Who is Rusty Young's wife Mary? A look at Poco co-founder's family after his tragic death at 75
Rusty Young, one of the founding members of the country-rock band Poco, died Wednesday at age 75. The news of his death was confirmed by one of the spokespersons of the group, who said that the iconic musician died of a heart attack at his home in Davisville, Missouri.
Young was one of the first musicians to bring in a pedal steel guitar into his music. He then started using the pedal steel guitar in the country and rock and roll genre as well.
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Speaking about his death, Richie Furay, Poco’s co-founder, and Young’s longtime friend noted that Young played an important role in his career and helped him in creating a “new South California sound called ‘country-rock.’” He added, “He was an innovator on the steel guitar and carried the name Poco on for more than 50 years. Our friendship was real and he will be deeply missed. My prayers are with his wife, Mary, and his children Sara and Will.”
On the other hand, Rick Alter, Young’s and Poco’s manager for more than two decades said that the musician was a “once-in-a-lifetime musician, songwriter, performer and friend.” He further stated, “Rusty was the most unpretentious, caring and idyllic artist I have ever worked with, a natural life force that he consistently poured into his music.”
Poco was originally formed in 1968 after the demise of Buffalo Springfield. Guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina, former members of Buffalo Springfield, were joined by multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young, bassist Randy Meisner, and drummer George Grantham. To date, the band has released 19 studio albums, the most successful of which was 1978's ‘Legend’, which featured the blockbuster hit song ‘Crazy Love’.
Young is survived by his wife Mary, their daughter Sara, son Will, and three young grandsons, Chandler, Ryan, and Graham, as well as Mary’s three children Joe, Marci, and Hallie, and grandchildren Quentin and Emma.
His wife, Mary, has been one of the most important people in his life and has been with him through thick and thin. Let’s dig a little deeper and get to know more about his wife.
Who is Mary Young?
Mary Young is a retired Kindergarten and Special Education Teacher who loved volunteering at elementary schools. The author loves talking to young children and encouraging them in becoming writers. Rusty and Mary met each other for the first time at Wildwood Springs Lodge in Steelville, Missouri, 20 years ago. Mary published a variety of children’s books throughout her career and set up her own publishing company in 2013.
She was also looking after his husband’s band website, www.pocoband.com, and was in charge of the merchandising for the musical group. Over the years, Mary has published books like ‘Zog the Dog’, ‘Baby Boomers’, ‘Osage Story’, ‘Meet the Tweet’ and ‘Big Shot’. Rusty and Mary got married in 2004 and share two children together, daughter Sara and son Will.
Mary was also an inspiration to one of Rusty’s hit songs ‘Listen to You Heart’. Speaking about the song, Rusty said that he was thinking about making a song but had no idea what the melody of the lyrics should be. However, one afternoon, Mary told her about the local dog shelter and how she wanted to do something about it. The conversation helped him in finding what his next song would be.
“One afternoon, my wife Mary came home and was describing her drive through the country to visit the local dog shelter. We both love animals and have always had rescue dogs and cats. She discovered the shelter was in bad shape and decided she was going to do something about it. Mary asked what I thought and I told her, she should ‘Listen to Her Heart.’ That’s when I knew what my new song was going to be about. It’s a message we believe in,” Rusty said.
A memorial service will be held on October 16 at Wildwood Springs Lodge in Steelville, Missouri.