James V. "J.Y." Young (born November 14, 1949) is a guitarist, singer and songwriter who is best known for playing lead guitar in the American rock band, Styx. Young began playing keyboard and piano at the age of five. He attended Calumet High in Chicago and learned to play clarinet and guitar during those years.

In 1970, Young joined the band TW4 while a student at Illinois Institute of Technology, from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering. That band later became the first incarnation of Styx.