NH Musician's Musical Legacy Lives On After Tragic Car Crash

I first heard of Brooks Young's passing on a friend's Facebook page. It wasn't the first post. Many friends after that shared their memories and condolences for a life gone too soon. Brooks was only 42 years old.

According to WMUR, Brooks passed away after a car crash on Route 11 in Alton this past Friday, November 8, 2024.

Brooks has been creating and performing music from a very young age. He has performed with many legendary artists such as B.B. King, Sammy Hagar, George Thorogood, Los Lobos, Robert Cray, Pat Benatar, Huey Lewis, The Wallflowers and Three Dog Night, according to his website.

Brooks last on camera performance may have been at Northern Lights Music in Littleton, New Hampshire. These videos were uploaded just a month ago.

This song, "We Were Young," seems particularly poignant now. He was so young with so much more music to give.

Brooks was passionate about writing and recording music. From the news report, he also was passionate about his family that included three young children.

On a radio station based in Nashua, New Hampshire, about 25 or so years ago, The Brooks Young Band was featured many times on a show called the "Local Music Spotlight."

At that time, I was the Program Director and radio was still very prominent in getting new artists the airplay that they needed, wanted and in Brooks' case, deserved.

I remember the volume of submissions that I received at that time for the specialty show, but I couldn't tell you very many that I remember. The Brooks Young Band, however, is one of them. He was talented in a way that stood out from the crowd.

Sad loss for the New England music scene.

You can hear all of Brooks music that he released here.