Youngblood Jesse Colin Young

Youngblood Jesse Colin Young

Born November 22, 1941

If a music fan hears the band name Youngbloods, the person they’ll often think of next is Jesse Colin Young, that band’s lead singer.

And the song that most people think of Jesse singing “Get Together.”

Youngblood Jesse Colin Young

A bit of his beginning

From Jesse’s Facebook pageJesse was born and raised in Queens, New York in 1941, and his earliest family memories are filled with the joy of music and celebration. His mother was a violinist who had a beautiful singing voice of perfect pitch, and his father was a Harvard- educated accountant with a passion for classical music. Along with his older sister, the family spent evenings gathered around the piano singing Harvard fight songs and other lively tunes.

At 15, the talented student won a scholarship to Phillips Andover, the all boys prep school in Massachusetts. The rigorous curriculum and strict discipline the school required ultimately resulted in Jesse being kicked out of the exclusive academy – an event which forever changed the course of his life. The blues were calling his name and the next few years were spent exploring the music of T-Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters for inspiration and consolation. Jesse Colin Young recorded his first album in 4 hours, accompanying himself on guitar. That release was called THE SOUL OF A CITY BOY.

Youngblood Jesse Colin Young

Youngblood

A second album, YOUNG BLOOD, featured supporting musicians, including John Sebastian.

Youngblood Jesse Colin Young

Fame came knocking

“Get Together” or “Let’s Get Together” already had a long history before Youngbloods put it on their first album in 1967 and before the song’s refrain refrain of “Come on people now, smile on your brother” was used as the television theme for the National Council of Christians and Jews.

In 1969, the Youngbloods put the song on their next album, Elephant Mountain, as well, and it became a top ten hit.  In 1994, the song appeared in the movie Forest Gump and introduced the classic song to a new generation of listeners.

Young’s song “Darkness Darkness”was in Jack the Bear (1993), chosen as the theme song for the James Cameron movie Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) and was in the trailer of TV series Bloodline (2015).

A cover of the song by Robert Plant won the Grammy for Best Rock Vocal in 2002.

Youngblood Jesse Colin Young

Still Youngblood

As with many musician lifers, Jesse Colin Young has never left music or recording music.

As his own site says, 2017 and 2018 will be productive times for Jesse. Starting September 16, 2016 he will begin the re-release of his 1970’s LP catalogue starting with “Song For Juli” on Audio Fidelity. Jesse is currently working on a collection of new recordings to be released in 2018 and will plan a tour in the fall. Throughout his professional life of recording and touring, Jesse has always taken the time to dedicate his life to giving back to the world. He has performed on behalf of organizations ranging from No Nukes, The Dream Foundation and Saratoga Warhorse, to Prep Fest and the Kona Pacific Waldorf School. Holding environmental accountability, Veteran support and quality education as a moral code of action, Jesse remains committed and active as an individual and performer.

His credits and discography are impressive.

Youngblood Jesse Colin Young
Thank you Jesse for helping us get together

And also from his site: Always holding environmentalism as “a must,” from the time of The Youngbloods to his current endeavors as a performer and teacher, Jesse has even used solar-powered energy for his concerts! He and his wife also grow organic Kona coffee on their farm in Hawaii.

Youngblood Jesse Colin Young

Beatles November 22 Music et al

Beatles November 22 Music et al

November 22, 1963 is a day that all Baby Boomers remember where they were when they heard of Kennedy’s assassination.

Oddly, November 22 is also a day that is a big part of Beatle history:

November 22, 1963

with the beatles
Beatles November 22 Music et al
The Beatles on November 22: with the beatles

November 22, 1963: UK release of 2nd Beatle album with the beatles. The 14 songs were a mixture of Lennon/McCartney compositions, the first George Harrison Beatle release, and covers. For we US collectors, we likely didn’t realize that what the British kids were buying was more than what we were to get later: 14 songs per album compared to the usual 12 in the USA. Thus the occasional release “singles” albums in the USA to catch up.

Beatles November 22 Music et al
The Beatles on November 22: back cover of “with the Beatles”
Beatles November 22 Music et al

Beatles November 22

Beatles November 22 Music et al
Beatles Ibsen-like cover

November 22, 1968: released The Beatles, usually referred to as the White Album. the “White Album’s” original working title was A Doll’s House, which is the name of Henrik Ibsen’s play first performed in 1879.

In addition, according to Geoffrey Giuliano, author of The Beatles Album, an illustration was prepared for the cover of A Doll’s House by the famed artist Patrick. However the title was changed when the British band Family released the similarly titled Music in a Doll’s House earlier that year. The plain white cover was opted for instead after McCartney then requested the albums sleeve design “be as stark a contrast to Peter Blake’s vivid cover art for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as possible, the complete opposite of it…” he said.

L’Osservatore Romano

November 22, 2008: the official Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano suggested that the infamous statement by John Lennon of the Beatles– who outraged many people in 1966 by saying that the band was “more popular than Jesus”– should be recognized as “the boasting of an English working-class lad struggling to cope with unexpected success.” In an editorial marking the 40th anniversary for the “White Album,” L’Osservatore Romano said that the influence of the Beatles has shown “an extraordinary resistance to the effects of time, providing inspiration for several generations of pop musicians.” (Guardian article)

Beatles November 22 Music et al