Faron recorded “Goin’ Steady” in October 1952, a month before leaving Nashville for the Army. He’d written the song while touring with Hank Snow. He used the melody of Claude King’s “She Knows Why,” and he received advice on the lyrics from Hubert Long (his manager) and Hillous Butrum (Snow’s frontman). The song went into the Central Songs catalog, a publishing company co-owned by Faron’s record producer, Ken Nelson. “Goin’ Steady” was Faron’s fourth release on Capitol Records and his first to chart. It debuted on Billboard in January 1953, while Faron was completing infantry basic training, and eventually reached number two. Its popularity was part of the reason Fort Jackson’s Special Services sent Faron to New York City to compete on Talent Patrol, a network television show that held an annual contest for members of the Armed Forces. Faron won.
PFC Faron Young and the Circle ‘A’ Wranglers in 1953
BOB HINKLE AND EDDIE CRANDALL
I’ve been seeking information on two of Marty’s managers, whose names frequently appeared in my research, and I found them last week. First, I attended an Internet marketing class, in which the instructor frequently referred to my Marty Robbins work as an example. One of the other students approached me and said his grandfather had been Marty’s friend–Eddie Crandall! He told me Eddie died of lung cancer in 1971. Also, I saw on the Internet that Bob Hinkle recently published Call Me Lucky: A Texan in Hollywood, and I immediately ordered the book. Although he doesn’t talk much about Marty, he tells a great story about filming the movie Giant. I highly recommend this Hollywood insider book. I called Bob and we did a one-hour interview about Marty.
LETTERS
Don Stewart writes, “Thanks for sending me this….of course I think you know I love Eddy Arnold more than any others. I also think I told you I saw Marty in a concert in Wheeling W. Va. in Aug. 1982 …just 4 months before he died in Dec of 1982. Thanks again for this picture of Eddy….I forwarded it on to several Eddy Arnold fans on my list.”
Carol Blair says, “I am always willing to share Faron’s memories that I have of him. Shame I wasn’t able to share some of mine with you. Really do have a treasure box of personal ones. Thanks and continue to send the latest emails.”
Angela Goodwin writes, “I have spent the past 2 weeks going through the journey of Faron Young. I happened upon a video on YouTube, and as a 25-year-old who grew up on Nick-at-Night, I got a hopeless crush immediately! I get pretty obsessed with subjects and then had to know everything. Luckily, you have written your book and I received and read it within 48 hours. I too am disturbed that I cannot find more on Faron. There are plenty of performances but would I want is the interviews! I have since asked everyone I come across if they know of him and many do, but a lot did not know how he died, let alone how. I spent my childhood learning about celebrities and thinking one day I would love to be a biographer since I do love to delve into subjects! How wonderful that you point out you had no idea how to do this and yet look, you did! It gives me more hope that I really can do everything I want in life if I just put the work in. Thank you for that. . . . So many people could benefit from this book in my life. For me it shows that we really all must die and all that matters is how you chose to live your life. Also it shows me that people need to be called on their behavior and not allowed to get away with things even though they are also charming at times or might have something that benefits you. So many lessons, so many things I would love to talk about pertaining to Faron, But really I want to say thank you so much because without this book, I would be wondering about him forever!”
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November 16th, 2009 at 7:53 am
Thanks for your post at my blog. This book looks like a great read. As a Faron Young fan, myself, I will definitely be buying a copy! He was one of the greatest, as far as I’m concerned.
Mike