William D. Young (born May 25, 1941) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

singer-songwriter of the 1960s. He was discovered, produced, and promoted by Otis Redding. He is best known for his one major success, "The Sloopy", although he actively recorded music from 1963 to 1984 mostly in the genres of

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...

Personal life

Young was born in Dangerfield, Texas. He later moved to the

west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

of the United States. His early recordings were possibly for the

Crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

recording label as a member of the Classics, but the first 45 recordings under his own name was for Original Sound in 1963. On this album, Young sings in a high register with

falsetto ''Falsetto'' (, ; Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous ed ...

phrases. When he moved to

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

, Young became influenced by Otis Redding. The song "Same Thing All Over" was cut under Redding's supervision at

FAME Studios FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording locations of the ...

in Macon, Georgia.

Partial discography

*"The Sloopy", 1965, written by Otis Redding *"Same Thing All Over", 1965, written by Otis Redding *"Nothing's Too Much (Nothing's Too Good)", 1967, written William D. Young *"Burning Up", 1974

References

Living people 1941 births People from Daingerfield, Texas {{US-singer-stub