The musician and songwriter Steve Young has died at the age of seventy-three. He is the subject of Van Dyke Parks’s extraordinary song “The All Golden,” which appeared on Parks’s first album, Song Cycle (1968).
Here is a solo Parks performance of “The All Golden,” from 2010. Next to you-know-what, it’s my favorite Parks song, suggestive of Edward MacDowell, “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” showtunes, Gertrude Stein’s word portraits — and Steve Young.
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Steve Young (1942–2016)
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comments: 2
This is extremely sad news, even in the context of already dreary early 2016. I interviewed Steve Young for my book about Parks' 'Song Cycle' lp. He was funny, thoughtful, articulate and entirely gracious. Later, when I saw him play at a tiny guitar store in Culver City, I realized that I was in the presence of that rare animal: Someone who knew what he was put on the planet to do…and, more, had realized that mission.
Thank you for letting us know, Prof. Leddy. Better to receive this news from Orange Crate Art.
Yes, I sometimes feel a local-level responsibility to post sad news, especially when it might not be easy to find elsewhere.
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