\n\t\t\tTrending on Billboard\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tJohnny Young, the ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted singer, songwriter and bandleader who ushered in generations of Australian artists through his long-running TV series, Young Talent Time<\/em>, has died following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 79.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tExplore\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tDannii Minogue\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n\tBorn Johnny de Jong in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, Young migrated with his family when he was a youngster, setting up home in Perth, Western Australia. He began his career in music as a disc jockey, then struck gold as a teen idol, and as a bandleader with The Strangers. Young had a national smash with the double A-sided single featuring \u201cStep Back\u201d and \u201cCara Lyn.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tDay Zero Tulum 2027 Announces Lineup: See Who’s Playing\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tSombr Made a Surprise Appearance During A Suki Waterhouse Interview at Lollapalooza\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \t\t\t\t\tEverything You Need to Know About the Unidos Por Los Nuestros Benefit Concert: Donations, Artists & How to Watch\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\tHe was a natural in front of the cameras, and it was through the medium of TV that Young would become a household name, initially as host of the Go Show<\/em>, and later with his own primetime show Young Talent Time<\/em>.<\/p>\n \n\tA year-long stint in London during the swinging \u201860s didn\u2019t pan out for Young. On his return to Australia, he pivoted into songwriting, penning \u201cThe Real Thing\u201d for Russell Morris, and contributing works for The Seekers, Herman\u2019s Hermits and others.<\/p>\n \n\tAt the turn of a new decade, Young launched a weekly TV format that would reach into the lives of millions of Australians \u2013 and change the lives of many youngsters.<\/p>\n Young Talent Time<\/em> first aired April 24, 1971, and would become one of the country\u2019s longest running TV programs, airing for 18 seasons until 1988, with a reboot in 2012. A total of 819 episodes beamed out. A reunion show was taped in 2023 to celebrate its 52nd<\/sup> anniversary.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThe whole feel of Young Talent Time<\/em> was based on the love that I had for the Mickey Mouse Club,\u201d he said of the beloved show that he created, hosted and produced.<\/p>\n \n\tWith its joyful mix of music, dance, fun and friendship, the show gave a platform to a young Tina Arena, Dannii Minogue, Debra Byrne, Jamie Redfern, Jane Scali, Sally Boyden, Karen Knowles, Philip Gould and many others.<\/p>\n \n\tArena was on hand to induct Young into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2011, a class that included John Williamson, Models, The Loved Ones and The Church.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI cast my mind back to when I was a little girl, and you were there for me,\u201d she said of Young, who was visibly holding back tears from his table, \u201cteaching, nurturing, supporting, protecting, mentoring and always smiling.\u201d She added, \u201cYou supported me like a father would his daughter, and you took me through some of the greatest moments of my childhood. Even when the road wasn\u2019t easy for you<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn his now-legendary speech, the Church frontman Steve Kilbey gave a shout out to Young from the stage, and reenacted to the room the music man\u2019s enthusiastic straight-armed clap whilst singing \u201cCara Lyn.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tEven veteran rockers liked Johnny Young.<\/p>\n \n\tPrime minister Anthony Albanese said Young gave \u201cthe gift of joy\u201d to Australia. \u201cA wonderful singer in his own right, he established himself in our homes and our hearts as the genial and generous host of Young Talent Time, the launchpad for an incredible new generation of entertainers,\u201d he writes. \u201cHow lucky we were to have him. May he rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tMinogue considers Young a man who \u201cholds a place in so many hearts,\u201d she writes, \u201cand today my heart is broken.\u201d<\/p>\n The pop artist\u2019s social post continues, \u201cHe has so many achievements from his music and TV career, pop writing and releases, and family entertainment on our televisions. For me, this is where my career started, and generations of Aussies hold Young Talent Time<\/em> and the song \u2018All My Loving\u2019 so fondly in their memories. His show brought 17 years of colour, choreography, sequins, music and smiles to our Saturday nights.<\/p>\n \u201cMy heart goes out to his family and to his YTT family. From cast, crew and every Johnny Young Talent School member, this is a very sad \u2018Goodnight Australia.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe Young Talent Time<\/em> collection is preserved as an artifact of Australian history and pop culture as part of the National Film and Sound Archive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/music-news\/johnny-young-obituary-1236316480\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/529095534-e1786687005559.jpg?w=1024″] Trending on Billboard Johnny Young, the ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted singer, songwriter and bandleader who ushered in generations of Australian artists through his long-running TV series, Young Talent Time, has died following a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 79. Explore Dannii Minogue See latest videos, charts and news Born Johnny […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2092743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2092743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2092743\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2092743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2092743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2092743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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