31 October 2007
This newsletter has now begun its third year. Although I get requests to change to a Marty Robbins newsletter, I don’t know when I’ll have enough information to do that. The University of Illinois Press has redesigned its Web site, and here’s the link to the new page for Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story: http://www.uiuc.edu/goto/f07diekman. A bookplate can be requested from http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/Diekman.BookplateRequest.pdf.
FARON YOUNG, TWENTY-ONE YEARS AGO: On Halloween night in 1986, Faron appeared on the TV show “Nashville Now” as Spike Cruncher, a convict dressed in a prison uniform of black and white stripes. “I used to be a sheriff,” he said. “Till I got a divorce, and this is all she left me.” He swung a 5-inch black ball attached by a chain to his wrist, and Ralph Emery asked, “You mean that little ball there is all you got left?” Faron said, “One ball, pal, one ball.” Amidst the laughter, Ralph asked, “What else did she take you for?” Faron answered, “A fool.” After a discussion of Cruncher’s prison garb, Ralph asked, “Do you have a number?” “Yeah, I got a number,” Faron said. “It’s called one hundred and six thousand.” Johnny Russell, another guest that evening, collapsed in laughter. He obviously knew that Faron’s recently announced divorce settlement was $106,000.
BOOK RELEASE PARTY IN NASHVILLE TENNESSEE
Saturday, 10 November 2007:
1:00-3:00 — Book signing at Ernest Tubb Record Shop on Broadway Avenue.
7:30-10:00 — Faron Young tribute show at Texas Troubadour Theatre in Music Valley
12:00 — Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree (broadcast over http://www.wsmonline.com/) and Country Deputy reunion (http://etrecordshop.com/mj.htm)
LETTERS
Sharon Stich, who is responsible for Faron’s “Young Sheriff” moniker, says, “I wanted soooo much to come to the Book Release Party but I have a brother that isn’t doing too good so I am going to have to pass. It would have been an exciting time I know. Give my best to those that are there and I will be thinking of you all. God Bless.”
My brother, SGT Ron Diekman, writes from Balad, Iraq, “I’m where I’m going to be for the winter, living in a trailer with concrete anti-mortar barriers all around. I’ve been up here for a couple of days now after a fairly smooth mobilization process starting departing Rapid City SD down to Ft. Benning GA for a record 5 days before deployment to theater. We spent around 3 days in Kuwait at Camp Beuhring and then flew up here to Balad a couple of days ago on a comfy C-130 courtesy of the Air Force. . . . I’ll spend my free time today going through my gear and getting all my flight equipment/body armor/survival equipment all put together and mission ready for being a flight engineer on a C-23 Sherpa cargo airplane.”
Fred Vail, president of Treasure Isle Recorders, Inc. in Nashville, writes, “The fans have certainly embraced ‘Live, Fast, Love Hard’–the book you worked so long and diligently on. I try to read your regular e-mails and now that Faron is completed I assume your attention has begun to turn to the Marty Robbins book. I wish you equal success on it. . . . Marty–more than most–had a special gift for embracing a song–even though he was often competing with the original ‘pop’ release, and, in the case of ‘Singing The Blues,’ his competition came from within his own label, Columbia:)”
Jessica Jacobson says, “Just wanted to let you know that I made a request at my local library that they buy your book.”
Gloria Oren writes, “Thought you’d be interested to know that the King County Library System purchased your book ‘Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story,’ and it is now available for loan. Just got notice in the new book alert I get from them. This is the library system that serves King County in Washington State. So you never know where your books will end up.”
John Morris in Canada says, “We are just about to start the last chapter of your great book. I will say this and have said it many times to people I know. If you call yourself a true Faron fan like me then you have to get this wonderful book that is a fair portrait of his colorful life. You did a fantastic job Diane and the book deserves the 5 star rating it is getting. Now more Faron news for you. Bear Family is putting out 4 DVDS of the TV show Country Style USA for the US Army. Faron has shows on the first 3 seasons but season 4 is all his own. I can’t wait to get it. Again great job and congratulations.”