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Colt1861Navy

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Re: Colt1861Navy post# 933

Sunday, 07/21/2002 10:31:51 PM

Sunday, July 21, 2002 10:31:51 PM

Post# of 1767
Rock 'n' Roll Artists A-Z...Jesse Colin Young

http://www.jessecolinyoung.com/

Born Perry Miller, November 11, 1944, New York City, New York. High on a ridge top above the Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, flames danced across an autumn forest. The wind whispered to the squirrels to run for their lives, as flames hungrily devoured everything in their path.

Connie Young looked around the elegant home she had just spent three years remodeling from its original form as a rustic cabin. She wondered how close the fire would come. Her question was answered all too soon, as firemen pounded on her front door, shouting, "Get your stuff and get out of here!"

In a panic, she called her husband Jesse on his cell phone. He was at the doctor with his son in San Francisco. "The Fire Department says we have to go. What do you want from the house?"

As flames roared behind them, Jesse's son Cheyenne and godson Ethan furiously threw master recordings, stage shirts, guitars and other musical equipment into the back of a pickup truck, while simultaneously hosing down the area, hoping water would keep the fire at bay.

When the Young family returned to their beautiful mountain sanctuary two days later, they found an inch thick pile of ashes where their house and their dreams had once stood. Everything they knew, everything they cherished, was gone. That day, October 7, 1995, was the day Jesse Colin Young fell from grace.

He began his life on November 22, 1941 in Queens, New York, just as America was on the brink of World War II. Despite the country's tumultuous times, Jesse's earliest memories were filled with the joy of music and celebration. His mother was a violinist who had a beautiful singing voice of perfect pitch. 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, without the distraction of television.

Jesse loved listening to disc jockey Alan Freed, famous for coining the phrase "rock and roll." Still a young boy, he'd leave the radio on all night to hear jazz and doo-wop.

At 15, the talented student won a scholarship to Phillips Andover, the all boys prep school in Massachusetts. The rigorous curriculum and strict discipline imposed upon students left Jesse isolated from his family, suffering tremendous loneliness.

"All I kept thinking was, ' Where's my convertible, where's my girlfriend and why do I have six hours of homework a night?' "

He found he could play through his tears when he discovered the guitar and started composing.

This new outlet for the teenage boy's emotions, however, proved to be his demise at the school. Although Jesse was getting good grades, he was chronically late. He was placed on probation, which meant no playing guitar during study hours. One fateful day, a faculty member came to congratulate him for being on time 10 weeks in a row and caught him with his guitar! To his parents' shame and horror, Jesse was kicked out of the exclusive academy an event which forever changed the course of his life. Ironically, after becoming famous years later, he was hired to play a show at the school!

The Harvard bound student was suddenly out on the street, wondering which way to turn. The blues were calling his name.

The next few years were spent exploring the other side of the tracks, hitchhiking, staying in Salvation Army shelters, meeting bums and reading Jack Kerouac. Names like T-Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters offered inspiration and consolation to a young man in search of his own voice and purpose.

The 60's arrived, taking Jesse back to New York City, riding the winds of change. He landed in the heart of Greenwich Village, just as a shift in social consciousness was fueling a burgeoning folk scene. He found brief stints in college and in the work force unfulfilling, and became convinced once and for all that he should pursue music.

Texas bluesman Sam Lightnin' Hopkins befriended the aspiring singer-songwriter, and showed him the ropes of surviving the New York music scene. With the help of his mentor, and other artists like Mississippi John Hurt, Jesse began to develop his own musical style. After a time of seclusion and introspection, Jesse came out ready to play.

A crucial connection of his sister's scored Jesse his first recording session. He finished in four hours, on a borrowed guitar, since he had hocked his own. Bobby Scott, his friend and mentor known for the song "He Ain'tt Heavy, He's My Brother," gave the album to nightclub sensation Bobby Darin ("Splish Splash" and "Mack the Knife," among many others), who got Jesse signed to Capitol Records.

Soon after, Jesse was working at Club 47 in Boston, with the town's strong college influence. He was painfully shy, and got through live performances by playing with his eyes closed so he wouldn't be devastated by someone not paying attention to his music. But he was on AM radio and his dreams were starting to come true.

