Starleana Young started singing in the church choir with her family before she became a successful artist. The American singer is a former member of the ‘Symphonic Express’ and ‘The Slave’ groups.
She later formed a group called Aurra in 1980 together with Curt Jones. Aurra was a soul group. The name ‘Aurra’ was later changed to ‘Deja’. Young later left the group to pursue her solo career. She is often described as a singer with a great voice but unfortunately, she vanished from the music scene.
Young is currently married to the American singer and actor, James J.T Warren Taylor. He was the lead singer of the ‘Kool & the Gang’ in the 1970s and 1980s.
Who is Starleana Young?
Starleana Young was born in the year 1961 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. Her family later moved to New Jersey. She has a sister and two brothers, William Young and Mike Young. There are speculations that the singer attended Orange High School in Orange New Jersey in 1975 and graduated in 1979.
10 Interesting Facts About The Slave Band Member
1. Starleana Young started singing at the age of 12
Young has reportedly loved singing since her early years. At the age of 12, she was already singing the church choirs. She had a distinctive vocal style which is said to have been influenced by Michael Jackson, Minnie Riperton, and Stevie Wonder.
In 1976, she joined a band called Symphonic Express where she met Curt Jones. In 1977, Steve Washington reportedly noticed Jones and Young so he approached them and asked the two to join a band called Slave. Young made her debut in the band when Slave released its third album, The Concept (1978).
Starleana and Jones also worked together as songwriters as well. They co-wrote some excellent songs for the band together.
After a year of performing with Slave, Starleana, Steve Washington, and Tom Lockett went ahead to form a group called Aurra. Due to legal battles with Steve over the group’s name, the group changed its name to Deja. Starleana later left the band and was replaced by Mystic Day. The band released an album before disbanding.
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2. Starleana released her first solo single in 1983
While she was still with Slave, the singer made a solo record called ‘Heartbreaker’. It was described as a brilliant Disco-Funk track. The track was co-written and produced by Starleana and Joshua Thomas together with her two brothers.
In 1988, Starleana left Deja to pursue her solo career. According to her former partner Curt, the reason she left was that she wanted different management. Her first solo album came out in 1991 on Virgin Records.
She also worked as a backup singer in her husband’s albums Master of the Game(1989), Feel The Need (1991), and Baby I’m Back (1993).
3. The 63-year-old does jingles too
Aside from her music career, Starleana Young has done some other gigs in entertainment as well. She was doing all of the advertising jingle works which she got through her boyfriend-now-husband, Taylor.
4. Starleana revealed her husband’s innocence made her fall for him
According to reports, the singer fell in love with the ‘Kool & Gang’ lead singer the first time they met in 1979. She revealed that his innocence took her heart. It is not clear when the couple got married but they have a son together.
5. She reportedly runs a beauty parlor
When she decided to retire from singing, the Slave vocalist reportedly started a new business venture with her sister-in-law. There are reports that she runs a beauty parlor.
6. She and Taylor have a multi-talented son
Young and her partner, Taylor have a son Xavier who is not just a singer but also a writer, producer, actor, and photographer. The 28-year-old shares most of his works on his Instagram handle.
7. How old is she now?
The American singer is currently 63 years old. She has an average height. The singer still maintains her curly brown hair.
Her husband is currently 71 years old.
8. Her husband was featured in a couple of Hollywood movies
Aside from being successful in Music, Taylor also tried acting in the 1990s. He began his acting career in the 1992 Hollywood film ‘The Mambo Kings’.
9. The singer has a YouTube Channel
Starleana Young runs a YouTube channel which she started on November 10, 2008. The channel currently has only 60 subscribers. The last time she shared a video on the channel is like 10 years ago.
Also, Young is not active on her social media platforms.
10. How rich is Starleana Young?
At the moment, the Aurra vocalist has not yet revealed her net worth. However, it is speculated that her net worth won’t be below $100,000.
Also, her husband, Taylor has an estimated net worth of over $6 million. The American singer made this money in his long-span career as a singer and an actor. He might have other ventures that might have increased his income as well.
