Born near Richmond, Kentucky, Nelson Young came north to Cincinnati and worked the bars, including the Old Chatter Box in Cincinnati and the Blacksmith Shop in McGonigle. He was a member of the Sandy Valley Boys and played most of the bluegrass instruments but usually the fiddle or bass. The Sandy Valley Boys had shows on WCPO-TV and WKRC-TV in Cincinnati, WNOP radio in Newport, Kentucky, and WPFB radio in Middletown in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1963, he took the Sandy Valley Boys name and moved to Florida, eventually ending up at Walt Disney World as the Country Bears. Nelson had a 1958 hit on the small Cincinnati label, Lucky, with “Rock Old Sputnick (sic).” He also recorded on area labels Ruby, Enola, Big 6, Madison, and Ark, and on the national label Starday. The Sandy Valley Boys cut two albums for Briar, one for Vetco, and one for Lamon.
YOUNG, NELSON (1927-2014)