Johnny Young

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Johnny Young (born John Benjamin de Jong, March 11, 1947) is an Australian singer, composer, producer, disc jockey and television producer and host.

1 Personal Life
2 Career
3 Controversy
4 External links

[edit] Personal Life

Young was born born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He grew up in Perth, Western Australia.

[edit] Career

Young rose to fame in the mid-1960s as a pop singer. One of his major hits was a slow cover version of The Beatles' "All My Lovin". His biggest success was in 1966 with the double-A-sided hit Step Back (written by Stevie Wright and George Young of The Easybeats) backed with a cover of Cara-Lynn. This was one of the biggest-selling Australian pop singles of the decade^{[citation needed]}.

He also hosted one of the most important Australia pop shows of the Sixties, The Go!! Show in 1967.

In 1971 Young hosted and co-produced Young Talent Time, a children's variety show. The show was a launching pad for several notable Australian singers including Jamie Redfern, Debra Byrne, Danii Minogue, Anthony Callea and Tina Arena. It ran 18 years, to 1989.

As a songwriter, Young's most notable work is probably the psychedelic classic "The Real Thing", a seminal Australian pop song of the late 1960s recorded by Russell Morris and produced by another Australian music industry notable, Ian 'Molly' Meldrum. He also wrote and produced hits for Ronnie Burns (Australian) (Smiley) and former boxing champion Lionel Rose (I Thank You).

At several points in his long career, Young has worked as a radio disc jockey and he still occasionally performs live. He is currently the breakfast host on Perth AM station 6IX and the occasional host of The Pet Show on ABC television.

[edit] Controversy

Young was arrested in the Philippines in 2000 under charges of involvement in running an illegal AIDS clinic. ^[1] All charges were dropped, but Young's public image in Australia was smeared by scurilous rumours regarding Young's sexuality.