30 Facts About Johnny Young

Johnny Young had a number-one hit with the double-A-sided single, "Step Back" and a cover of the Strangeloves' "Cara-lyn" in 1966.

Johnny Young wrote a number-two single, "Smiley" for Ronnie Burns.

Johnny Young presented and produced the TV show, Young Talent Time, which screened on Network Ten from 1971 to 1988.

At the Logie Awards of 1990, sponsored by TV Week, Young was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame.

Johnny Young was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association's Hall of Fame in 2010 by Arena who performed Young's song, "The Star".

Johnny Young is the first person inducted into both halls of fame.

Johnny Young was born as Johnny Benjamin de Jong on 12 March 1947 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Johnny Young was conceived as a result of an affair between his mother, Anna Wilhelmina and a musician, Johannes.

Johnny Young's mother was in a choir and inspired his early interest in music.

Johnny Young's mother took him to Saturday morning radio shows for children and he would sing along.

Johnny Young performed solo songs wearing a specially made jacket.

At eighteen-years-old, Johnny Young was host of TVW-7 Perth television pop music show Club Seventeen in early 1965.

Johnny Young then signed with Clarion Records, a Perth-based label run by Martin Clarke.

Johnny Young disbanded Kompany to go solo and supported Roy Orbison, The Walker Brothers, The Mixtures and The Yardbirds at the Festival Hall, Melbourne on Australia Day.

Johnny Young became a news and gossip writer for Go-Set from December 1968 to August 1969.

Johnny Young envisaged the song as a low-key acoustic ballad and he originally intended it for his friend and fellow singer Ronnie Burns.

Johnny Young was practising the song in a dressing room during taping of TV pop music show Uptight when pop producer and fellow Go-Set writer Ian Meldrum heard it.

Regular cast members were known as the Johnny Young Talent Team, the show was a launching pad for several Australian performers including Jamie Redfern, Debra Byrne, Dannii Minogue and Tina Arena.

Johnny Young was cast in multiple cameo roles as a service station attendant, farmer, speed boat attendant and camping park manager.

Johnny Young had committed to building his own television studios to film Johnny Young Talent Time and was forced to sell his family home to finance the debts.

In 2009, Johnny Young indicated that he was in talks with Network Ten to create an updated version of Johnny Young Talent Time.

The new series aired on Network Ten from 22 January to 4 May 2012 and was hosted by Rob Mills, with Johnny Young serving as executive producer and judge.

Johnny Young was tested for AIDS and threatened with deportation back to Australia.

In December 2000, Johnny Young relocated to Perth to become the breakfast host on Perth AM station 6IX.

Back in Perth, Johnny Young hosted The Pet Show on ABC Television in 2006.

On 27 October 2010, Johnny Young was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame.

Johnny Young's mother had an affair while her husband was stationed in Indonesia, and Young's biological father was a singer, Johannes.

When Johnny Young was in his 40s he met Johannes and found that he had three other half-siblings.

Johnny Young married Rose McKimmie on 24 December 1999 in Bali and they lived in a battery-operated rural cottage about an hour-and-half from Melbourne.

Johnny Young married Marisha, an economist, in 2002 and they remain together as of 2017.