7 November 2007

FARON YOUNG, FIFTY YEARS AGO: One of Faron’s movies was released and another filmed in November 1957. Raiders Of Old California was shown in special screening during the disc jockey convention, and then Faron headed to New York City for the filming of Country Music Holiday. In Raiders Of Old California, Marshal Faron Young shoots an outlaw (Marty Robbins) and brings him into a California town in 1847. Faron described the scene as follows: “The worst part of it was when I finally get him to the local jail. I had to get Marty off the horse and put him on my back. It was in Kanab, Utah, and the sand is this deep, and Marty wasn’t all that light–I’m not too big a guy anyway. But I get him over my shoulder, and I’m walkin’ right at the camera, and Marty’s goosin’ me. I’m tryin’ to keep a straight face. So we did this about ten takes.” In Country Music Holiday, New York City music producers are pitting two Tennesseans against each other to be the top singer in the nation. Ferlin Husky and Faron perform country songs with pop instrumentation in front of New York City audiences. Faron’s character first appears in a colorful fringed western shirt, looking and sounding like Faron on the Hayride or a military recruiting program. The movie ends with him looking and sounding like an Elvis Presley clone, surrounded by a dance troupe while singing a rock ‘n’ roll song. Mostly a holiday from country music, the movie seemed to be an attempt to attract a mainstream market.

BOOK RELEASE PARTY IN NASHVILLE TENNESSEE
Saturday, 10 November 1:00-3:00 — I will be signing books at the Ernest Tubb Record Shop on Broadway Avenue.
7:30-10:00 — The Faron Young tribute show at the Texas Troubadour Theatre in Music Valley will include all Country Deputies and friends of Faron who want to perform. Robyn Young and his band, NEXTAKYN, will open the show. The entire evening is free and open to the public.
12:00 — The Ernest Tubb Midnite Jamboree (http://etrecordshop.com/mj.htm), broadcast live over WSM Radio 650 AM (on the Internet at http://www.wsmonline.com/), will be a Country Deputy reunion with:
Host – Darrell McCall
Bass – Ray Emmett
Guitar – Richard Bass
Drums – Jerry “Cootie” Hunley
Steel – Stu Basore
Piano – Gene Dunlap
Twin fiddles – Kenny Sears and Hank Singer
I will “call the roll” of the 40-year list of Faron’s Deputies. This is a great opportunity for fans to get autographs of all the Deputies. I’ll sign books before and after the Jamboree.

LETTERS
Richard Spooner writes from the UK, “Would love to be at the party. I stay in touch with Ray Emmett from the Deputies. I would really love the chance to sing just one song with those guys, they were the business and the best band of all time. . . . Have a great party. My copy of the book is on order here in the UK. It should arrive by the 18th of this month.”

John Morris in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, says, “We finished your great book this week and I can’t wait to read it again. The last chapter was hard to read and some tears were shed I can tell you. I ordered 2 copies of the book for Christmas through Chapters here in Peterborough. Also I have contacted the Canadian National Institute For The Blind and I am hoping they will do an audio version of this great book. Also I am looking forward to the show this weekend and will be listening wishing I could be there with all of you so have an extra great time on my behalf.”

Marie Kugler in Nebraska received her personalized bookplate and she says, “Thanks a million for the autograph, Diane.  I will treasure the book even more now with this addition.”

Tom Lipscombe writes from Canada, “Thanks for your latest newsletter, which has been posted on the Alabama Talk Line Forum at http://pub3.bravenet.com/forum/243824250/fetch/701754/. Was happy to note that you will be carrying on the Faron Young Newsletter for a while. Congratulations on going into your third year! . . . Thanks for sharing your brother’s message from Balad, Iraq. Wikipedia says: ‘It is probably best known for having the only Army & Air Force Exchange Service 35mm projection screen movie theater in Iraq and for having a full-size swimming pool.'”

Bill Yarbor in Haubstadt, Indiana, received the book as a gift, and he says, “I finished reading it last night and found it almost impossible to put down once I started. I always thought Faron was a really good singer and saw him in concert back in the early 1970’s around the time of FOUR IN THE MORNING. I was also a fan of his recordings on Capitol and consider I MISS YOU ALREADY as an underappreciated masterpiece. . . . I found myself smiling to myself as I read some of the things he said and then finding myself frustrated at some of his behavior. But I guess on that latter point there was a pretty long list of folks who found themselves frustrated with him. I think you did an outstanding job of presenting him as a flawed man but one with a very kind heart. He was truly a walking contradiction. . . . While Faron obviously had an ego and who in show business doesn’t, it seems that he truly cared about and for many people. . . . It is a great book. I learned so much from it and enjoyed every page and look forward to your Marty Robbins biography.  He was a great singer and one I really enjoyed.”

MARTY ROBBINS INTERVIEW SEARCH
Can anyone put me in touch with Chuck Morgan, Vice President of In-Park Entertainment for the Texas Rangers? He’s a friend of Marty Robbins, and I’d like to interview him. I’m also looking for:
Joe Carver (former manager of Nashville speedway)
Thomas “Curly” Mills (airline captain and race car driver)
Eddy Fox (drummer in late 60s))
Jeff Chandler (rhythm and harmony in 70s)
Conrad Noddin (piano in 70s)
Bill Martinez (drums in 70s and 80s)
Larry Hunt (bass in 70s and 80s)
Jim Hannaford (keyboard in late 70s)
Gary Adams (rhythm in 1982)
Mike Cutright (harmony in 1982)
Skip Slayton (Marty’s bus driver)
Shipmates of Martin David Robinson in the South Pacific 1943-45 (USS Crescent City, Boat Pools 11 & 15, etc.)

CMA AWARDS AND MARY KAY INC.
Mary Kay Inc. is one of the sponsors of this year’s Country Music Association awards show. If you see anything in the commercials you’d like to purchase or learn about, please contact me directly or through www.marykay.com/ddiekman. I have the products and will ship them at no cost anywhere in the USA.

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