Pegi Young

After marrying Canadian folk rock musician Neil Young in 1978, her debut as a singer came in 1983 when she was a member of The Pinkettes, the backing vocalists on her husband's rockabilly Shocking Pinks tour. In 1994 she made her first nationwide TV appearance at the Academy Awards, singing backup on Neil's song "Philadelphia", nominated for an Oscar.{{cite news |title=At 60, Pegi Young Is Just Tuning Up |url=https://lancasteronline.com/entertainment/at-pegi-young-is-just-tuning-up/article_baf30eaf-46a4-5468-b1ae-22fa6d36faf5.html |first=John |last=Ferguson |work=LNP |date=March 17, 2013 |access-date=January 3, 2019}}

The Youngs performed together at a number of their annual Bridge School Benefit Concerts. Young joined her then husband on his 2000 tour as a backup singer.{{Cite news |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/blogs/music/2012-11-14/pegi-young-braces-for-impact |title=Pegi Young Braces For Impact |author=Staff writers |work=The Austin Chronicle |date=November 14, 2012 |access-date=January 3, 2019}}

In 2007, after recording songs in her home studio at the Broken Arrow Ranch, she released her self-titled debut album. Young followed it with the albums Foul Deeds (2010),{{Cite web |title=Foul Deeds |url=https://www.amazon.com/Foul-Deeds-Limited-Edition-DVD/dp/B003JH0L9G |publisher=Amazon |date=June 21, 2010 |access-date=January 3, 2019}} and Bracing for Impact (2011). She toured and performed with her band The Survivors, which includes Spooner Oldham on piano, Rick Rosas on bass, Kelvin Holly on guitar and drummer Phil Jones.

In 1986, Young co-founded the Bridge School, an educational program aimed at serving the needs of children with severe physical and speech impairments.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/magazine/neil-young-comes-clean.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& |title=Neil Young Comes Clean |first=David |last=Carr |work=The New York Times Magazine |date=September 19, 2012 |access-date=January 3, 2019}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.bridgeschool.org/about/history/ |title=The Bridge School – History |work=Bridge School |access-date=January 3, 2019}}

She was inspired to create the school based on her experiences with her son Ben, who was born with cerebral palsy, a congenital condition that can be influenced by hereditary factors.{{cite web |url=https://www.cerebralpalsy.org/about-cerebral-palsy/cause/when |title=Is Cerebral Palsy Genetic, Congenital, or Acquired? |first=Kenneth A. |last=Stern |work=MyChild |publisher=Stern Law, PLLC |access-date=January 3, 2019}} For Ben, the condition resulted in severe speech difficulties and motor impairment. Pegi and her husband Neil said they searched for educational institutions tailored for children like Ben with physical and learning impairments, but were frustrated to find that none really existed.{{Cite news |url=http://www.glidemagazine.com/10202/pegi-young-unknown-legend |title=Pegi Young Unknown Legend |first=Jason |last=Gonulsen |work=Glide Magazine |date=September 10, 2007 |access-date=January 3, 2019}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425590/wyclef-jean-neil-young-beck-stevie-wonder-george-clinton-celebrate-1999-rock-vote-awards.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823070112/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425590/wyclef-jean-neil-young-beck-stevie-wonder-george-clinton-celebrate-1999-rock-vote-awards.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 23, 2013 |title=Wyclef Jean, Neil Young, Beck, Stevie Wonder, George Clinton Celebrate 1999 Rock The Vote! Awards |author=MTV News Staff |work=MTV News |date=February 24, 1999 |access-date=November 28, 2014}}

Young founded the school with additional help from Jim Forderer, a fellow parent of a child with specialized educational needs, and Dr. Marilyn Buzolich.

