Jerry Corbitt (born Jerry Byron Corbitt; January 7, 1943 – March 8, 2014) was an American guitarist, harmonica player, singer, songwriter, and record producer who was best known as a founding member and guitarist of the rock band the Youngbloods. Jerry Corbitt of The Youngbloods

Career

Corbitt was born in

Tifton Tifton is a city in and the county seat of Tift County, Georgia, United States. The population was 17,045 at the 2020 census. The area's public schools are administered by the Tift County School District. Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College ha ...

, Georgia. He began his career in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, at the beginning of the 1960s as a bluegrass musician, then was known as a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

singer. In mid-1960s, Corbitt met

Jesse Colin Young Perry Miller (November 22, 1941 – March 16, 2025), known professionally as Jesse Colin Young, was an American singer and songwriter. He was a founding member and lead singer of the 1960s group the Youngbloods. After their dissolution in 1972, ...

, a moderately successful

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

born in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York City. In January 1965, the two began touring in Canada as a duo, eventually naming themselves the Youngbloods. Young played bass, and Corbitt played piano, harmonica and lead guitar. Later on, they were joined by Corbitt's friend Lowell "Banana" Levinger, a bluegrass musician, and the drummer Joe Bauer. In 1967, having signed with

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

, they released their first ''Billboard'' 200 album, ''

The Youngbloods The Youngbloods was an American rock band consisting of Jesse Colin Young (vocals, bass, guitar), Jerry Corbitt (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica), Lowell "Banana" Levinger (guitar and electric piano), and Joe Bauer (drums). Despite receiv ...

''. Its single " Get Together", did not sell well, reach number 62 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Rereleased in 1969, it peaked at number 5. In 1969, Corbitt left the Youngbloods for a solo career, before the band recorded the album ''

Elephant Mountain ''Elephant Mountain'' is the third studio album by the American rock band The Youngbloods, released in 1969. It reached number 118 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Background and recording With the departure of member and co-founder Jerry Corb ...

''. In 1971, Corbitt and former Youngbloods producer

Charlie Daniels Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, and was a pioneering contribution to Southern rock and progressive country. He was ...

formed the duo Corbitt & Daniels. For the Youngbloods, he wrote or co-wrote "Dreamer's Dream" (with Levinger) and "Don't Play Games" (on the 1967 album '' Earth Music''), "Rain Song (Don't Let the Rain Bring You Down)" (with

Felix Pappalardi Felix Albert Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bass violin, bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain (band), Mountain, whose ...

and

Gail Collins Pappalardi Gail Delta Collins (February 2, 1941 – December 6, 2013) was an American songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. She was convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the 1983 killing of her husband Felix Pappalardi. Biography Collin ...

) (on the 1969 album ''

''). His song "Life Goes On" (co-written with Charlie Daniels) was included on the 1970 album ''

''. Corbitt played electric guitar and acoustic guitar on the 1971 debut album by the Canadian singer-songwriter

David Wiffen David Wiffen (born 11 March 1942) is an English-Canadian folk singer-songwriter. Two of his songs, "Driving Wheel" and "More Often Than Not", have become cover standards. Early life Wiffen was born in Redhill, Surrey, England.

, entitled ''

''. He produced and played guitar on singer-songwriter

Janis Ian Janis Ian (born Janis Eddy Fink; April 7, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter who was most commercially successful in the 1960s and 1970s. Her signature songs are the 1966/67 hit "Society's Child, Society's Child (Baby I've Been Thinking)" an ...

’s 1971 album ''

Present Company ''Present Company'' is the fifth studio album by singer-songwriter Janis Ian, and her solitary album for Capitol Records. After her break-up with original producer Shadow Morton, and the failure of her final two Verve albums ''The Secret Life ...

''. Corbitt played bass guitar on and produced

Don McLean Donald McLean III (born October 2, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Known as the "American Troubadour" or "King of the Trail", he is best known for his 1971 hit "American Pie (song), American Pie", an eight-and-a-half-minut ...

's 1970 debut album, ''

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

''.

Death

Corbitt, a resident of

Smiley, Texas Smiley is a city in Gonzales County, Texas, United States. The population was 475 at the 2020 census, down from 549 at the 2010 census. Smiley was established in the early 1870s, when trader and sheepherder John Smiley settled by a long narrow ...

, died of lung cancer on March 8, 2014. He was 71.

References

External Links

* 1943 births 2014 deaths People from Tifton, Georgia American folk guitarists American male guitarists American folk singers The Youngbloods members 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters {{US-singer-songwriter-stub