Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Jesse Colin Young 1941 - 2025

From their eponymous 1967 debut album (but actually recorded in 1966), please behold in breathless wonder the aforementioned JCY, with The Youngbloods, and his folk-rock/power pop/Brill building masterpiece "Tears Are Falling."

Long time readers are aware that I'm a humongous fan of the original (with Jerry Corbitt, the Lennon to Young's McCartney) pre-hippie incarnation of the Youngbloods; I am firmly of the belief that their first three LPs are among the absolute finest of their era.

I should add that they were an absolutely awesome live band, and it is a major cultural tragedy that no in-concert recording of them from their glory days has survived.

I should also add that I saw them at the Cafe au Go Go (a quintessential small NYC jazz club going rock) in late 1966, and they sounded exactly -- I mean EXACTLY -- like the stuff from the debut album. Which is to say, just like the song above.

Freaking amazing, and in large part because of Jesse's superb bass playing and his tensile high tenor(?) vocals.

Hey, as I've been saying a lot lately -- this death shit is really starting to piss me off.

10 comments:

mistah charley, ph.d. said...

this is very nice

Jesse Colin Young - Get Together (ft. Steve Miller)

posted on YouTube four years ago "Re-recorded with Steve Miller (The Steve Miller Band) to celebrate the song's 50th anniversary and released in partnership with SongAid to benefit WhyHunger's Rapid Response Fund."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95a3tw1xq_0

Anonymous said...

I’m in total agreement about the Youngbloods. Their singles during that era can stand with anyone’s in quality. I believe only “Banana” is left alive.

Oh well with Jesse gone it really is a good time to shut down The Kennedy Center.

Captain Al

Anonymous said...

Lovely song and appropriate send off for JCY. I see that their compilation The Complete Warner Albums includes six tracks that are labelled as "live in New York, 1969", so you may want to check that out.

- Paul in DK

steve simels said...

That wasn't the original band alas.

Guypinot said...

In the summer of 1966, they were the opening act in four different weeks - I found a post that listed everyone who played that summer - so...24 nights! I friend of mine from NYC told me that he decided that he must be listening to the best rock band in the world. In the memorial that I posted on my page, I used this song from the session that Mercury had them go back in the studio to record. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fKHtNomsCk

steve simels said...

I had the same reaction as your friend.

pete said...

Saw them in Cleveland as a trio in 1969. A good concert but I did miss Corbitt. And I opened for JCY in Atlanta mid-'70s. It was the end of a loooong tour and he was exhausted, didn't say word one to anybody. His wife was nice, though.

Mark said...

Beautiful piece, SS. As a Youngbloods fan, I was blown away in 1973 or 1974 when Capitol reissued JCY's pre-Youngbloods SOUL OF A CITY BOY, originally released on Capitol in 1964. One mic, one guitar, and a little reverb produced a remarkable album that included a really bleak version of Four In the Morning that later appeared as a full band workout on the Youngblood's second album.

Your "death shit" line is a classic.

Rob said...

Mark, I should but don't know who the artist is ? Technique looks familiar - kills me as an art history major - rob

Neal t said...

Look her up :)