Jesse Colin Young

Biography

Perry Miller (November 22, 1941 – March 16, 2025), known professionally as Jesse Colin Young, was an American singer and songwriter. He was a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s group the Youngbloods. After their dissolution in 1972, Young embarked on a solo career, releasing a series of albums through Warner Bros. Records, including Song for Juli (1973), Light Shine (1974), Songbird (1975), and the live album On the Road×On the Road1976 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Sunlight3:59A2Walkin’ Off the Blues4:37A3Peace Song3:35A4Miss Hesitation7:12A5What’s Going On5:33B1Corinna3:30B2Have You Seen My Baby?3:45B3Ridgetop12:55B4T-Bone Shuffle6:21 (1976). Young continued to release music in the 1980s with Elektra Records and Cypress Records, before deciding to release music through his personal label, Ridgetop Music, in 1993. After the Mount Vision Fire in 1995, Young relocated with his family to a coffee plantation in Hawaii, periodically releasing music. Young was diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease in 2012, and decided to retire from music. He began performing again in 2016 with his son Tristan, releasing a new album Dreamers×Dreamers2019 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Cast a Stone4:052Shape Shifters4:403Walk the Talk4:414For Orlando5:375Take Me to the River3:406They Were the Dreamers3:427Cruising at Sunset3:588Lyme Life3:509Here Comes the Night5:0610For My Sisters4:4411While Texas Is Drowning4:2712One More Time4:5913On and On4:4314Look Over Yonder4:46 in 2019 through BMG.
Young's song "Sunlight" was covered by Three Dog Night on their album Naturally (1970), and “Darkness, Darkness” by Robert Plant in 2002, which received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.

Early life

Perry Miller was born on November 22, 1941, and raised in Queens, New York, to musical parents both originally from Lynn, Massachusetts. His mother, Doryce (Van Sciver), was a violinist and singer with perfect pitch, while his father, Fredrick Miller, was a Harvard-educated accountant. Both of his parents had a passion for classical music and he learned piano from a young age. In 1959, Young won a scholarship to attend Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he studied classical guitar; however, he was expelled from the strict academy. After finishing high school, Young enrolled in Ohio State University, where he broadened his musical tastes by living behind a record store. After a semester, Young returned to his parents' home in Pennsylvania, later transferring to New York University in 1961. Young balanced his studies with performances in Greenwich Village; however, he later decided to leave college and become a full-time musician. During this period, he decided on his stage name Jesse Colin Young as a blend of the names of outlaws Jesse James and Cole Younger, and Formula One design engineer and team owner Colin Chapman, as he felt like this was a more appropriate name for the music he performed.
Young met producer Bobby Scott in the early 1960s, who assisted Young in getting studio time. Young's debut album, The Soul of a City Boy×The Soul of a City Boy1964 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Four in the Morning3:252You Gotta Fix It1:573Rye Whiskey4:544Whoa Baby3:345Susanna2:196Black-Eyed Susan2:027Same Old Man2:138Drifter Blues2:599Talk to Me1:5710Stranger Love2:5111I Think I'll Take to Whiskey2:50, was released in 1964, the result of a four-hour recording session backed by an acoustic guitar. Young's cover of the George Remaily song "Four in the Morning" received some radio airplay, and in 1965 Young released a second album produced by Scott, Young Blood×Young BloodMarch 1965 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Rider3:08A2Doc Geiger2:30A3Lullabye2:45A4Brother Can You Spare A Dime2:13A5Trouble In Mind3:12A6Little Suzie3:06B1Nobody's Dirty Business2:25B2Green Hill Mountain Home3:12B3Summer Rain2:26B4Walkin' Off The Blues2:45B5Cotton Eyed Joe2:56.

