Youngbloods singer Jesse Colin Young, 83, dies as management team issue statement
Jesse Colin Young, the singer-songwriter and frontman of the 1960s folk-rock band the Youngbloods, has died at the age of 83.
Young passed away on Sunday at his home in Aiken, South Carolina, according to his wife and manager, Connie Young.
His publicist, Michael Jensen, confirmed that the musician died of a heart attack.
Young was best known for the Youngbloods’ iconic hit Get Together, which became an anthem of the hippie era.
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Get Together released on the Youngbloods’ 1967 debut album, initially reached No. 62 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song gained renewed popularity in 1969 after being featured in a public service announcement by the National Conference of Christians and Jews, climbing to No. 5.
Young was born Perry Miller in Queens, New York in 1941 to musical parents who encouraged his early piano studies.
He attended Phillips Academy in Massachusetts on scholarship before studying at Ohio State University and later New York University.
Young adopted his stage name combining outlaws Jesse James and Cole Younger, with Formula One innovator Colin Chapman.
After releasing two solo albums in 1964 and 1965, he formed the Youngbloods with guitarist Jerry Corbitt.
The group moved from New York to Northern California in 1967, releasing several albums including “Earth Music” and “Elephant Mountain”.
After five albums together, the Youngbloods disbanded in 1972, briefly reuniting for a tour in 1984.
Following his time with the Youngbloods, Young embarked on a prolific solo career spanning more than 15 albums.
In 1993, he and his wife Connie formed their own independent record label, Ridgetop Music.
In 2012, Young was forced to stop performing after being diagnosed with Lyme disease.
He told the Peninsula Daily News that his desire to return to music was reignited after seeing his son Tristan’s recital at Berklee College of Music.
Young resumed performing in 2016 and released his final album, “Dreamers,” in 2019.
At the time of his death, he had just completed his autobiography and was working on a children’s book.
Young is survived by his wife and manager, Connie Darden-Young, whom he met in the 1980s.
He also leaves behind four children: Juli and Cheyenne from his first marriage to Suzi Yong, and Tristan and Jazzie from his marriage to Connie.