Maybe I missed it, but I’m a little gobsmacked that no one has posted this yet:
Gift link:
From the article:
Jesse Colin Young, whose sincere tenor vocals for the Youngbloods graced one of the most loving anthems of the hippie era, “Get Together,” a Top Five hit in 1969, before he went on to pursue a solo career that lasted more than five decades, died on Sunday at his home in Aiken, S.C. He was 83.
I loved the guy and I loved the band. Darkness, Darkness was one of my favorite songs back in the day. Elephant Mountain is one of the best albums ever made, IMHO.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Young. You helped define a generation.
The Youngbloods were well known for playing free shows. I must have seen 3 or 4 of them. Once they played Sanders Theater in Cambridge, Mass. and the admission fee was 25 cents. Just to cover the cost of turning on the lights.
My parents had a multi-album vinyl set (probably from Time-Life) of 1960s music that I played the hell out of when I was growing up in the mid-70s to mid-80s. “Come Together” by The Youngbloods was on it; I didn’t really understand the lyrics at first, but I dug the tune.
About 15 years ago I was listening to a local radio station that played music with live DJs, and I heard a song that just blew me away in its musical structure and beauty. I’d missed when the DJ announced what the song’s title and artist were, so I e-mailed the station for that information (I couldn’t remember any of the lyrics; so Googling was a no-go). Turns out it was the title song from the album “Song for Juli” by Jesse Colin Young. I really liked that I “discovered” a song I’d never heard before, probably 25 years after it had been released, and that it was done by one of the guys in The Youngbloods. Great song, great album, great artist.
One of the great mysteries of music is that “Get Together” (not “Come Together”, which is the Beatles) was released during the Summer of Love and went nowhere. They re-released two years later after it had started being used in commercials, and suddenly became an anthem. Deservedly.
Not a commercial, but a TV PSA for the National Conference of Christians and Jews. It ran a lot as I recall. Loved it then, love it now. “Get Together” is one of the great peace-and-love anthems of the turbulent 1960s. We could use more of that message today.
Someone mentioned “Darkness, Darkness” as a great Youngbloods tune. Another is a nice love song called “Sunlight.” And I’ve always thought “Grizzly Bear” was fun. The Youngbloods really were an underappreciated group.
