01 - Grizzly Bear
02 - All Over The World (La-La)
03 - Statesboro Blues
04 - Get Together
05 - One Note Man
06 - The Other Side of This Life
07 - Tears Are Falling
08 - Four in the Morning
09 - Foolin' Around (The Waltz)
10 - Ain't That Lovin' You, Baby
11 - C.C. Rider
By 1965, bassist and vocalist Jesse Colin Young was twenty-four and had already enjoyed a degree of success as a folk singer. He had already released two albums The Soul Of A City Boy in 1964, and Young Blood in 1965. However, Jesse Colin Young’s solo career was in the past.
Things changed when Jesse met twenty-two year old guitarist Jerry Corbitt, a former bluegrass musician. The pair decided to form a band, which they named the Youngbloods. Initially, the Youngbloods was a duo, with Jesse Colin Young playing bass and Jerry Corbitt switching between piano, harmonica and lead guitar. This initial lineup of The Youngbloods made their debut on the Canadian circuit. However, before long, Jerry Corbitt introduced Jesse Colin Young to Banana.
This was none other than Lowell Levinger, a bluegrass musicians who was born Lowell Levinger III. However, the nineteen year old multi-instrumentalist was known within the music community as Banana. Jerry Corbitt thought that Banana could flesh out The Youngbloods’ sound. Especially since Banana could play banjo, bass, guitar, mandola, mandolin and piano. Once Jesse Colin Young met Banana, he became the third and final member of the band.
After that, things happened quickly for the Youngbloods. Having made their live debut at Gerde’s Folk City in Greenwich Village, within a short time The Youngbloods were the house band at the prestigious Cafe au Go Go. By then, the Youngbloods had already signed their first recording contract.
Having signed to RCA Records, the Youngbloods discovered that the record label were unsure how to market the band. At one point, RCA Records tried to market The Youngbloods as a bubblegum pop act. However, in 1966, the Youngbloods released their debut single, Rider, which failed to chart. The followup was Grizzly Bear, which reached fifty-two in the US Billboard 100. Both of these singles featured on the Youngbloods’ eponymous debut album.
Work began on the Youngbloods’ eponymous debut at RCA Victor’s Studio B in New York in late 1966. This was the start of a new chapter in their career. By then, founder member Jesse Colin Young was regarded as the focal point of the band. He was the band’s lead singer, and later, would become the band’s songwriter-in-chief.
For The Youngbloods album, Jesse Colin Young only penned two songs; Tears Are Falling and Foolin’ Around (The Waltz). Jerry Corbitt contributed just the one song, All Over The World. The remainder of the songs were covers of old blues and folk songs. This included Blind Willie McTell’s Statesboro Blues, Jimmy Reed’s Ain’t That Lovin’ You Baby, Mississippi John Hurt’s C.C. Rider, Fred Neil’s The Other Side of This Life and Chet Powers’ Get Together. These songs were recorded at RCA Victor’s Studio B, with producer Felix Pappalardi.
Once the album was recorded, The Youngbloods was scheduled for release in January 1967. When critics heard The Youngbloods, they lavished praise and plaudits on what was primarily an album of folk rock, with excursions into blues and pop. Ballads and rockers sat cheek by jowl on the album, which allowed the band to showcase their talent and versatility. Critics forecasted a bright future for the Youngbloods. From: https://dereksmusicblog.com/2019/03/16/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-youngbloods/