A twist of fate brought Jesse to the home of guitarist Jerry Corbitt in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jesse received a warning one day to not return home, since the cops were there busting his roommate for pot. Instead, he went to Jerry's house where, with the additions of keyboardist Lowell "Banana" Levinger and drummer Joe Bauer, the Youngbloods were born.

Their debut album on RCA featured the Dino Valenti folk anthem "Get Together," which made music history.

"Come on people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love one another right now."

That song, along with other notable hits, fostered a career that's lasted over 40 years and is still going strong today. Its message epitomizes an era of peace and brotherhood, where in Jesse's words, "strangers would look at each other and smile."

That state of grace followed Jesse through the 60's, through years of touring with and without the Youngbloods, through raising a family and living in his ridge top home for 25 years until his charmed life went up in smoke on that October day which left an indelible mark on his memory.

He lost nearly every thing he's ever had - every photograph, every Christmas present from his children. His entire musical career was virtually erased. Except for his family, his material life was gone. But like most artists, he turned trauma into inspiration, picked up his guitar and once again, started playing the blues.

More than any other time in his life, his personal pain was woven into his music and is reflected in the 2001 album "Walk the Talk."

Prophetically, the one structure that survived the fire was his home recording studio, which was tucked away safely in a cool gully. He built it with royalties from his song "Sunlight," which Three Dog Night performed. He continues to use it today.

Jesse now has a new mountain home, on the Big Island of Hawaii, where he and his family are picking up the pieces, healing and creating new memories together.

Perhaps this time, with the blessing of Hawaii's fire goddess Pele, he can recapture the state of grace that permeates his music, and continue to spread his heartfelt message, as the warm morning sun rises on each brand new day.

From sold out stadiums to intimate clubs, Jesse Colin Young has played them all, in a career that has spanned almost 40 years.

As a boy, he shared the classroom with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. As an adult performer, he’s shared the stage with artists like Carlos Santana, Van Morrison, Led Zeppelin, Chuck Berry, Bruce Springsteen, Cream, the Grateful Dead, Jackson Browne, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, Kenny Loggins, Joan Baez, the Eagles and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, just to name a few.

His sweet voice and folk/blues/rock/jazz influenced music are known and loved by millions of fans around the world.

His musical tapestry began with acoustic folk and broadened to include the early incarnation of pop’s fusion with jazz and on later albums, a bluesier rock sound.

Recent shows have reunited Jesse with the surviving members of the Youngbloods, guitarist Jerry Corbitt and keyboardist Lowell "Banana" Levinger. Drummer Joe Bauer died in 1980 of a brain tumor

The Youngbloods struck gold with the number three single "Get Together," first released in 1967, then re-released in 1969 to become a national hit. This was after it was used in a public service announcement television commercial for the National Council of Christians and Jews. Its message was intended to help end racism.

Love is but a song we sing, fear’s the way we die

You can make the mountains ring, or make the angels cry

Though the bird is on the wing and we may not know why

Come on people now, smile on your brother

Everybody get together, try to love one another right now


In 1994, the song was part of the soundtrack of the blockbuster movie "Forrest Gump," which sold over 12 million copies and exposed Jesse’s music to a whole new generation of fans.

The Youngbloods disbanded in 1972, but Jesse found even greater success as a solo artist. Six of his albums charted on the Billboard Top 100. The 1973 release "Song for Juli" stayed on the chart for nearly a year.

He is a major label veteran, finding homes for his music at Capitol, Mercury, Warner Brothers, Elektra and RCA. He’s also started smaller labels, both for his own music and for lesser known artists who wouldn’t have a chance at the majors.

Jesse is in the enviable and unusual position of owning the rights to most of his songs and master recordings. Over the years he’s been reissuing many of his most popular tunes.

His 2001 release "Walk the Talk" offers a fresh and vital approach to the new millenium, with the same compassionate voice that first delivered its powerful message four decades ago. Rather than asking people to try to love one another, this time he’s imploring listeners to start putting that sentiment into action, to start walking the talk in our daily lives.

On this project, Jesse returns to his childhood past time of playing the blues. It also reunites him with his old friends in the Youngbloods to cover some familiar territory.

