Earl Donald Young (born June 2, 1940) is a Philadelphia-based drummer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s as part of the Philly Soul sound.

Young, along with Ronnie Baker and Norman Harris (the trio best known as Baker-Harris-Young), was the owner of the Golden Fleece record label.

[2] Young is seen as the inventor of the disco style of rock drumming[3] (in Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes's "The Love I Lost" from 1973), and is often credited with popularizing four-on-the-floor bass drum beats, and as being the first drummer to make extensive and distinctive use of the hi-hat cymbal throughout the playing time of an R&B song.

In a 2005 interview with Modern Drummer magazine, bassist Anthony Jackson was asked whether he recalled working with Young: "Yes, of course.

Listen to a classic Earl Young track like Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes' "If You Don't Know Me By Now".

Vocalists on the session were the Philadelphia harmony group Double Exposure performing "Soul Recession", and Chiquita Green.

[7] The Philadelphia Music Alliance (PMA) has honored Young with five bronze plaques on the Walk of Fame on Broad Street.