Wednesday, August 20, 2014

The Young Ages, "In My Own Time"

Hello All-

One of the joys of this project has been discovered songs that might have been otherwise lost to time. Such is the case with the "lost" Decca Records demo by the Young Ages. Formed at North Meck High in 1966, the sextet were one of Charlotte's most popular bands during the Summer Of Love. In 1968, the band won a Big WAYS (AM 610) Battle Of The Bands contest.  The band received a demo deal with Decca, and the chance to tour nationally.

The band recorded two songs at Arthur Smith Studios in the summer of 1968, The Four Tops' "Reach Out (I'll Be There)", and this song from the Bee Gees' first album. Soon after, two of the band members were drafted into Vietnam, robbing them of the chance to tour. The band was never the same, and their tape was later lost.

Through a series of circumstances, Melvin Cohen of Reliable Music ended up with the Young Ages demo. When Cohen passed away in 2004, the bulk of Cohen's collection was retrieved by Zan McLeod, who came up in the same Charlotte music scene as the Young Ages. It was McLeod that found the Young Ages tape, and personally delivered the tape to the band members from his current home base of Washington, DC.

In June of this year, I had the great honor of playing this song on WNCW, marking the first time that the song was played on the radio. And now, here it is online. Listen on, and enjoy.
-Daniel
August 20, 2014

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7m4kyPaLwo

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