
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| Crazy Boy |
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| Greatest Hits |
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| Greatest Hits |
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| The Very Best of Jesse Colin Young |
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Live albums[edit]
| Title | Release | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [26] |
CAN [27] | ||||||||
| On the Road |
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34 | 44 | ||||||
| Sweetwater |
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— | — | ||||||
| Standing Room Only |
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— | — | ||||||
| Out of the Darkness |
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— | — | ||||||
| Live at Daryl's House |
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— | — | ||||||
| Sea West (Live 1974) |
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— | — | ||||||
| "—" denotes that the recording did not chart. | |||||||||
Singles[edit]
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "It's a Lovely Day" / "Sweet Little Child" | 1972 | Together |
| "Good Times" / "Peace Song" | ||
| "Morning Sun" / "Evenin'" | 1973 | Song for Juli |
| "Light Shine" | 1974 | Light Shine |
| "Susan" / "Barbados" | ||
| "Motorhome" / "Sugar Babe" | 1975 | Songbird |
| "Songbird" | ||
| "Sunlight" | 1976 | On the Road |
| "Higher & Higher" | 1977 | Love on the Wing |
| "Love on the Wing" / "California Cowboy" | ||
| "Rave On" / "Maui Sunrise" | 1978 | American Dreams |
| "Sanctuary" / "City Boy" | ||
| "Slow and Easy" | ||
| "Fight for It" (duet with Carly Simon) | 1982 | The Perfect Stranger |
| "Ophelia" | ||
| "Desire" | 1994 | Swept Away |
| "Bring 'em Home"[34] | 2007 | Non-album single |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Collar, Matt. "Jesse Colin Young – Jesse Colin Young". All Music Guide. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ a b Cole, Tom (April 10, 2019). "Beyond The Summer Of Love, 'Get Together' Is An Anthem For Every Season". American Anthem. NPR. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
- ^ McCarthy, Gail (May 18, 2011). "Young, 'Junior' taking stage at Shalin Liu". Glouster Daily Times. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Jesse Colin Young". The River Club Music Hall. 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Trust, Dick (April 19, 2012). "'Get together' with Jesse Colin Young at River Club in Scituate". Gannett Co. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ "Passings: Jerry Corbitt of the Youngbloods". VVN Music. March 10, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Poff, Jovan (August 26, 2017). "[INTERVIEW] A GET TOGETHER WITH JESSE COLIN YOUNG REVEALS A GLIMPSE INTO THE SUMMER OF LOVE". Bullet Music. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Ruhlmann, William. "About Jesse Colin Young". Apple. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Zimmer, Dave; Diltz, Henry (1984). Crosby Stills & Nash: The Authorized Biography. St. Martin's Press. p. 173. ISBN 0-312-17660-0.
- ^ a b c Ruben, Barbara (May 30, 2018). "Getting together with Jesse Colin Young". The Beacon newspapers. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Shasho, Ray (July 9, 2014). "Jesse Colin Young Exclusive Interview: Legendary Performer Reveals Longtime Struggles with Lyme Disease". Classic Rock Music Reporter. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Brazil, Eric (October 5, 1995). "Residents return to find homes lost, homes saved". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ a b ""Walk The Talk" Jesse Colin Young and Sons". Jesse Colin Young. September 1, 2005. Archived from the original on December 23, 2001. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ^ a b "Album Information". Liquid 8 Records. 2002. Archived from the original on October 2, 2002. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ "Complete Nominations for 45th Annual Grammy Awards". Billboard. Vol. 115, no. 3. Lynne Segall. January 18, 2003. p. 86.
- ^ a b "Artemis inks Jesse Colin Young; New Album "Living in Paradise" Due Out Worldwide on September 7th". Artemis Records. July 8, 2004. Archived from the original on December 5, 2004. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ^ Zimmerman, Lee. "Jesse Colin Young: Still a Youngblood". Goldmine Magazine: Record Collector & Music Memorabilia. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
- ^ a b "Interview: Jesse Colin Young". Songwriting Magazine. April 1, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c ABC Radio (January 23, 2019). "Folk-rock veteran Jesse Colin Young to release new solo album, "Dreamers," in February". WIXX. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
- ^ a b "The Acoustic Storm Interviews: Jesse Colin Young". The Acoustic Storm. September 13, 2017. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Dougan, Michael (October 6, 1995). "Rock singer Jesse Colin Young will move to Hawaii after losing home". San Francisco Examiner.
- ^ Goff, Paula H. (June 15, 1990). "JESSE COLIN YOUNG LIKES RISKS IN LIFE AS WELL AS IN ART". The Morning Call. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Tamarkin, Jeff (October 3, 2019). "Jesse Colin Young Q&A: The Solo Years Then & Now". Best Classic Bands. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ "Bio". Jazzie Young. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ Turner, Stephanie (January 14, 2015). "Musicians, Juilliard regulars to play WarHorse fundraiser Buckaroo Ball kicks off fundraiser for Saratoga WarHorse Buckaroo Ball set for Feb. 27". Aiken Standard. Retrieved January 21, 2020.
- ^ a b "Jesse Colin Young – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ a b Peak chart positions for studio albums in Canada:
- Song for Juli: "Top 50 Albums". RPM. 21 (6). March 16, 1974. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- Light Shine: "Top 50 Albums". RPM. 21 (26). August 17, 1974. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- Songbird: "Top 50 Albums". RPM. 23 (11). May 10, 1975. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- On the Road: "Top 50 Albums". RPM. 25 (9). May 29, 1976. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- Love on the Wing: "Top 50 Albums". RPM. 27 (10). June 4, 1977. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "The Highway Is for Heroes". Apple. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ ジェシ・コリン・ヤング / メイキン・イット・リアル (in Japanese). CDJournal. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Swept Away". Amazon. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Young, Jesse Colin - Classics Volume 1". MusicStack, LLC. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Crazy Boy". Amazon. Retrieved January 17, 2020.
- ^ "Come on people now, smile on your brother Artemis to release 'Very Best of Jesse Colin Young' 2-Disc Set October 4, 2005". Artemis Records. September 1, 2005. Archived from the original on August 10, 2006. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
- ^ "Bring 'em Home- Single". Apple. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
External links[edit]
- Jesse Colin Young, official website
- Jesse Colin Young at AllMusic
- Jesse Colin Young discography at Discogs
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