Jesse Colin Young, the tenor for the band Youngbloods, passed away at the age of 83 in his home in Aiken, South Carolina. One of his notable songs was the peace-and-love anthem Get Together, released in 1969.
The singer-songwriter’s death was announced by his publicist Michael Jensen, The New York Times reported Monday.
Young was known for singing the iconic chorus of the song that goes, ‘Come on people now/Smile on your brother/Everybody get together/Try to love one another right now.’ This refrain was described by a newspaper as being one of the most recognizable from the 1960s era.
The song Get Together gained further popularity when featured in various movies, including the 1994 Oscar-winning film Forrest Gump, as well as in movies like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), The Dish (2000), and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007).
Get Together was penned by folk artist Dino Valenti, who used the pseudonym Chet Powers on the track, according to the paper.
Valenti had past been a member of the band Quicksilver Messenger Service.
Youngbloods tenor Jesse Colin Young, whose catalog included the 1969 anthem Get Together , died Sunday at 83 at his Aiken, South Carolina home. Pictured in LA in 2019
The singer-songwriter’s death was announced by his publicist Michael Jensen
Other notable selections from the Youngbloods’ that Young had composed included the 1969 track Darkness, Darkness, which was about American soldiers fighting in Vietnam; Sunlight and Ride the Wind.
The late vocalist was remembered by a number of industry insiders as news of his passing spread Monday.
‘Known for Get Together, Darkness, Darkness, Sunlight, and more, his music carried messages of peace and unity that will live on for generations,’ Sirius XM host Eric Alper said.
Publicist Danny Deraney said, ‘Rest in Power Jesse Colin Young. His soft tenor voice sold the song Get Together as the anthem for peace in the 1960’s.’
Musician David Maida shared a shot alongside the late vocalist, writing, ‘All the great ones are leaving us.’
He continued: Rest In Peace my friend Jesse Colin Young of the Youngbloods. I will miss having coffee hanging backstage and hearing you perform with great impeccable talent! Thanks for the music.’
Young – who would also go on to perform as a solo artist in his career, said that he never lost his spark for performing the iconic track Get Together.
‘To this day, it gives me a thrill to play it,’ the vocalist said in a 2018 chat with The Arts Fuse.
Young chat about the song’s widespread presence in TV, films and ads, telling the outlet he was always amazed at the track’s enduing popularity.
The singer-songwriter was pictured in a 1975 publicity shot
The late vocalist was remembered by a number of industry insiders as news of his passing spread Monday
‘I mean, it was in a Walmart commercial that they had designed for Thanksgiving, but they put out immediately after Charlottesville,’ he said in reference to the racially-divisive incident in August 2017.
He described the ad in which the song was played: ‘It was a big table in the middle of a field, and all these different kinds of people were bringing a chair to sit at the table.
‘I’ve only had it described to me, but it didn’t sound like they were selling anything. It was almost like a Thanksgiving…get together!
‘I’m thinking like, “Maybe the kids have taken over Walmart, or something,” because I was surprised at how perfect it was for the soul of that song, and to combat all of the ugliness and divisiveness of this time we’re living through.’
