FARON YOUNG, TWENTY-TWO YEARS AGO: December 4, 1984, was the night Faron’s 30-year marriage ended. When he fired a pistol through the kitchen ceiling of their Harbor Island house, it was the last straw for Hilda. Faron refused her ultimatum to seek help to stop drinking, and Hilda gave up on trying to save their […]
I’m saddened to report that Damion Young–eldest son of Faron and Hilda–died November 25, 2006, at four in the morning. He’d been seriously ill, and his death was expected, but that doesn’t make it easier. I first met Damion when he joined my brother Kenny and me at Shoney’s one evening in 2000 during our […]
FARON YOUNG, TWENTY-TWO YEARS AGO: Faron visited Ralph Emery’s television show, Nashville Now, on November 23, 1984. That evening marked Faron’s first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry in 21 years. Ralph commented on his dress suit, and Faron said, “I buy one suit a year, just in case somebody I know dies. I can […]
FARON YOUNG, FIFTY-FIVE YEARS AGO: The contract that Webb Pierce signed with Gotham Records on November 12, 1951, resulted in Faron’s first recording session. It took place in the KWKH studio in Shreveport shortly after Faron dropped out of college. Webb owned Pacemaker Record & Transcription Company, but he was under contract to another recording […]
FARON YOUNG, TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO: On Sunday, November 10, 1985, Faron and the Deputies played two shows at the Hideaway Lounge, a small nightclub in a shopping mall in Frederick, Maryland. Eddie Stubbs (this was ten years before he moved to Nashville) walked in the door and saw Faron sitting at the bar. He introduced […]
FARON YOUNG, TWENTY YEARS AGO: On Halloween night in 1986 Faron appeared on Ralph Emery’s TV show, “Nashville Now,” as a character named Spike Cruncher. He wore a prison uniform of black and white stripes, with a 5-inch black ball attached by a chain to his wrist. “I used to be a sheriff,” he said. […]
The University of Illinois Press will publish Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story in the fall of 2007. This marks the beginning of the second year of my newsletter. In that year I signed a publishing contract, revised and submitted the manuscript, and submitted all photos and permissions. Knowing there’s still at least […]
FARON YOUNG, THIRTY-NINE YEARS AGO:Â On October 21, 1967, Music City News magazine sponsored the first live broadcast of a country music awards ceremony. Making the show even more unusual, the fans themselves voted for their favorite performers. Faron hosted the Music City News Awards Spectacular Show during WSM Radio’s regular broadcast of Ernest Tubb’s […]
FARON YOUNG, FIFTY-FIVE YEARS AGO:Â Faron’s first solo performance on the Louisiana Hayride occurred October 13, 1951. His hair had been cut off as an initiation ritual at Centenary Methodist College in Shreveport, and he later said, “I was embarrassed, so Webb slapped that great big ten-gallon hat on me when I went on stage, […]
FARON YOUNG, FORTY-ONE YEARS AGO: Faron–an avid golfer–helped Charlie Walker organize Nashville’s Music City Pro-Celebrity Golf Tournament, which began in October 1965 and lasted almost a decade. Walker’s idea was to have a golf tournament during the annual disc jockey convention, because a lot of the disc jockeys liked to play golf. Someone suggested he […]