The Youngs raised awareness of their newly founded school with their Bridge School Benefit Concert, which ran annually from 1986 until 2016, bringing in musicians such as Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Tony Bennett, Bruce Springsteen, Lucinda Williams, Jack White and Metallica.{{Cite web|title=Pegi Young Talks New Album |url=http://www.americansongwriter.com/2011/10/pegi-young-talks-new-album-bridge-school-benefit |first=Evan |last=Schlansky |work=American Songwriter |date=October 21, 2011 |access-date=January 5, 2019}}{{Cite web |title=2012 Bridge School Benefit Concert to be Available as Online Pay-Per-View |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/2012-bridge-school-benefit-concert-pay-per-view/ |first=Jeff |last=Giles |work=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=October 16, 2012 |access-date=January 5, 2019}} Graduates from the Bridge School have often returned to their home school districts and continued their education once their basic educational needs were met in the Bridge School's more specialized setting.

She served in the capacity of Executive Director of the Bridge School for seven years, and as President of the Board of Directors since its inception in 1986 until her death.{{Cite web |title=Bridge School Today |url=http://www.bridgeschool.org/about/bridge/bridgetoday.php |publisher=The Bridge School |access-date=January 5, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108083109/http://bridgeschool.org/about/bridge/bridgetoday.php |archive-date=November 8, 2016 |url-status=dead }}

Young served on the board of A.R.T. (Artistic Realization Technologies), an organization dedicated to bringing avenues for creative expression through art into the lives of individuals with severe disabilities.{{Cite web |title=A.R.T. provides creative tools for disabled |url=http://www.artrealization.org/8.html |first=Krystal |last=Knapp |work=Artistic Realization Technologies |date=August 3, 2009 |access-date=January 5, 2019}} She was on the Advisory Board of the "virtual" AAC-RERC and on the Advisory Council for Lemelson Assistive Technology and Design Center on the campus of Hampshire College.{{Cite web |title=Rock Star Gives VIP Treatment to Hampshire College Student Inventors |date=March 11, 2004 |url=http://collegenews.org/campus-news/2004/rock-star-gives-vip-treatment-to-hampshire-college-student-inventors.html |publisher=Collegenews.org |access-date=November 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517154400/http://collegenews.org/campus-news/2004/rock-star-gives-vip-treatment-to-hampshire-college-student-inventors.html |archive-date=May 17, 2014 |url-status=dead }}

Young served for four years on the board of the Alliance for Technology Access, a grassroots organization of 43 community based centers around the country serving individuals with disabilities, aimed at increasing their independence through the use of technology.{{Cite news |title=Helping Organizations Make their Communications Available to the Disabled |url=http://www.wkkf.org/news/articles/2004/02/helping-organizations-make-their-communications-available-to-the-disabled.aspx |work=W. K. Kellogg Foundation |date=February 4, 2004 |access-date=January 5, 2019}}

Young performed at and hosted Farm Aid with her then-husband Neil in 2007 and in 2012,{{Cite news |title=Farm Aid Coming to Hershey, PA |url=http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1689230/farm-aid-coming-hershey-pa.jhtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517151541/http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1689230/farm-aid-coming-hershey-pa.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 17, 2014 |author=Staff writers |work=CMT |date=July 9, 2012 |access-date=January 5, 2019}}{{Cite web |title=Sugar Mountain Neil Young Set Lists |url=http://sugarmtn.org/getshows.php?tour_key=11 |publisher=Sugarmtn.org |access-date=November 28, 2014}} and, in 2013, began serving on the board of directors of Rainforest Connection, an organization aimed at preventing deforestation by using real-time data collection to maximize the effectiveness of ground enforcement.{{Cite news |title=Old smartphones called in to save Indonesian forests |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21829205.600-old-smartphones-called-in-to-save-indonesian-forests.html |first=Cat |last=Ferguson |work=New Scientist |date=June 5, 2013 |access-date=January 5, 2019}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/rainforest-connection-cell-phone-deforestation_n_3416288?ec_carp=1559575901144017412 |title='Rainforest Connection' Aims To Use Cell Phones To Stop Deforestation |first=Ryan |last=Grenoble |work=HuffPost |date=June 11, 2013 |access-date=January 3, 2019}}

