Faron Young

Faron Young (February 25, 1932, near Shreveport, Louisiana – December 10, 1996) (aged 64), was an American country music singer, predominantly in the honky tonk genre.

Career

Starting off singing at the local Optimist Club, Young was discovered by Webb Pierce, who brought him to star on the Louisiana Hayride radio program on KWKH in 1951.

He was drafted into the Army in late 1952, just after he was signed to Capitol Records. Nicknamed "The Hillbilly Heartthrob" and "The Singing Sheriff," he had many hits including:
* "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')"
* "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young"
* "Sweet Dreams"
* "Alone With You"
* "Hello Walls" (written by Willie Nelson)
* "It's Four in the Morning" (written by Jerry Chesnut).
* "Here I Am In Dallas"
* "I've Got Five Dollars and It's Saturday Night"

Young made several appearances during the late 1950s on ABC-TV's "Ozark Jubilee".

His #1 country hit "It's Four in the Morning" was written at his request as he was recuperating from a serious automobile accident in which he suffered head injuries. His tongue had been partly severed in the accident, and it took him several months before he could regain normal speaking ability. He had particular trouble with the "s" sound in most words, so he asked for a song which largely avoided that sound as his comeback effort. [ ["Country Classics" radio program] ]

Faron Young's band, the Country Deputies, was one of country music's top bands, and toured with him for many years.

Young co-founded, with Preston Temple, the Nashville trade newspaper, "The Music City News".

Young died at the age of sixty-four of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had been in failing health when he took his own life.

Legacy and influence

* A performance video clip of "It's Four In The Morning" was the first video to air on CMT when it first launched on March 5, 1983.

* In 1985, the country singer inspired homage from British rock group, Prefab Sprout, whose multimillion-selling album, "Steve McQueen" contains the song "Faron Young." The song has the refrain: You give me Faron Young four in the morning / Forgive me Faron Young four in the morning..."

* In 2000, he was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame

* In the comic strip "Peanuts," Frieda's cat was named "Faron" after Faron Young, of whom Charles Schulz was a fan.

Album Discography

• 1957 Sweethearts Or Strangers (Capitol T-778)
• 1958 Object of My Affection (Capitol T-1004)
• 1958 This Is Faron Young (CapitolT-1096)
• 1959 My Garden of Prayer (Capitol T-1185)
• 1959 Talk About Hits (Capitol T-1245)
• 1960 Sings The Best (Capitol ST-1450)
• 1961 Hello Walls (Capitol ST-1528)
• 1961 The Young Approach (Capitol ST-1634)
• 1963 All Time Greatest Hits (Capitol DT-2037)
• 1964 Memory Lane (Capitol DT-2037)
• 1965 Falling in Love (Capitol DT-2307)
• 1966 If You Aint Lovin' You Aint Livin (Capitol DT-2536)
• 1966 It's Great Life (Tower DT-5022)
• 196? 3 Country Gentlemen Split LP: Faron Young with Claude King & Carl Perkins (Hilltop JM-6011)
• 1966 Faron Young (Hilltop JS-6037)
• 1968 The World of Faron Young (Tower ST-5121)
• 1968 Just Out of Reach (Hilltop JS-6062)
• 1969 I'll Be Yours ( Hilltop JS-6073)
• 1963 This Is Faron (Mercury SR-60785)
• 1963 Aims At The West (Mercury SR-60840)
• 1964 Story Songs for Country Folks (Mercury SR-60896)
• 1964 Country Dance Favorites (Mercury SR-60931)
• 1964 Story Songs of Mountains and Valleys (Mercury SR-60931)
• 1965 Pen and Paper (Mercury SR-61007)
• 1965 Greatest Hits (Mercury SR-61047)
• 1966 Sings The Songs of Jim Reeves (Mercury SR-61058)
• 1967 Unmitigated Gall (Mercury SR-61110)
• 1968 Greatest Hits 2 (Mercury SR-61143)
• 1968 Here's Faron Young (Mercury SR-61174)
• 1969 I've Got Precious Memories (Mercury SR-61212)
• 1969 Wine Me Up (Mercury SR-61241)
• 1970 The Best (Mercury SR-61267)
• 1970 Occasional Wife (Mercury SR-61275)
• 1971 Leavin' and Sayin' Goodbye (Mercury SR-61354)
• 1972 Its Four in the Morning (Mercury SR-61359)
• 1972 This Little Girl of Mine (Mercury SR-61364)
• 1973 This Time The Hurtin's On Me (Mercury SR-61376)
• 1973 Just What I had in Mind (Mercury SRM1-674)
• 1974 Some Kind of Woman (Mercury SRM1-698)
• 1974 A Man and His Music (Mercury SRM1-1016
• 1976 I'd Just be Fool Enough (Mercury SRM1-1075)
• 1977 The Best 2 (Mercury SRM1-1130)
• 1978 That Young Feelin' (Mercury SRM1-5005)
• 1979 Chapter Two (MCA -3092)
• 1980 Free and Easy (MCA - 3212)
• 1987 Funny How Time Slips Away w/ Willie Nelson (Columbia FC - 39484)
• 1987 Here's To You (Step One SOR - 0040)
• 1987 Greatest Hits 1-3 (Step One SOR - 43/44/45)
• 1988 Country Christmas (Step One SOP - 0059)
• 1993 Live in Branson (Laserlight 12137)

Movie Roles

* 1956 Hidden Guns
* 1956 Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer
* 1957 Raiders of Old California
* 1958 Country Music Holiday
* 1966 Second Fiddle to a Steel Guitar
* 1966 Nashville Rebel
* 1967 What Am I bid?
* 1967 The Road to Nashville
* 1977 That's Country

References

*Cooper, Daniel (1998). "Faron Young". In "The Encyclopedia of Country Music". Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 606-7.
* [http://www.countrystandardtime.com/d/column.asp?fn=COL_faronyoung.asp&c=111 Faron Young obituary] at [http://www.countrystandardtime.com/?c=111 Country Standard Time]
* [http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com/site/inductees.aspx?cid=203 at the Country Music Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.geocities.com/shakin_stacks/faronyoung.txt Faron Young] biography
*Diekman, Diane. "Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story." Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2007. [http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/68xan8qq9780252032486.html] [http://dianediekman.com/?page_id=27]