Youngbloods

Working the early '60s folk circuit, Jessie Colin Young would play sets with Jerry Corbitt whenever he was in Corbitt's homebase of Cambridge, MA. Liking how their voices sounded together, they began touring as a duo, taking the name "The Youngbloods" from a title of Young's second solo LP, Youngblood. Corbitt introduced Young to multi-instrumentalist Lowell "Banana" Levinger who joined the duo. Levinger, in turn, recruited drummer Joe Bauer for the band and the Youngbloods full line-up was complete. Their combination of folk, rock and jug band elements drew comparisons to the Lovin' Spoonful and indeed, the two bands played many of the same venues.

After establishing a successful residency at Cafe Au Go Go in NYC, the band was signed to RCA and recorded their self-titled debut LP, released in 1967. The album contained a mid-charting single, "Grizzly Bear," as well as what would become their signature song, "Get Together." Written by Dino Valente under the pen name Chet Powers, the song made it up to #62 before stalling on the charts. The album also contained well-chosen blues covers as well as original songs written by Young.

Two years after its release, "Get Together" was used in a public service campaign, sparking renewed interest. This interest translated into airplay and this time, the song climbed all the way to #2. During this period, Corbitt left the band to pursue a solo career and the remaining members carried on as a trio. Relocating to Marin County, California, the band cultivated a loyal following through their dynamic live shows, featuring inspired instrumental interplay. They carried on until 1972, leaving a rich catalog in their wake. Sundazed is thrilled to explore this catalog through these reissues, sourced from the original analog tapes for a superior listening experience.

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Youngbloods - BEAUTIFUL! THE YOUNGBLOODS LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1971! - LP

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Item #: LP 5442 -

LIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1971!By the time the Youngbloods, always crowd faves at the west coast ballrooms, performed live for San Francisco�s free-form radio pioneer KSAN in 1971, they�d honed their set to a fine gloss. Featuring the smooth as apple-butter voice of Jesse Colin Young and the guitar/keyboard wizardry of Banana, backed by the rock-solid bass-and-drum tandem of Michael Kane and Joe Bauer, the Youngbloods positively sparkle here. We�re elated to present for the first time on vinyl a...

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Youngbloods - Earth Music MONO Edition LP

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Item #: LP 5322 -

The Youngbloods' sophomore release Earth Music is an uncommonly solid follow-up, expanding upon the musical directions introduced on their debut LP. The infectious "Sugar Babe" (also featured in Michelangelo Antonioni's film Zabriskie Point) is one of the group's most popular tunes, while such numbers as "All My Dreams Blue," "Dreamer's Dream" and "Fool Me" demonstrate the strength of the band members' songwriting skills and customized covers of Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe," the Holy Modal...

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Youngbloods - Elephant Mountain CD

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Item #: SC 6256 -

Elephant Mountain, the magnetic third album by the Youngbloods, is commonly looked upon as the pinnacle of the legendary Bay Area combo’s abundant eight-year career. From its spine chilling opening track—the strains of a somber Appalachian fiddle permeating “Darkness, Darkness”—the listener is inexorably sucked into psychedelic quicksand by the haunting vocals of Jesse Colin Young, whose plaintive cry to “hide the constant yearning for things that cannot be” proves mournfully irresistible. In...

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Youngbloods - High On A Ridge Top - CD

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Item #: SC 6182 -

High On A Ridge Top (’72) focuses on classics as interpreted by a San Francisco original: The Youngbloods. This, their final album serves to be a diverse and highly enjoyable swan song. This time equipped with harp, mandolin, and sax The Youngbloods deliver one original tune (”Dreamboat”) while offering their psychedelic San Francisco take on exquisitely curated cuts from Bob Dylan, Robert Johnson, the Beatles, along with other folk & Americana standards. The performances here are all executed...

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Youngbloods - Ride The Wind - CD

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Item #: SC 6180 -

Recorded live in ’71, The Youngbloods’ Ride The Wind finds Jesse Colin Young’s mesmerizing guitar and vocals shadowed perfectly by jazzy electric piano and percussion. Young (bass/kazoo/rhythm guitar), Banana (guitar/piano), and Joe Bauer (drums) hit their stride on a half dozen anthemic tracks that sprawl to nearly 40 minutes of superbly unique country-rock. Ride The Wind showcases the band’s improvisational chops in the same way their fellow Marin County contemporaries the Grateful Dead did...