Background
A native of Southern California, Young was born in the Orange County seat, Santa Ana.
A native of Southern California, Young was born in the Orange County seat, Santa Ana.
She rose to stardom in 1960, when producer Jim Lee of Indigo Records chose a Sun Valley-based band, The Innocents, to sing back-up vocals for her on a cover version of The Rivileers" 1954 recording of "A Thousand Stars".
3 on Billboard Hot 100. Two years earlier Lee had organized The Innocents for an appearance on Wink Martindale"s popular music television show. In December 1960, two months after her 15th birthday, Kathy Young and The Innocents peaked at Number.
6 on the Rhythm & Blues chart, and at Number.
3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Young"s follow-up, "Happy Birthday Blues", peaked at Number.
30 on the Hot 100 in 1961. Subsequent singles, such as "Magic Is the Night" and "The Great Pretender", failed to chart in the Top 40.
In July 1961 she appeared on DJ Alan Freed"s highly publicized American road show.
In 1962 she followed Jim Lee to Monogram Records, recording solo and with Chicano rock singer Chris Montez. Still a teenager, she saw her promising career slowing to a standstill and, in 1964, traveled to London. Her marriage to Maus lasted from 1965 to 1968.
Kathy returned to the United States in 1969, remarrying two years later.
Following a move back to Los Angeles in 1994, she began working for a major international company, while also returning to her original passion, music In the 2000s she performed at numerous rock shows at venues such as the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and New Jersey"s Izod Center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
Kathy Young was inducted into the Doo-Wop Hall of Fame, presided over by Harvey Robbins. on October 12, 2014. at the North Shore Music Theater, in Beverly, Massachusetts.