Jimmy Young (broadcaster)
| Sir Jimmy Young CBE |
|
|---|---|
| Born |
Leslie Ronald Young 21 September 1921 Cinderford, Gloucestershire, England, UK |
| Died | 7 November 2016 (aged 95) |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Singer, DJ, radio personality |
| Known for | "Unchained Melody", "The Man from Laramie" |
Sir Jimmy Young CBE (21 September 1921 – 7 November 2016), born as Leslie Ronald Young was an English singer, disc jockey and radio personality. Early in his career in the 1950s he had two number ones, Unchained Melody and The Man from Laramie, both in 1955, and several other top ten hits in the UK chart, but he became better known for his long-running show on BBC Radio 2.
Young was born in Cinderford, Gloucestershire. The son of a baker and a dressmaker, he attended East Dean Grammar School. After his parents divorced in 1939, he left for South Wales to work as an electrician. Young later joined the RAF staying until 1949, becoming a PT Instructor.
Young signed to the new Polygon Records in 1950, joining Petula Clark , Louis Prima and Dorothy Squires. All his recordings on the label were conducted by Ron Goodwin. Goodwin later said he always liked working with Young "because he was always so enthusiastic. He thought everything we did was going to be a hit." The most popular was "Too Young" (1951), a big sheet music seller at the time; it was a cover version of the Nat King Cole original. There were also two duets with Petula Clark that year, "Mariandl" and "Broken Heart".
During the early 1950s, while singing on radio in Manchester with the BBC Northern Variety Orchestra (later the Northern Dance Orchestra or NDO), he struck up a friendship with announcer Trevor Hill with both men trying to put off the other live on air by pulling faces.
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