Red Top Young
Encyclopedia
Red Top Young is an American
blues
, rhythm and blues
, country
, rock and roll
and jazz
musician
.
Robert Young was born February 15, 1936 in Martinsville
, Virginia
, to Willie and Mattie Young. One of seven children, he started his education in Martinsville and completed high school in Elyria, Ohio
. Subsequently, he attended Cleveland Music School in Cleveland, Ohio
. All of his brothers had a love for music and the talent to go with it. He started making music at the age of eight and has never stopped.
After learning to play on an upright piano that one of his brothers purchased, he knew that music was what he wanted to do. His first professional job was in Martinsville when one night Fats Domino
was too sick to perform for an annual event, the June German Ball and Robert was asked to play piano, along with his brother Mouncie.
At the age of 15 he and brother Mouncie joined his brother Nick in Elyria, Ohio
. His parents later relocated to Elyria and the family was all together again. Music was the brothers' mistress and soon they had formed a group called The Four Lovers, consisting of Robert, his brother Mouncie, friends Paul Kimble and John Cristman. The groups management and bookings were handled by Sonny Rucker and Libby Hodge. After that group broke up another was started called 4 Young Lovers, consisting of himself, his brothers Mouncie, Jessie and John Alver. By this time Robert had started to be known as Red Top. The group played in and around Lorain and Cuyahoga County, at venues like The Majestic Hotel in downtown Cleveland for two years in the early 1950s.
Prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army
in 1954, he met and married Carol Edwards and played with the great Lloyd Price
. After basic training at Fort Knox
Kentucky, he was sent to Korea
for 16 months and 4 days, where he encountered Lloyd Price
and his group and had the opportunity to perform with them in 1955. His brother Mouncie also enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps
. After their discharge from the armed services in 1956, with a contract to play with Lloyd Price
, his first job was The Armory in Lorain in 1957. He still maintained his strong connection to Virginia and traveled throughout the south performing with some of the greats in the business like Little Richard
, and Bobby Eckstein (cousin of famed Billy Eckstein), but always coming back to Lorain County
to play at a club called Minerva’s again and again.
Being away from his bride for so long, he decided not to go on the road and joined a group called Lee Abble & The Red Riders. Red Top, Lee Abble, Sam Doman, and Vonlee Adams, performed for 22 years, traveling throughout Ohio.
He recorded an album for Quincy Jones
on the Mercury Label
in the 60s, prior to that he recorded the song Tequila for Charlie and Opal Lanze (Lanso Records).
Robert went out on his own in the late 1960s. His group was called Red Top and the Young family, they did blues, rhythm and blues, country, rock and roll and jazz. The girl singers in the group were called the Toppetts: Sugar Young (niece), Beverly Wright and her sister Norma. They traveled throughout the U.S. in a 1950 Black Buick
Ambulance
and a 1958 Cadillac
Hearse
. After the loss of most of the groups members he recruited new members: Laddy Fair, Lorenzo Casey, Vernon Wallace and Diego Tony Johnson, who continued to perform throughout the U.S. for the next four years. During that time he met and married his second wife Janice in 1978, continued to record with Lanzo Records and moved to San Destine, Florida
with his wife and young son, continuing to perform with his group and with Jo Jo Benson and Johnny Taylor, B.B. King, Pinetop and Ray Charles
in France
along with many other blues groups throughout Europe
.
Over the next 10 years while playing with Robert Lockwood, Jr.'s band he traveled all over the world, playing with Lockwood until the latter's death in November 2006, and in that same year, he also worked with Buddy Miles
.
Young has worked with Quincy Jones
, Jerry Lee Lewis
, Frankie Avalon
, Bill Haley and the Comets, The Coasters
, Fabian
, Paul Anka
, The Platters
and Dionne Warwick
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Robert Young was born February 15, 1936 in Martinsville
Martinsville, Virginia
Martinsville is an independent city which is surrounded by Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,821 in 2010. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, to Willie and Mattie Young. One of seven children, he started his education in Martinsville and completed high school in Elyria, Ohio
Elyria, Ohio
-Community:Elyria has an extensive, although financially burdened, community food pantry and "Hot Meals" program administered through the Second Harvest Food Bank and several churches Elyria is served by Elyria Memorial Hospital.-Recreation and parks:...
. Subsequently, he attended Cleveland Music School in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. All of his brothers had a love for music and the talent to go with it. He started making music at the age of eight and has never stopped.
After learning to play on an upright piano that one of his brothers purchased, he knew that music was what he wanted to do. His first professional job was in Martinsville when one night Fats Domino
Fats Domino
Antoine Dominique "Fats" Domino, Jr. is an American R&B and rock and roll pianist and singer-songwriter. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Creole was his first language....
was too sick to perform for an annual event, the June German Ball and Robert was asked to play piano, along with his brother Mouncie.
