Pegi Young

Margaret Mary "Pegi" Young (née Morton, December 1, 1952 – January 1, 2019) was an American singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist.

Music career 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.

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.

In 2007, after recording songs in her home studio at the Broken Arrow Ranch, she released her self-titled debut album. and Bracing for Impact (2011).

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. For Ben, the condition resulted in severe speech difficulties and motor impairment.

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

Educational outreach 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. She was on the Advisory Board of the "virtual" AAC-RERC

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.

Environmentalism Young performed at and hosted Farm Aid with her then-husband Neil in 2007 and in 2012, 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.

Personal life and death Young was born Margaret Mary Morton in San Mateo, California, on December 1, 1952 to Thomas and Margaret Jean (Foley) Morton.

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 and had two children, Ben and Amber, in addition to her becoming stepmother to his first child, Zeke. and Amber with epilepsy.

Young died of cancer on January 1, 2019, aged 66, in Mountain View, California.

Discography 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)

Awards Induction into the San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame, 1995 Co-honored with Neil Young for their work with the Bridge School by Rock the Vote, 1999