Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Pegi Young, Musician and Activist, Dead at 66
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
January 4, 2019

Share

NEW YORK — Pegi Young, who with fellow musician and then-husband Neil Young helped found the Bridge School for children with speech and physical impairments, has died.

“I look at it with a great deal of satisfaction. It’s kind of amazing that the school has not only sustained itself for all these years by way of the concert, of course, but how it’s grown and evolved.” — Pegi Young 
Young died of cancer Tuesday in California, according to spokeswoman Michelle Gutenstein-Hinz. She was 66. Additional details about her death were not immediately available.
Pegi Young first conceived of the California-based school in 1986 after she and her husband struggled to educate their son Ben, born with cerebral palsy. Over the next three decades, the Youngs helped stage all-star concert benefits, with guest performers including Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie and Tom Petty.
“I look at it with a great deal of satisfaction,” Pegi Young told speakersincode.com in 2016. “It’s kind of amazing that the school has not only sustained itself for all these years by way of the concert, of course, but how it’s grown and evolved.
“We started with the four parent-placed kids, very humbled beginnings, and it has just grown to have a global impact. Obviously, looking at the need for the endowment, to keep the school going, that’s been the big focus for us, and it has been for some time.”

One of Rock’s Most Enduring Couples

The Youngs, who also had a daughter, Amber, had been one of rock’s most enduring couples. They met in 1974, when Pegi was living in a teepee, and married four years later. Neil Young’s 1992 country-rock ballad, “Harvest Moon,” is a tribute to Pegi.

“Neil was always encouraging me to do it. But I didn’t want to lean on him and he didn’t want me to have to lean on him.” — Pegi Young
“Because I’m still in love with you,” he sings. “I want to see you dance again. Because I’m still in love with you/On this harvest moon.”
But the Youngs divorced in 2014, a breakup Pegi Young addressed candidly in her 2016 album “Raw” and which also led to a rift between Neil Young and former bandmate David Crosby. After Young began dating actress Daryl Hannah, Crosby called her a “purely poisonous predator.” Crosby later apologized, but Young, who married Hannah last year, was enraged and has not played with Crosby since.
Pegi Young made several previous albums, including “Bracing for Impact” and “Foul Deeds.” On her self-titled debut, which came out in 2007, Neil Young played guitar, harmonica and sitar.
“Neil was always encouraging me to do it,” she told The Associated Press in 2007. “But I didn’t want to lean on him and he didn’t want me to have to lean on him.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Republicans’ Trust in Media Increases Following Trump’s Return to White House

DON'T MISS

Jeanine Pirro to Be Interim US Attorney for DC, Trump Says

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Catch Fleeing Gang Member Who Tossed Gun Over Fence

DON'T MISS

Suit Challenges New Rules on Children in Federal Custody Who Crossed Into US

DON'T MISS

Fresno Mayor Dyer Bullish on Growth, Calls on Newsom for $200 Million

DON'T MISS

Rejoicing Peruvians See Pope Leo XIV as One of Their Own After His Many Years in Peru

DON'T MISS

FEMA’s Acting Administrator Is Replaced a Day After Congressional Testimony

DON'T MISS

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Leads Missile Test, Stresses Nuclear Force Readiness, KCNA Says

DON'T MISS

Shohei Ohtani Could Have Landed 15-Year Deal, Agent Says, but He Didn’t Want to Risk Skills Decline

DON'T MISS

White House Overhaul of Troubled US Air Traffic Control System Will Cost ‘Lots of Billions’

UP NEXT

Welcome to Reno, the Mighty Mecca of All-You-Can-Eat Sushi

UP NEXT

Jury in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial May Not Be Finalized Until Friday

UP NEXT

Trump Says He Will Put 100% Tariff on Movies Made Outside US

UP NEXT

Jury Selection Underway in Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ Sex Trafficking Trial

UP NEXT

Grand Theft Auto VI Delayed Again, This Time Until May 2026

UP NEXT

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Trial to Delve Into the Seediest Side of Rap’s ‘Bad Boy’

UP NEXT

World’s Tallest and Smallest Dogs Meet Up for a Playdate

UP NEXT

Here’s Why May the 4th Is Celebrated as Star Wars Day Across the Galaxy

UP NEXT

Need a Break Without Using PTO? These Remote Rentals Are Perfect for Your Next Workcation

UP NEXT

Lady Gaga to Draw 1.6 Million Fans to Copacabana, Boosting Brazilian Airlines and Rio’s Economy

Suit Challenges New Rules on Children in Federal Custody Who Crossed Into US

1 hour ago

Fresno Mayor Dyer Bullish on Growth, Calls on Newsom for $200 Million

1 hour ago

Rejoicing Peruvians See Pope Leo XIV as One of Their Own After His Many Years in Peru

1 hour ago

FEMA’s Acting Administrator Is Replaced a Day After Congressional Testimony

1 hour ago

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Leads Missile Test, Stresses Nuclear Force Readiness, KCNA Says

2 hours ago

Shohei Ohtani Could Have Landed 15-Year Deal, Agent Says, but He Didn’t Want to Risk Skills Decline

2 hours ago

White House Overhaul of Troubled US Air Traffic Control System Will Cost ‘Lots of Billions’

2 hours ago

US Military to Start Kicking out Transgender Troops Next Month, Memo Says

2 hours ago

Los Angeles Coliseum and SoFi Stadium to Share Opening and Closing Ceremonies for 2028 Olympics

2 hours ago

Jennifer Aniston’s Alleged Stalker Appears in Court Shirtless and a Judge Orders a Mental Evaluation

2 hours ago

Republicans’ Trust in Media Increases Following Trump’s Return to White House

Americans’ trust in news organizations and social media has increased since last year, with Republicans driving this shift following T...

39 minutes ago

39 minutes ago

Republicans’ Trust in Media Increases Following Trump’s Return to White House

Fox News Channel host Jeanine Pirro and other members of the news media work outside the Manhattan Criminal Court building during the 2nd day of jury deliberations in former U.S. President Donald Trump’s criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, in New York City, U.S. May 30, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar
45 minutes ago

Jeanine Pirro to Be Interim US Attorney for DC, Trump Says

Fresno police arrested a known gang member who ran from officers and tossed a gun over a fence in southeast Fresno. (Fresno PD)
50 minutes ago

Fresno Police Catch Fleeing Gang Member Who Tossed Gun Over Fence

1 hour ago

Suit Challenges New Rules on Children in Federal Custody Who Crossed Into US

1 hour ago

Fresno Mayor Dyer Bullish on Growth, Calls on Newsom for $200 Million

1 hour ago

Rejoicing Peruvians See Pope Leo XIV as One of Their Own After His Many Years in Peru

1 hour ago

FEMA’s Acting Administrator Is Replaced a Day After Congressional Testimony

A handout photo shows missiles being launched, in North Korea, May 8, 2025. KCNA via REUTERS
2 hours ago

North Korea’s Kim Jong Un Leads Missile Test, Stresses Nuclear Force Readiness, KCNA Says

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend