Jesse Colin Young was the founder and frontman of the band the Youngbloods, best known for their enduring classic about peace, “Get Together,” originally written by Chet Powers.
- Died: March 16, 2025 (Who else died on March 16?)
- Details of death: Died in Aiken, South Carolina at the age of 83.
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Jesse Colin Young’s legacy
No look at music of the 1960s is complete without “Get Together,” a folk-rock song that became a major hit for the Youngbloods, sung by Jesse Colin Young, its founder and frontman. Young’s delivery of iconic lyrics written by Chet Powers (1937–1994) – like “smile on your brother / everybody get together / learn to love one another right now” – helped make the record an enduring anthem still loved decades later.
Young was more than just one track, however. Over the course of decades, he followed the five albums released with the Youngbloods with 17 solo LPs, not including live albums, compilations, and more. He also wrote songs made famous by other artists, such as the songs “Darkness, Darkness,” which earned Robert Plant a Grammy Award in 2002, and “Sunlight,” popularized in 1970 by Three Dog Night.
Originally coming out of the folk scene in the Greenwich Village section of New York City, Young began as a guitar-playing solo artist before forming the Youngbloods and switching to bass. When he returned to his solo work in the 1970s, he didn’t abandon the social consciousness that typified his ‘60s output. Messages about togetherness, social activism and the environment were a regular part of his music. During this period, he opened for Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on tour.
Young rarely slowed down. He was a prolific creator who was still writing and recording music up through 2019’s “Dreamers,” his final studio album. He continued to make statements through his music, too, such as his 2007 anti-war song, “Bring ‘Em Home.”
Tributes to Jesse Colin Young
Full obituary: The Hollywood Reporter
