Kenny Young
Kenny Young (born Shalom Giskan, April 14, 1941 – April 14, 2020) was an American songwriter, musician, producer and environmental campaigner who wrote and in some cases produced hit songs for The Drifters, Ronnie Dove, Herman's Hermits, Mark Lindsay, Reparata and the Delrons, Clodagh Rodgers, Quincy Jones, and Fox, among others. His most successful and famous songs as a writer include the Grammy Hall of Fame song "Under the Boardwalk" (co-written with Artie Resnick), and the Grammy Award winning song, "Ai No Corrida" (co-written with Chaz Jankel). From the late 1960s, he lived in the UK.
For the American football player, see Kenny Young (American football). For the videogame composer, see Kenneth C M Young.
Kenny Young
Shalom Giskan
April 14, 1941
Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine
New York City, U.S.[1]
April 14, 2020 (aged 79)
Banbury, Oxfordshire, England
Pop, rock, world
Songwriter, musician, record producer, environmentalist
1963–2020
Early life[edit]
Young was born in Jerusalem in April 1941. After moving to the US with his parents as a child,[2] he grew up in the Lower East Side of Manhattan and attended Rabbi Jacob Joseph School, Seward Park High School and the City University of New York (CUNY), where he majored in sociology and psychology.
Career[edit]
Aged 22, and after changing his name to Kenny Young,[3] he started working as a songwriter for Bobby Darin's TM Music at the Brill Building. His first success as a writer was "Please Don't Kiss Me Again", an R&B chart hit for the Charmettes in 1963.[1][4] He began writing with Artie Resnick, and the pair wrote "Under the Boardwalk", recorded by The Drifters in 1964 and later by The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, John Mellencamp, Billy Joe Royal, Bruce Willis, Tom Tom Club, Lynn Anderson and many other artists. His other songs written with Resnick included Ronnie Dove's chart hits "One Kiss for Old Times' Sake" and "A Little Bit of Heaven", both in 1965. Young also wrote Ronnie Dove's "When Liking Turns to Loving", as well as chart hits for Herman's Hermits ("Just a Little Bit Better" and "Don't Go Out Into the Rain") and The Seekers ("When Will the Good Apples Fall").[4] He also recorded as a singer in the 1960s, releasing several singles under his own name, and as The Squirrels, San Francisco Earthquakes, and more.[1]
In 1967, he wrote "My Aim is to Please You, Girl", a hit for the Australian band The Executives. In 1968, he wrote "Captain of Your Ship", recorded by Reparata and the Delrons. Although not a hit in the US, it became successful in Britain, and Young traveled to London with the band when they appeared on Top of the Pops. Following the show, he met John Lennon and Ringo Starr, and decided to stay in London.[1] In 1969, he had several UK hits as a writer and record producer for singer Clodagh Rodgers, including "Come Back and Shake Me" and "Goodnight Midnight", and produced singles by The Searchers. He also wrote hits in the US for Mark Lindsay, including "Arizona" and "Silver Bird".[4]
Young also recorded as a singer-songwriter and released two solo albums in a similar style to James Taylor, Clever Dogs Chase The Sun (1971) and Last Stage For Silver World (1973), but with limited success.[1][5] In Britain, Young formed two bands, Fox and Yellow Dog with whom he played, wrote and produced their top ten hits. In 1974 he formed Fox, a band featuring Noosha Fox. The band broke up in 1977. Fox had three top 20 hits in the UK and other European countries, including "Only You Can", "Imagine Me, Imagine You" and "S-S-S-Single Bed". Yellow Dog's biggest hit was "Just One More Night".[4] Young's other bands were Gentlemen Without Weapons (with co-producers Vic Coppersmith-Heaven and Nick Glennie-Smith), 39 Vybes, and Rhythms del Mundo whose albums have gone platinum and gold in many countries.