Young Blood – Rickie Lee Jones | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#40); 1979
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Rickie Lee Jones’ long and winding road to hitsville began at age seven when she composed her first song, I Wish. The ensuing years were a long strange trip through a series of towns and schools before Rickie landed in LA in 1973.
There she led a hobo-style streetwise life, frequented Hoot Night at the Troubadour, and wrote songs, four of which she recorded for a demo tape.
As Rickie tells it, Warner Brothers was somewhat interested in her until Lowell George of Little Feat recorded her Easy Money for his solo album. After that, they were ready to talk business.
An A-team of talent – Michael McDonald, Dr. John, Tom Scott, Randy Newman, and other luminaries – turned out to help Rickie on her first album.
The song list included Easy Money plus the three other demo songs – Company, The Last Chance Texaco, and Young Blood – all of which helped Rickie Lee Jones go platinum and win Rickie a Best New Artist Grammy.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Rickie Lee Jones
Lyrics Written by:
- Rickie Lee Jones
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).