’60s Rock Legend Dies in South Carolina: Youngbloods’ Jesse Colin Young Was 83

Jesse Colin Young, the singer, songwriter and co-founder of the ’60s group The Youngbloods, has died.

The musician, born Perry Miller in Queens, New York in 1941, passed away at his home in Aiken, South Carolina on Sunday, March 16, his wife and manager Connie confirmed, TMZ reported. He was 83.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce music legend Jesse Colin Young, who left a unique mark on the intersecting worlds of folk, blues, jazz, country, and rock & roll, died in his home in Aiken, South Carolina yesterday afternoon,” a representative added in a statement to PEOPLE. “As the frontman of The Youngbloods, he immortalized the ideals of the Woodstock generation with ‘Get Together,’ an international hit that called for peace and brotherhood during the turbulent 1960s.”

The statement concluded, “An acclaimed songwriter, singer, instrumentalist, producer, label owner, podcast host, and longtime social/environmental activist, he has established a permanent place in America’s musical landscape, while continuing to make modern music that’s every bit as vital as his work during the counterculture era.”

Young’s cause of death hasn’t been disclosed at this time, but the Aiken County Coroner in South Carolina confirmed to TMZ that his death was “natural.” According to the coroner, emergency medical services were called to Young’s home after the musician suffered an “unspecified event” at around 3 p.m. local time Sunday. Young was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:13 p.m.

Considered “a pioneer of American roots music for more than half a century,” per his online biography, Young got his start studying piano and classical guitar before he began performing regular gigs in Greenwich Village. He released two solo albums – 1964’s The Soul of a City Boy and 1965’s Young Blood – before he met guitarist Jerry Corbitt. The pair went on to form Youngbloods alongside pianist/guitarist Lovell Levinger and drummer Joe Bauer.

The group released their debut album The Youngbloods in 1967. The album featured their version of Chet Powers’s “Get Together,” which became an international hit after it was featured in a PSA by the National Conference of Jews and Christians, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Young went on to write songs such as “Darkness, Darkness” and “Sunlight” before Youngbloods split in 1972.

The musician later performed as a solo artist, and released a string of albums including 1982’s The Perfect Stranger, 1987’s The Highway Is for Heroes, 1993’s Makin’ It Real, 1994’s Swept Away, 2003’s Walk the Talk, and 2004’s Living in Paradise. His most recent album, Living in Paradise, which he recorded with his son, bassist Tristan Young, in 2019.

He is is survived by his wife Connie; their son, Tristan Young, and daughter, Jazzie Young; and two children from his first marriage to Suzi Young, Juli and Cheyenne Young.