Johnny Young
| Johnny Young | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Johnny Benjamin de Jong |
| Also known as | John B. Young |
| Born |
12 March 1947 Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Origin | Perth, Western Australia |
| Genres | pop music |
| Occupation(s) | musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, television presenter & producer |
| Instruments | vocals, piano |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Labels | 7-Teen Clarion Festival L&Y Calendar |
| Associated acts | The Nomads The Strangers Johnny Young & Kompany Danny's Word |
Johnny Young (born Johnny Benjamin de Jong; 12 March 1947) is a Dutch Australian singer, composer, record producer, disc jockey, television producer and host. Originally from the Netherlands, his family settled in Perth, Western Australia in the early 1950s. Young had a career in the 1960s as a pop singer and had a number one hit with the double-A-side, "Step Back" and "Cara-lyn" in 1966. As a composer, he penned number one hits, "The Real Thing" and "The Girl That I Love" for Russell Morris, "The Star" for Ross D. Wyllie and "I Thank You" for Lionel Rose. He presented and produced the popular television show, Young Talent Time, which screened on Network Ten from 1971 to 1988 – it launched the careers of teen pop stars Jamie Redfern, Debra Byrne, Dannii Minogue and Tina Arena – typically each episode closed with a sing-along rendition of The Beatles song "All My Loving".
On 9 March 1990, Young was inducted into the TV Week Logie Awards' Hall of Fame. On 27 October 2010, he was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame by Arena who performed his song, "The Star". He is the first person to be inducted into both halls.
Johnny Young was born as Johnny Benjamin de Jong on 12 March 1947 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He was conceived as a result of an affair between his mother, Anna W. (20 July 1913 – 1989) and a musician. He was raised as the youngest son of Anna and her husband Fokke Jan de Jong (22 March 1914 – 1989), who was in the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army and served in Indonesia after World War II. His half-siblings are Cornellia (born 13 February 1936), Antonia (born 22 August 1937) and Ferdinand (born 13 November 1944). Their father was still in Indonesia from December 1946 until September 1948 when Young was one-and-a-half years old. The family migrated to Western Australia, Fokke arrived in July 1953, and they settled in the Perth Hills suburb of Kalamunda, in the 1950s. Fokke worked as a welder on industrial projects including the Kwinana Oil Refinery. His mother was in a choir and inspired his early interest in music. On 25 August 1959 Johnny, Ferdinand and Fokke were naturalised as Australian citizens.
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