The Youngbloods

Young met guitarist Jerry Corbitt, a folk singer from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the pair decided to form a band as a duo called the Youngbloods (named after Young's sophomore album), touring Canada together×Together1972 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Good Times4:152Sweet Little Child2:553Together4:484Sweet Little Sixteen2:585The Peace Song4:306Six Days on the Road3:037Lovely Day2:258Creole Belle2:0391000 Miles from Nowhere3:5010Born in Chicago2:4011Pastures of Plenty4:10. Eventually Corbitt's friend Lowell "Banana" Levinger (guitar and electric piano) and drummer Joe Bauer were added to the band, and the group became the house band for the Greenwich Village night club Cafe Au Go Go. During this period, Young switched from performing guitar to performing bass, as the band already had two guitar players. Signing to RCA Records, the band released their debut single "Grizzly Bear" in 1966, and their debut album The Youngbloods in 1967. The group's first album contained the song "Get Together", written by Chet Powers, and was released as a single in 1967 to moderate success; however, after its use in a 1969 public service commercial for the National Council of Christians and Jews, it became an international hit. Few of the band's early songs were written by Young: only "Tears Are Falling" and "Foolin' Around (The Waltz)" from their debut album, and four on their Felix Pappalardi-produced follow up album Earth Music (1967) (however, the B-sides of both issues of "Get Together" featured songs written by Young).
During the production stages of the band's third album, the Charlie Daniels-produced Elephant Mountain (1969) when the band moved from New York to California, Corbitt left the band, and Young became the group's main songwriter. The Young-penned singles from the album, "Sunlight" and "Darkness, Darkness", both became hits. "Sunlight" was covered the next year by Three Dog Night on their album Naturally (1970). The band formed their own imprint with Warner Bros. Records, Racoon Records, on which they began releasing music in the 1970s.

Return to solo career

In 1970, Young built a recording studio next to his home in Inverness, California, where he began recording his solo album Together×Together1972 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Good Times4:152Sweet Little Child2:553Together4:484Sweet Little Sixteen2:585The Peace Song4:306Six Days on the Road3:037Lovely Day2:258Creole Belle2:0391000 Miles from Nowhere3:5010Born in Chicago2:4011Pastures of Plenty4:10, released in 1972 through Warner Bros. Records. Due to the album's success, Young disbanded the Youngbloods after their final album in November 1972, High on a Ridge Top. Young's fourth solo album, Song for Juli×Song for Juli1 September 1973 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Mornin' Sun4:042Song for Juli5:013Ridgetop7:024Evenin'3:155Miss Hesitation6:266T-Bone Shuffle5:037Lafayette Waltz1:468Jambalaya3:189Country Home4:03 (1973), was a sleeper hit, staying on the Billboard 200 for almost a year. Young toured his fifth album, Light Shine×Light Shine20 April 1974 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 8 tracksA1California Suite; California Child2:22A2California Suite; Grey Day11:15A4California Suite; Light Shine5:21B1Pretty and the Fair2:36B2Barbados2:56B3Motorcycle Blues2:39B4The Cuckoo6:51B5Susan4:16 (1974), as an opening act for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Young's third Warner album, Songbird×Songbird22 March 1975 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Songbird4:05A2Before You Came5:58A3Daniel4:33A4Josianne3:31B1Again4:11B2Slick City3:25B3’Til You Come Back Home3:34B4Sugar Babe3:28B5Motorhome2:50 (1975), was his highest charting album (reaching number 26 in the U.S. and number 20 in Canada), and his further Warner releases, the live album On the Road×On the Road1976 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Sunlight3:59A2Walkin’ Off the Blues4:37A3Peace Song3:35A4Miss Hesitation7:12A5What’s Going On5:33B1Corinna3:30B2Have You Seen My Baby?3:45B3Ridgetop12:55B4T-Bone Shuffle6:21 (1976) and Love on the Wing×Love on the Wing1977 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Higher and Higher3:182Love on the Wing3:383Workin’5:094Hey Good Lookin’2:365Fool3:556Drift Away3:407Do It Slow3:308California Cowboy3:009Louisiana Highway3:4410Your Lovin’ Hobo3:47 (1977), all charted on the Billboard top 200 albums chart.
In 1978, Young switched labels to Elektra Records, releasing American Dreams (1978), and in 1979 performed as a part of the No Nukes protest concerts organized by Musicians United for Safe Energy. Young's follow up on Elektra, The Perfect Stranger (1982), and a further album on Cypress Records titled The Highway Is for Heroes×The Highway Is For Heroes1987 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1The Highway Is For Heroes2Erica3Young Girls4When You Dance5The Master6Dreams Take Flight7Do It Slow8T-Bone Shuffle9Before You Came (1987) did not meet with as much commercial success as his previous works.
In 1993, Young and his wife Connie founded Ridgetop Music, a label based out of their home in Inverness, in order to re-release Young's 1970s catalog on CD, and as an outlet to release new music. On the label, Young released his albums Makin' It Real×Makin' It Real3 August 1993 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1We Can Make It Real4:292Island4:043The Beating of My Heart3:124Jungle Lover4:395Wake Up My Love4:106Crazy Boy4:587Tears4:048Love That Can Last4:329When the Sun Goes Down3:5810Turning Point4:3511Get Together4:1712Ridgetop6:59 (1993), Swept Away×Swept Away1994 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Swept Away4:252Misty Roses3:183Love Is the Moment3:334Cheyene3:345Desire4:296Waterfall4:197Our Wedding Song3:268Sweet as a Song3:089Catfish1:4710Laimana2:5811Street of Broken Dreams4:1212Spring Is Here4:0813Love Is You4:44 (1994), and the compilation album Crazy Boy (1995). Young's house in Inverness was destroyed in the Mount Vision fire in October 1995, after which the family relocated to the Kona Coffee Belt of the Big Island of Hawaii, moving into a coffee farm that Young had purchased in 1987.
Young released the album Walk the Talk in 2001 independently, collaborating with his son Cheyenne Young, godson Ethan Turner, and former Youngbloods member Lowell "Banana" Levinger, followed by Songs for Christmas in 2002, released as a part of a CD re-release project with Liquid 8 Records. Young's song "Darkness, Darkness" was covered by Robert Plant in 2002, which received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. In 2004, Young released the Hawaii-influenced album Living in Paradise×Living in Paradise2004 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Living in Paradise3:252Can't Help Falling in Love With You3:053Imagine/What's Going On4:154White Sandy Beach3:005You Are the One3:376Hawaii3:357My Little Grass Shack in Kealkekua, Hawaii3:058Maui Sunrise3:329Am I an Island?4:3210Ke Ha'a 'Ala Puna (Jasmine's Chant)0:4511Angel Mine3:5812The Dolphin Song4:3913Turning Point4:1514Aloha E3:2115The Queen's Prayer2:56 with Artemis Records.
Young reduced touring in 2012 so he and his wife could do more recreational traveling. Two years prior, he had been diagnosed with "chronic Lyme disease", which also made touring difficult. He was inspired to start performing again in 2016, after being impressed by the musicians at his son's graduation recital at the Berklee College of Music, and asked his son to put together a band of his classmates to perform at Young's performance at SXSW. After touring for a year, Young recorded a new solo record with the band, Dreamers, which was released in February 2019 on BMG. In 2020 Young released what would be his final album, the solo acoustic studio-live Highway Troubadour×Highway Troubadour27 November 2020 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Tripping on My Roots2:072Ridgetop5:333Cast a Stone2:504Four in the Morning4:055Barbados3:316Sugar Babe3:597Euphoria3:228Song for Juli4:339Quicksand3:1410Cruising at Sunset3:2411Darkness, Darkness5:07, also on BMG. The 11 tracks feature a pair of songs from Dreamers and reworked arrangements on eight classics including Ridgetop, Euphoria, Quicksand, and Darkness, Darkness. During the COVID-19 pandemic Young created a YouTube video series titled One Song at a Time. On each episode he would play a single track featuring new arrangements and no overdubs. Although his voice showed the wear of time on some tracks on these last releases, Young's guitar work is stellar. He continued to perform live as late as 2023.

