Youngbloods Frontman Sang ‘Get Together’

Jesse Colin Young, the frontman and co-founder of the seminal Sixties group the Youngbloods, died Sunday, March 16. He was 83.

Young’s wife and manager, Connie Young, confirmed his death, saying the musician died at his home in Aiken, South Carolina. A cause of death was not revealed. 

The Youngbloods were best known for their 1969 hit, “Get Together,” a singular folk-rock anthem, written by Chet Powers (a.k.a. Dino Valenti), that epitomized the utopian dreams of the Sixties counterculture as the decade came to its tumultuous end. It’s unforgettable hook, sung by Young, remains a symbol of the era: “Come on, people now/Smile on your brother/Everybody get together/Try to love one another right now.” 

Though Young didn’t write “Get Together,” he penned plenty of songs for the Youngbloods, and across numerous solo albums. The statement announcing his death noted his “artistic range,” as he dabbled in folk, blues, jazz, country, and rock & roll, mixing “socially conscious lyrics with top-tier guitar skills and gorgeous vocals.”

“An acclaimed songwriter, singer, instrumentalist, producer, label owner, podcast host, and longtime social/environmental activist, [Young] has established a permanent place in America’s musical landscape; while continuing to make modern music that’s every bit as vital as his work during the countercultural era,” the statement added.

Young, whose mother was a violinist and singer, was born Nov. 22, 1941. He grew up studying piano and classical guitar, but love for blues and early rock & roll eventually led him to Greenwich Village. In the mid-Sixties, he released a pair of solo folk albums, The Soul of a City Boy and Young Blood. 

After meeting guitarist Jerry Corbitt, the pair formed the Youngbloods with pianist/guitarist Lovell Levinger and drummer Joe Bauer (with Young switching from guitar to bass to fill out the lineup). The band gigged regularly around the Village, scored a contract with RCA, and released their self-titled debut, as well as its follow-up, Earth Music, in 1967. 

The Youngbloods featured two minor hits, the Corbitt-penned “Grizzly Bear,” and “Get Together,” which only rose to Number 62 on the Billboard Hot 100 upon its initial release. It wasn’t until 1969 that “Get Together” became a massive hit after it was featured in a PSA by the National Conference of Jews and Christians. With further backing from RCA, the song reentered the charts and eventually peaked at Number Five on the Hot 100. 

Amidst the belated success of “Get Together,” Corbitt left the Youngbloods, the band relocated to California, and Young became their primary songwriter. Their third album, 1969’s Elephant Mountain, was produced by Charlie Daniels and featured two minor Young-penned hits, “Darkness, Darkness” and “Sunlight.” (The former would be covered numerous times over the years, including by Robert Plant in 2002.) The Youngbloods would release a pair of live albums, and two more studio albums, before disbanding in 1972. 

That same year, Young relaunched his solo career and released a string of successful albums through the Seventies, including 1973’s Song for Juli and 1975’s Songbird. He was also part of the “No Nukes” concert series, with his rendition of “Get Together” featuring on the triple live album that included performances from the 1979 shows at Madison Square Garden.  

Young’s recorded output slowed a bit in the Eighties and Nineties, but he remained busy and even co-founded his own label, Ridgetop Music, with his wife Connie in 1993. In 2012, a Lyme’s disease diagnosis forced Young off the road, but he turned to YouTube to share performances and document his recovery. He returned to the stage in 2016 and released what would be his final album, Dreamers, in 2019.