Monday, June 22, 2026

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved (An Occasional Series): Special "Legendary Bands I Actually Saw in a Small Club Before They Were Legends" Edition

From January 1967, please enjoy the original (i.e. with Jerry Corbitt as the Lennon to Jesse Colin Young's McCartney) Youngbloods, and their utterly exquisite "All Over the World" (La La)".

An absolutely perfect mashup of Brill Building romanticism and folk-rock; proto-power pop too, come to think of it.

Pardon me for one more day's obnoxious geezer self-indulgence, but I happen to believe that the eponymous debut Youngbloods album, from whence that derives, is an absolute freaking masterpiece on every level. And let's not even bring "Get Together" into the discussion.

In any event, the song seemed like a fitting late coda to last week, in which we argued for the virtues of the Youngbloods contemporaries The Sopwith Camel and Chrysalis. Especially considering that I saw those Youngbloods guys at the tiny Greenwich Village dive the Cafe Au-Go-Go (seating: about 200-300) immediately after the album's release. And that the band sounded exactly -- and I mean EXACTLY -- like the above.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The first three Youngbloods albums were great.

I only saw the three piece band live. They were a lot of fun. Not all time great. I wish I had seen the band with Jerry Corbett.

Captain Al

Cleveland Jeff said...

Never really got into Youngbloods, but that is an interesting song.

MJConroy said...

Not long ago, I picked up the BGO 2 cd set of their first 3 albums. Good stuff.

steve simels said...

Great set, for sure.

Dave Leonatti said...

Saw Jesse Colin Young solo a number of times. Earnest, if never soul-stirring. I was trying to find- who is credited for writing "Get Together" and "All Over the World"?

steve simels said...

All Over the World was written by Jerry Corbett. Get Together was written, depending on who you ask, by Dino Valente.

Rob said...

Saw an image of the Get Together 45 and Chet Powers is listed on the label. Wrote it in '64, interesting guy

Anonymous said...

Chet Powers and Dino Valente are one in the same.

Guypinot said...

My first important musical mentor was from NYC...he saw the Youngbloods a lot of times during the summer of 1966 when they played at the Cafe Au Go Go, and told me that he always walked out at the end of the night believing he'd just seen the greatest live band in the world. Me...I saw the original band in the spring of 1968 in San Francisco at the Avalon Ballroom. I love that album to pieves! (Also, I just bought an album form 1966 by Paul Arnoldi...got get my turntable fixed so I can listen to the original version of "One Not Man".)