The Youngbloods singer Jesse Colin Young dead at 83
The Youngbloods singer Jesse Colin Young, best known for the hit 1960s single ‘Get Together’, has died aged 83.
Michael Jensen, who served as Young’s publicist, has confirmed the news but refrained from revealing a cause of death for the musician. Young passed away at his home in Aiken, South Carolina, on March 16th.
Although Young enjoyed a solo career that lasted for five decades and far outweighed his output with the Youngbloods, he’ll forever be remembered for their 1969 hit, ‘Get Together’, which reached the top five of the charts in the US and also is one of the stand-out tracks of the hippie era.
Although Dino Valenti wrote the track rather than Young, it was the latter who brought it to life. “The lyrics are just to die for,” Young said to The Arts Fuse of ‘Get Together’ in 2018. “To this day, it gives me a thrill to play it.”
Despite the Youngbloods riding the crest of a wave, Young released a successful solo album in 1972, which led to his departure from the band. He also served as the support act for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young in 1974. His highest-charting solo album, Songbird, peaked at 26 in the charts upon release in 1975.
During an interview with Music Aficionado in 2016, Young said of his approach to music which helped him become a key part of the hippie revolution: “Love of the natural world is as much a theme in my music as romantic love. I get more out of walking over the ridgetop in Marin and looking out at the national seashore than any drugs I ever did.”
Over the last two decades, Young slowed down his musical output. His last album, 2019’s Dreamers, marked his first release in 13 years since 2006’s Celtic Mambo. However, he continued to perform live and last took to the stage in October 2023 for a special set at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.
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