Kathy Young (born 21 October 1945) is an American muisicker; she wis a teen pop sanger durin early 1960s, whose rendition, at age 15, o "A Thousand Stars", rose tae No. 3 on Billboard Hot 100.
A native o Southern Californie, Young wis born in the Orange Coonty seat, Santa Ana, an rose tae stardom in 1960 whan Jim Lee, a producer at Indigo Records who, twa years earlier, organisit the Sun Valley-based baund, The Innocents, an arrangit their appearance on Wink Martindale's pop muisic TV show, askit thaim tae sing backup vocals for her on the cover version o the sang which haed been issued athoot commercial success in 1954 for The Rivileers, "A Thousand Stars". In Dizember, twa month efter her 15t birthday, Kathy Young and The Innocents peakit at No. 6 on the Black Singles chart, an at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1][2][3][4] Young's follae-up wis "Happy Birthday Blues", which hit No. 30 on the Hot 100 in 1961.[1] Subsequent singles, such as "Magic Is the Night" an "The Great Pretender", missed the Top 40.
In Julie 1961, Kathy Young joined top performers Brenda Lee, The Shirelles, Bobby Vee, Etta James, Gene McDaniels, The Ventures, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, The Fleetwoods, The Innocents an Jerry Lee Lewis on DJ Alan Freed's heichly-publicisit new American road show.[5]
In 1962 she follaeed Jim Lee tae Monogram Records, recordin solo an wi Chicano rock sangster Chris Montez. Still a teenager, she saw her promising career slowin tae a standstill an, in 1964, traveled tae Lunnon whaur she marriet American sangster-songwriter John Maus, whose stage name wis John Walker. The marriage tae Maus, remembered as the foonder o The Walker Brothers, a pop group maist successful in the 1960s, pairticularly in the Unitit Kinrick, lastit frae 1965 tae 1968.[6]
Returnin tae the U.S. in 1969, she remarriet twa years later an ower the next twinty years raised childer an helpit manage the faimily citrus ranch in Central Californie. Efter a move back to Los Angeles in 1994, she began wirkin for a major internaitional company, while comin hame tae her oreeginal passion an aw, muisic an, in the 2000s, performin on numerous rock shows at venues such as the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles an New Jersey's Izod Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.[7][8]
- ↑ a b Billboard Singles, Allmusic.com
- ↑ Schreiber, Charles J. "Elvis Back Again at Top of Hit Parade" (The Gazette, December 3, 1960, page 42: "...Damita Jo. She and Kathy Young look like good prospects to star in the future.")
- ↑ "Elvis Record on Top Fifth Straight Week" Archived 2015-10-06 at the Wayback Machine (The Miami News, December 18, 1960, page 116)
- ↑ "'Are You Lonesome Tonight' Stays in Top Spot for 6th Straight Week" (The Dispatch, December 28, 1960, page 5)
- ↑ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 95. CN 5585.
- ↑ Kathy Young at Allmusic
- ↑ Hendricks, Mike. "A Digital Trip Down Memory Lane" (McCook Daily Gazette, May 28, 2005)
- ↑ "Fox Theatre Presents DOO WOP YULE POP, 12/17" (BroadwayWorld.com, October 18, 2010)