Influences

Young was influenced musically by country blues musicians Mississippi John Hurt and Lightnin' Hopkins, blues musician T-Bone Walker, and folk singer Pete Seeger.

Personal life

Young was originally married to Suzi Young, with whom he had two children: Juli (born 1966) and Cheyenne. Young's song "Song for Juli×Song for Juli1 September 1973 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Mornin' Sun4:042Song for Juli5:013Ridgetop7:024Evenin'3:155Miss Hesitation6:266T-Bone Shuffle5:037Lafayette Waltz1:468Jambalaya3:189Country Home4:03" was co-written with Suzi about Juli, while Young wrote “Morning Sun" from Song for Juli (1973) after the birth of his son Cheyenne. In 1967, Young and his Youngbloods bandmates moved to Marin County, California, and in 1971 he built a house on a ridgetop in Inverness, California. The recording studio at Young's Inverness property, built by Young in 1972, was untouched by the 1995 forest fire, and is currently used as a recording studio by his son Cheyenne's band Beso Negro.
Young met his second wife, Connie Darden, in the 1980s. Together they had two children, Tristan and Jazzie. Tristan graduated from the Berklee College of Music in 2016. He toured with his father as a member of his back-up band, and co-produced Young's album Dreamers×Dreamers2019 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Cast a Stone4:052Shape Shifters4:403Walk the Talk4:414For Orlando5:375Take Me to the River3:406They Were the Dreamers3:427Cruising at Sunset3:588Lyme Life3:509Here Comes the Night5:0610For My Sisters4:4411While Texas Is Drowning4:2712One More Time4:5913On and On4:4314Look Over Yonder4:46 (2019). Jazzie (born 1994) is a musician who began releasing music independently in 2017.
In 2006, Young and his family moved to Aiken, South Carolina, which is Connie Darden-Young's hometown. He died at his home there on March 16, 2025, at the age of 83.