At the age of 15 he and brother Mouncie joined his brother Nick in Elyria, Ohio
Elyria, Ohio
-Community:Elyria has an extensive, although financially burdened, community food pantry and "Hot Meals" program administered through the Second Harvest Food Bank and several churches Elyria is served by Elyria Memorial Hospital.-Recreation and parks:...
. His parents later relocated to Elyria and the family was all together again. Music was the brothers' mistress and soon they had formed a group called The Four Lovers, consisting of Robert, his brother Mouncie, friends Paul Kimble and John Cristman. The groups management and bookings were handled by Sonny Rucker and Libby Hodge. After that group broke up another was started called 4 Young Lovers, consisting of himself, his brothers Mouncie, Jessie and John Alver. By this time Robert had started to be known as Red Top. The group played in and around Lorain and Cuyahoga County, at venues like The Majestic Hotel in downtown Cleveland for two years in the early 1950s.
Prior to enlisting in the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in 1954, he met and married Carol Edwards and played with the great Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price is an American R&B vocalist. Known as "Mr. Personality", after the name of one of his biggest million-selling hits...
. After basic training at Fort Knox
Fort Knox
Fort Knox is a United States Army post in Kentucky south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. The base covers parts of Bullitt, Hardin, and Meade counties. It currently holds the Army Human Resources Center of Excellence to include the Army Human Resources Command, United States Army Cadet...
Kentucky, he was sent to Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
for 16 months and 4 days, where he encountered Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price is an American R&B vocalist. Known as "Mr. Personality", after the name of one of his biggest million-selling hits...
and his group and had the opportunity to perform with them in 1955. His brother Mouncie also enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. After their discharge from the armed services in 1956, with a contract to play with Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price is an American R&B vocalist. Known as "Mr. Personality", after the name of one of his biggest million-selling hits...
, his first job was The Armory in Lorain in 1957. He still maintained his strong connection to Virginia and traveled throughout the south performing with some of the greats in the business like Little Richard
Little Richard
Richard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
, and Bobby Eckstein (cousin of famed Billy Eckstein), but always coming back to Lorain County
Lorain County, Ohio
Lorain County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio, and is considered to be a part of what is locally referred to as Greater Cleveland. As of the 2010 census, its population was 301,356. an increase from 284,664 in 2000...
to play at a club called Minerva’s again and again.
Being away from his bride for so long, he decided not to go on the road and joined a group called Lee Abble & The Red Riders. Red Top, Lee Abble, Sam Doman, and Vonlee Adams, performed for 22 years, traveling throughout Ohio.
He recorded an album for Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
on the Mercury Label
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
in the 60s, prior to that he recorded the song Tequila for Charlie and Opal Lanze (Lanso Records).
Robert went out on his own in the late 1960s. His group was called Red Top and the Young family, they did blues, rhythm and blues, country, rock and roll and jazz. The girl singers in the group were called the Toppetts: Sugar Young (niece), Beverly Wright and her sister Norma. They traveled throughout the U.S. in a 1950 Black Buick
Buick
Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...
Ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
and a 1958 Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
Hearse
Hearse
A hearse is a funerary vehicle used to carry a coffin from a church or funeral home to a cemetery. In the funeral trade, hearses are often called funeral coaches.-History:...
. After the loss of most of the groups members he recruited new members: Laddy Fair, Lorenzo Casey, Vernon Wallace and Diego Tony Johnson, who continued to perform throughout the U.S. for the next four years. During that time he met and married his second wife Janice in 1978, continued to record with Lanzo Records and moved to San Destine, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
with his wife and young son, continuing to perform with his group and with Jo Jo Benson and Johnny Taylor, B.B. King, Pinetop and Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
along with many other blues groups throughout Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Over the next 10 years while playing with Robert Lockwood, Jr.'s band he traveled all over the world, playing with Lockwood until the latter's death in November 2006, and in that same year, he also worked with Buddy Miles
Buddy Miles
George Allen Miles, Jr. , known as Buddy Miles, was an American rock and funk drummer, most known as a founding member of The Electric Flag in 1967, then as a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys from 1969 through to January 1970.-Early life:George Allen Miles was born in Omaha, Nebraska on...
.
Young has worked with Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
, Bill Haley and the Comets, The Coasters
The Coasters
The Coasters are an American rhythm and blues/rock and roll vocal group that had a string of hits in the late 1950s. Beginning with "Searchin'" and "Young Blood", their most memorable songs were written by the songwriting and producing team of Leiber and Stoller...
, Fabian
Fabian (entertainer)
Fabiano Anthony Forte , known as Fabian, is an American teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s. He rose to national prominence after performing several times on American Bandstand. Eleven of his songs reached the Billboard Hot 100 listing.-Early life:Fabian was the son of Josephine and Domenic...
, Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
, The Platters
The Platters
The Platters were a vocal group of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound was a bridge between the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the burgeoning new genre...
and Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
.
External links
- Red Top Official Website
- Red Top Young on Facebook
- Red Top Profile from the Robert Lockwood, Jr. websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
.