10 May 2006
My big news is that Illinois University Press will publish Faron’s biography next summer (2007), first in hard cover and then eventually in paperback. My final manuscript needs to be turned in by the end of June. I’m still looking for photographs for the book, and waiting for some permissions to be granted. If anyone could put me in touch with Penny DeHaven, I would much appreciate it. Her phone number has changed since I interviewed her.
FARON YOUNG, FIFTY-ONE YEARS AGO: Hank Snow’s All-Star Jamboree appeared in Jacksonville, Florida, during the 1955 mid-South tour. (While I lived in Jacksonville, I attended several events at the Gator Bowl, but didn’t know Faron and Elvis had performed there, on the same show, before the Gator Bowl had its name.) A crowd of 14,000 attended the May 13 show at the new ballpark, and the screaming Elvis fans booed every performer who walked on stage. Hank Snow didn’t want to follow Elvis, so he told the promoters to let Elvis close the four-hour show. The girls wouldn’t let him off the stage; they kept screaming, “Elvis! Elvis!” Finally, he yelled, “Girls, I’ll see y’all backstage,” and he ducked behind the curtain. The police rushed him to the supposed safety of the stadium locker room as the crowd surged backstage. Girls poured in through open overhead windows in the locker room and cornered him. They tore off his jacket and ruffled pink shirt, plus his boots and socks and belt, before he climbed on top of a shower stall in an effort to keep his pants. “They were jumping up and grabbing at him,” Faron said years later. “That was one time he had all the girls he wanted–and then some.”
LETTER:
Jean Earle sent a note to let me know Pat Campbell, age 80, died last Friday. Jean says, “He was a very popular D.J. over here in Great Britain in the 1970s and the 1980s. He heard Faron singing “Four in the Morning” and played it over and over again on the B.B.C. Radio. He introduced so many of us to the wonderful voice.!! He in fact made such a fuss about this wonderful song and the singer from Nashville that he upset quite a few people and he got into trouble with the broadcasting high ups…. We saw him on stage introducing Faron for one of his London shows.” She says Pat Campbell was responsible for bringing Faron to England on the strength of “Four in the Morning.”
Response: I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to talk to Pat. My book contains quotes from several of his interviews with Faron.
WEB SITE: Last week I discussed the BMI song licensing agency, and this week I’ll explain how to find songs on ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). Although Faron used BMI, he did record some ASCAP songs. Try this link: http://www.ascap.com/ace/search.cfm?requesttimeout=300&mode=results&searchstr=YOUNG%20FARON&search_in=a&search_type=exact&search_det=t,s,w,p,b,v&results_pp=30&start=1 If that doesn’t work, go to http://www.ascap.com/ace/ and click on SEARCH THE DATABASE. Type “Faron Young” in the Find box, click on “Performers,” and then hit the Search button.