The Youngbloods were a great American classic rock, folk rock, and psychedelic rock, formed in Greenwich Village, New York City, United States of America (USA) back in 1965. They were initially musically active between 1965 and 1972 and then once more briefly between 1984 and 1985. The Youngbloods had the following four members in the beginning:
- Jesse Colin Young – vocalist and bassist
- Jerry Corbitt – guitarist, harmonicist, and vocalist
- Lowell Levinger (alias Banana; yes, you read that right, that was his nickname apparently) – lead guitarist, pianist, cymbalist, pedal steel guitarist, vocalist
- Joe Bauer – drummer
Publicity photograph of the American classic rock, folk rock, and psychedelic rock band The Youngbloods from October 1968 (their music also exhibited influences of blues and blues rock). Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Other members subsequently joined the band during the late 1960s and early 1970s as well as briefly during 1984 and 1985. Throughout their relatively short musical career, this great American musical group managed to release 5 studio albums. as follows:
- The Youngbloods (1967)
- Earth Music (1967)
- Elephant Mountain (1969)
- Good and Dusty (1971)
- High on a Ridge Top (1972)
They also released three compilations, namely:
- Two Tips (1970)
- The Best of the Youngbloods (1970)
- Sunlight (1970)
In addition, the band released two live albums as well, more specifically:
- Rock Festival (1970)
- Ride the Wind (1971)
In spite of the fact that they were critically-acclaimed, the band did not achieve huge popular success, except for the cover version of Get Together written by singer-songwriter Chet Powers (under the stage name Dino Valentini in 1963, originally as ‘Let’s Get Together’) of Quicksilver Messenger Service‘s which became a U.S. Top 40 hit. According to Richie Unterberger on AllMusic, The Youngbloods tempered their blues and jug band influences with a gentle California-rooted psychedelic rock sound and while they were not one of the big American classic rock bands of their time, they certainly left an enduring beautiful musical legacy behind, managing to release several nice folk rock-tinted songs in the process.
Below you can listen to the very beautiful cover of Chet Powers/Dino Valentini’s Get Together by The Youngbloods embedded via YouTube:
Documentation sources and external links:
- The Youngbloods on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- Let’s Get Together on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- The band’s profile on www.allmusic.com