Jimmy Young (disc jockey)

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For other uses of the name, see Jimmy Young.

Sir Jimmy Young (born on 21 September 1921) is a well-known former singer, British disc jockey and radio interviewer.

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[edit] Early life

The son of a baker, he was born Leslie Ronald Young, in Cinderford, Gloucestershire and attended East Dean Grammar School. He joined the RAF in 1942 (lying about his age) and left in 1949 with the rank of Sergeant.

[edit] Singing career

Jimmy Young was signed to the then new label Polygon Records in 1950, one of the label's only stars alongside another newcomer, Petula Clark. He released numerous records on the label, all conducted by Ron Goodwin, the biggest of which was "Too Young" (1951) a big sheet music seller in the days before the UK singles chart had begun. It was a cover of Nat 'King' Cole's American recording. There were also two duets with Miss Clark that year, "Mariandl" and "Broken Heart".

In 1952 he was lured away to a contract with record giant Decca, and the big hits really began. Young enjoyed Top 10 successes with "Eternally", "Chain Gang" and "More" (with which he beat Perry Como's U.S. original). His most successful year as a recording artist was 1955, when "Unchained Melody" (from the film Unchained) and "The Man From Laramie" (from the film of the same name) were successive releases and both number one hits.

[edit] Disc jockey

He is best known nowadays as a former BBC radio presenter.

He joined the BBC as one of the first disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, presenting the weekday mid-morning show from 1967 to 1973.

In 1973 he joined BBC Radio 2, where he presented a regular programme (known to listeners as "the JY Prog"), until his retirement from broadcasting in 2002. The programme was a mixture of light music and discussion of current affairs. High ranking members of the government were often interviewed live on the programme including, on more than one occasion, the serving prime minister.

Although he was offered the opportunity to present a weekend current affairs programme, he turned it down. His radio slot was taken over by the former Newsnight presenter, Jeremy Vine. Shortly after leaving the BBC, Jimmy Young wrote a newspaper column attacking his former employer for instances of "brutality", and making clear that it had not been his idea to leave.

The Pink Floyd song "One of These Days" is directed at him. The only words are the threat "One of these days I'm going to cut you into little pieces". This promise was fulfilled when Roger Waters cut up different recordings of Young and spliced them together for use in concert during early performances of the song "Sheep" (then titled "Raving and Drooling").

He was knighted in 2001 for services to broadcasting.

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