How many children did Jesse Colin Young have? All about Youngbloods frontman’s family as he dies at 83

Jesse Colin Young, the frontman of the 1960s rock band The Youngbloods, has passed away at the age of 83. His publicist, Michael Jensen, confirmed that he died at his home on Sunday. Jesse Colin Young is survived by his four children as well as his wife and manager, Connie Darden-Young.

The Youngbloods were known for their hit "Get Together," a song that remains synonymous with the counterculture movement of the 1960s. The song was a part of their 1967 self-titled album but later received widespread acclaim in 1969, when it was used in a service announcement on the radio, propelling it to the No. 5 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

After the band members went their separate ways in 1972, Young continued his musical journey as a solo artist, releasing 15 solo albums, with his most recent in 2019.

The "Song for Juli" singer was deeply devoted to his family and often shared pictures of them on his Instagram.

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More about Jesse Colin Young and his family

Jesse Colin Young was born Perry Miller in 1941 but later changed his name, drawing inspiration from Western outlaws Jesse James, Cole Younger, and legendary Formula One engineer Colin Chapman, according to The New York Times. His mother was a violinist and singer, and his father was an accountant who had a deep passion for classical music.

The "Darkness Darkness" singer was married twice. His first marriage was to fellow musician Suzi Young, but the couple later divorced. While little is known about the couple's marriage, they had two children, Juli Young, born 1966, and son Cheyenne Young.

In a 2017 interview with Acoustic Storm, Young shared that he wrote "Song for Juli" as a heartfelt tribute to his daughter.

"One day, my ex-wife was there and she was writing lyrics, and my daughter Juli was probably 6 or 7, and my son was 6, 7 or 8, and my son Cheyenne had come along four years after that. He was getting a lot of attention, as babies do. I think Juli was hurting and needed to feel special, and the song turned out to be a lovely corroboration by her parents together to give her some of that special love."

On the other hand, the song "Morning Song" was inspired by his love for his son.

"Morning Sun was triggered by the birth of my son Cheyenne, and by our moving into our house on the ridgetop when he was very young. I loved to walk in those woods and watch the red-tail hawks circle, and I was thrilled to have a son. I mean it’s all there in the song."

Jesse Colin Young later married Connie Darden in 1988, who eventually became his manager. The couple had two children, a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Jazzie.

In 1995, the family narrowly escaped when their California home was destroyed in the Mt. Vision fire. The family then relocated to Hawaii, where the guitarist tried his hand at coffee production.

"The deal with coffee began with Connie and I buying a small farm in Kona in 1988, 2 days before we were married there. When the macnut crop failed, we decided to plant coffee. After all we were in the Kona district. Then our house burned down in Marin in the fall of 1995 in the Mount Vision Fire which took out 15,000 acres of the Point Reyes National Seashore. We decided to move to the farm and raise the kids there."

The couple also founded a school there, which later merged with a charter school.

"Connie was very interested in Waldorf education for them and we discovered a Waldorf kinderhaus 10 minutes from our Kona farm. We eventually bought some land and built the first buildings of what is now the Kona Pacific Waldorf School through 8th grade which eventually morphed into a charter school. We are proud to say it is still going strong at 4 times the size of the original school."

In his interview with The Acoustic Storm, Young recalled how watching his son's performance during his graduation inspired him to return to making music.

"I really had no intention of going back, I was just burned out on it and I thought well, 50 years is probably enough. Then in the spring of 2016, my son Tristan was graduating from Berklee College of Music, and I went to hear his senior recital. These young people he had assembled in a band, they just blew me away with their energy and their talent."

He continued,

"So I asked Tristan to help me put a band together, and we started in the fall of 2016 and by February of this year we were playing gigs in New England. It was really cold and I had sworn I’d never do it again, but that was the place to do it because everyone was living in Boston at the time. We were selling out and I’ve been using the whole of my career to pull songs from."

Jesse Colin Young's daughter, Jazzie Young, is also a musician and often shared videos of them performing impromptu sessions together.

In an interview with A Book Of Us, the singer spoke about the influence her father had on her musical journey.

"I think growing up in a house filled with music and having a father who specifically writes music was very influential. When you’re immersed in that world from such a young age, writing and expression are ingrained in your everyday life, it just feels like a normal part of existing."

Beyond his music, Jesse Colin Young will be remembered for his passion for activism throughout his life. The cause of his death has not yet been disclosed.