Jesse invited his son and bass player Cheyenne Young and his godson and drummer Ethan Turner, to comprise the rhythm section. This fulfilled a long time dream for Jesse, bringing his music full circle, to join his music with his family. They recorded the project at Jesse’s studios in Kona, Hawaii, and at Owl Mountain in Inverness, California. That’s the location of the infamous fire that destroyed his home in 1995 — and inspired many of the bluesy songs on "Walk the Talk."

Jesse’s life and career have been a colorful kaleidoscope of experiences. He can "talk story" about any of these interesting memories:

-Running into classmate Art Garfunkel at a Bob Dylan/John Lee Hooker show at Gerdes Folk City in New York and not realizing Art had also become a famous recording star

-Moving from the Big Apple to the San Francisco Bay Area with the Youngbloods, and finding out their song "Get Together" was a big hit on the West Coast

-Being the only one is his entourage NOT dosing on acid backstage at a Grateful Dead show

-Hanging out backstage at his show at the Avalon Ballroom with Janis Joplin and watching her drink Southern Comfort straight out of the bottle

-Walking out on Johnny Carson after the talk show host went back on his word and wouldn’t let the Youngbloods play more than one song on the "Tonight Show"

-Being visited by the spirits of Mississippi John Hurt and Sam Lightnin’ Hopkins while on stage at Blues Alley in Washington D.C., the same night he met his future wife

-Not being allowed in the delivery room when his first son Cheyenne was born on the road in Kentucky, and having the hospital staff mistakenly hand him an Oriental baby named Yung

-The appendicitis attack on the same tour, and the post-show midnight surgery in West Virginia, just days before his pregnant wife delivered their second child

-Traveling in a motor home with his young family to keep them together during the grueling early tours

-The nickname "Pigfoot" his mentor Bobby Scott gave him during recording of his first album, "Soul of a City Boy"

-Being named Man of the Year by Ms. Magazine in 1974

-Trading an album for a speeding ticket, with a highway patrol officer, while blazing through Montana in a Plymouth Valiant

-The eerie feeling he got the first time he drove through the Redwood Forest in Northern California, in the middle of the night

-The dream about the Native Americans at the time of first contact

-The glitzy party at Bobby Darin’s house that lead to the formation of the Youngbloods

-Playing a show with Buffalo Springfield and going to Neil Young’s house to hear his new music afterwards

-Why he played the bass, and not the guitar, in the Youngbloods

-David Crosby falling in love with "Song for Juli" while sailing to Tahiti

-The strange experience of meeting his idol, Chuck Berry

-The humbling, frustrating and at the same time wonderful experience of meeting his wife, Connie at a show in Washington D.C.

-Helping fledgling artists like Billy Joel, Tracy Chapman and Leo Kottke, who were Jesse’s opening acts before they became famous

-Growing his "Morning Sun" Kona Coffee on his 6 acre farm on the slopes of the dormant volcano Hualalai

-How the teaching methods of Waldorf education helped his son Tristan heal after the traumatic fire that destroyed their home in 1995 — and why Jesse is now such a strong supporter of the program

-The newfound joy of teaching ukulele to students at the Kona Pacific School in Hawaii, helping to spread the gift of music to yet another generation

These stories are just a part of the rich life of Jesse Colin Young — a singer whose voice defined an era by giving several generations of fans an anthem they will never forget — a man who remains dedicated and determined to make a difference in this world through his songs.

The Plague ( ? - ? ) (while at Ohio State University)

The Youngbloods(1965 - 1972)

Solo albums:

"The Soul of a City Boy" (1963)
"Youngblood" (1964)
"Together" (1972)
"Song for Julie" (1973) - Singles: "Song for Juli", "Morning Sun", "Ridgetop"
"Light Shine" (1974)
"Songbird" (1975)
"On the Road" (live) (1976)
"Love on the Wing" (1977)
"American Dreams" (1978)
"The Perfect Stranger" (1982)
"The Highway is For Heroes" (1987)
"Makin' It Real" (1993)
"Swept Away" (1994)
"Walk The Talk" (2002)

Compilations:

"The Best of Jesse Colin Young: The Solo Years" (1991)
"Greatest Hits" (1998)
"Greatest Hits" (2001)

Discography

http://www.jessecolinyoung.com/music.html

http://www.jessecolinyoung.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=coffee&Category_...



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