Young was born Margaret Mary Morton{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-neil-pegi-young-divorce-20140827-story.html|title=Neil Young, wife Pegi divorcing; she was inspiration for many songs| first=Randy|last=Lewis|work=Los Angeles Times| date=August 27, 2014|access-date=November 1, 2018}} in San Mateo, California, on December 1, 1952 to Thomas and Margaret Jean (Foley) Morton.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/04/obituaries/pegi-young-dead.html |title=Pegi Young, 66, Musician Who Started a School for Disabled, Dies |first=Richard |last=Sandomir |work=The New York Times |date=January 4, 2019 |access-date=January 5, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/pegi-young-mn0000333504/biography|title=Pegi Young Biography|first=Margaret|last=Reges|publisher=AllMusic.com|access-date=November 1, 2018}}

Young met future husband Neil Young in 1974 when she was working as a waitress at a diner near his ranch, a story he tells in the 1992 song "Unknown Legend". They married in August 1978{{cite news| url= https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/la-et-mg-neil-young-divorce-split-pegi-young-20140827-story.html|title=Neil Young files for divorce from Pegi Young after 36-year marriage|first=Christie|last= D'Zurilla|work=Chicago Tribune|date=August 27, 2014|access-date=November 1, 2018}} and had two children, Ben and Amber, in addition to her becoming stepmother to his first child, Zeke. Both Ben and Zeke were diagnosed with cerebral palsy,{{cite web|title=Neil Young: Singer, Guitarist, Songwriter, Engineer, Philanthropist, Environmental Activist (1945–)|url=https://www.biography.com/people/neil-young-9539612|website=Biography.com|publisher=A&E Networks|access-date=July 11, 2017|language=en-us}} and Amber with epilepsy. In July 2014, Neil filed for divorce in California.{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/2014/08/26/neil_young_to_divorce_wife_of_36_years.html |title=Neil Young to divorce wife of 36 years |first=Jonathan |last=Forani |work=Toronto Star |date=August 26, 2014 |access-date=January 5, 2019}}

Young died of cancer on January 1, 2019, aged 66, in Mountain View, California.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/8492083/pegi-young-musician-former-wife-of-neil-young-dies-at-66 |title=Pegi Young, Musician & Former Wife of Neil Young, Dies at 66 |first=Gary |last=Graff |magazine=Billboard |date=January 2, 2019 |access-date=January 3, 2019}}

• 2007 – Pegi Young
• 2010 – Foul Deeds
• 2012 – Bracing for Impact (with The Survivors)
• 2014 – Lonely in a Crowded Room (with The Survivors)
• 2016 – Raw (with The Survivors)

• Induction into the San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame, 1995{{cite news |title=Ten nominees for Women's Hall of Fame |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Ten-nominees-for-Women-s-Hall-of-Fame-3149029.php |newspaper=sfgate.com |access-date=January 5, 2019}}
• Co-honored with Neil Young for their work with the Bridge School by Rock the Vote, 1999{{Cite web |title=Neil Receives Patrick Lippert Award from the Rock The Vote Organization |url=http://hyperrust.org/News/Flash/RockTheVote.html#MTV |publisher=Hyperrust.org |access-date=January 3, 2019}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{IMDb name|1316296}}
• [http://www.bridgeschool.org/ The Bridge School]
• [https://www.discogs.com/artist/503570-Pegi-Young Pegi Young | Discography & Songs | Discogs]

{{Neil Young|state=collapsed}}

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Category:1952 births

Category:2019 deaths

Category:People from San Mateo, California

Category:American women singer-songwriters

Category:Singer-songwriters from California

Category:Philanthropists from California

Category:Educators from California

Category:American women educators

Category:American folk guitarists

Category:American folk singers

Category:20th-century American guitarists

Category:Guitarists from California

Category:American acoustic guitarists

Category:Deaths from cancer in California

Category:20th-century American philanthropists

Category:20th-century American women guitarists

Category:21st-century American women

Category:Neil Young