R.I.P. Jesse Colin Young

[felser]

Did some wonderful work fronting the Youngbloods in the 60's (the first three albums are quite memorable), then settled in as a gifted singer-songwriter in the 70's. Recorded  and sang arguably the most iconic song of the 60's:

 

[Kevin Bresnahan]

83 is a good run. I hope to make it that long,

Has The Youngbloods self-titled LP really only been issued on CD twice, once in the UK in 1988 and again in 2014 in Japan? That seems unbelievable.

[mjzee]

32 minutes ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

Has The Youngbloods self-titled LP really only been issued on CD twice, once in the UK in 1988 and again in 2014 in Japan? That seems unbelievable.

I have it on this BGO twofer; pretty easy to find:

I have very fond memories of JCY and the Youngbloods.  Jesse was a folkie knocking around NYC in the early '60's.  I had his solo release on Capitol and a compilation on Mercury.  The Youngbloods had a special chemistry borne of the mix of folk and jazz (similar to the Lovin' Spoonful being a mix of folk and Long Island bar band), and the whole was greater than the sum of the parts.  Their Raccoon record label released some interesting, eclectic titles, including two albums of Michael Hurley's.  The hippie era ended, and JCY emphasized the smooth country folk rocker side of his talents beginning with Song For Juli.  Great voice, quality work; he will be missed.  R.I.P.

Edited Monday at 11:14 PM by mjzee

[GA Russell]

RIP Jesse Colin Young!

I found their album Rock Festival to be an unappreciated surprise.

[mjzee]

1 hour ago, GA Russell said:

RIP Jesse Colin Young!

I found their album Rock Festival to be an unappreciated surprise.

That is a very good album.  On Beautiful Lake Spenard.

[mjzee]

This is also a very good album:

 

[JSngry]

What's the geal with that Kenny Gill record on WB/Raccoon? Never heard it or of him. But the lineup looks promising!

[felser]

1 hour ago, JSngry said:

What's the geal with that Kenny Gill record on WB/Raccoon? Never heard it or of him. But the lineup looks promising!

Also not familiar with him or it, but yeah, a 1971 album with Carlos Garnett, Bob Berg, Stafford James and Norman Connors sounds mighty fine, and the clip on Youtube is right up my alley.

 

2 hours ago, mjzee said:

That is a very good album.  On Beautiful Lake Spenard.

Love the way that track works as a prelude to the lovely "Josiane".  The live 'Ride The Wind' album was also a good one.

3 hours ago, mjzee said:

I have it on this BGO twofer; pretty easy to find:

 

Actually a 3 on 2 of the three RCA albums.And those BGO Youngbloods CD sets (there's a second great one with Rock Festival, Ride The Wind, and Good and Dusty) have great sound quality, huge improvement over the earlier CD releases of those albums.

[JSngry]

I try to keep out of alleys these days, but...yeah, that's none too bad!!!

I recall it and another one on Raccoon getting an ad in DB at the time, and then one(?) of them getting a positive review that included a comment to the effect that the reviewer had always suspected that there was some jazz lurking somewhere in the the back of the Young bloods, and I was like, ok, whatever, but I'm going to mount a passive push to find that Gill record now ....

[jlhoots]

4 hours ago, Kevin Bresnahan said:

83 is a good run. I hope to make it that long,

Has The Youngbloods self-titled LP really only been issued on CD twice, once in the UK in 1988 and again in 2014 in Japan? That seems unbelievable.

High On A Ridgetop

FWIW, I'll be 84 in less than 2 weeks.

Edited Tuesday at 03:34 AM by jlhoots

[sgcim]

On 3/17/2025 at 11:07 PM, JSngry said:

I try to keep out of alleys these days, but...yeah, that's none too bad!!!

I recall it and another one on Raccoon getting an ad in DB at the time, and then one(?) of them getting a positive review that included a comment to the effect that the reviewer had always suspected that there was some jazz lurking somewhere in the the back of the Young bloods, and I was like, ok, whatever, but I'm going to mount a passive push to find that Gill record now ....

JCY used to live across the street from the VV, and spent many nights digging the jazz