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Faron Young

Birthdate:
Birthplace: Shreveport, LA, United States
Death: December 10, 1996 (64)
Old Hickory, Nashville, TN, United States (suicide)
Place of Burial: Cremated, Ashes scattered over Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee
Immediate Family:

Son of Harley(Harlan) Ray Young; Harlan Young; Doris Lucille Young and Private
Husband of Private and Private
Father of Private; Damion Ray Young; Private; Private and Private
Brother of Audrey L. Young; Dorothy M. Young; Oscar A. Young; Clifton L. Young and Harlan Young

Managed by: Private User
Last Updated:
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Immediate Family

About Faron Young

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faron_Young

Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most colorful stars. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young" marked him as a honky tonk singer in sound and personal style; and his chart-topping singles "Hello Walls" and "It's Four in the Morning" showed his versatility as a vocalist. Known as the Hillbilly Heartthrob, and following a movie role, the Singing Sheriff, Young's singles reliably charted for more than 30 years. He committed suicide in 1996. Young is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Biography

Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on February 25, 1932, Faron Young was the youngest of six children. He grew up on a dairy farm his family operated outside the city and began singing at an early age. He performed at the local Optimist Club and was discovered by Webb Pierce, who brought him to star on Louisiana Hayride on KWKH-AM in 1951. He graduated from Fair Park High School that year and attended Centenary College of Louisiana.

Recording career

Young recorded in Shreveport, but his first releases were on Philadelphia’s Gotham Records. By February 1952, he was signed to Capitol Records, where he recorded for the next ten years. His first Capitol single appeared that spring.

Young moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and recorded his first chart hit, "Goin’ Steady", in October 1952, but his career was sidetracked when he was drafted into the US Army the following month. The song hit the Billboard country charts while Young was in basic training. It peaked at No. 2, and the US Army Band took the young singer to replace Eddie Fisher on tours—its first country music singer—just as "If You Ain’t Lovin’" was hitting the charts. He was discharged in November 1954.

From 1954 to 1962, Young recorded many honky tonk classics for Capitol, including the first hit version of Don Gibson’s "Sweet Dreams". Most famous was "Hello Walls," a 1961 crossover hit for Young written by Willie Nelson. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

During the mid-1950s, Young starred in four low-budget movies: Hidden Guns, Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer, Raiders of Old California and Country Music Holiday. He appeared as himself in cameo roles and performances in later country music movies and was a frequent guest on television shows throughout his career, including ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee. His band, the Country Deputies, was one of country music's top bands and they toured for many years. He invested in real estate along Nashville's Music Row in the 1960s and, in 1963, co-founded, with Preston Temple, the trade magazine, Music City News.

The same year, Young switched to Mercury Records and drifted musically, but by the end of the decade he had recaptured much of his fire with hits including "Wine Me Up". Released in 1971, waltz-time ballad "It's Four In The Morning" written by Jerry Chesnut was one of Young’s finest records and his last number one hit, also becoming his only major success in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at No. 3 on the pop charts. By the mid-1970s his records were becoming overshadowed by his behavior, making headlines in 1972 when he was charged with assault for spanking a girl in the audience at a concert in Clarksburg, West Virginia, who he claimed spat on him, and for other later incidents. In the mid-70s, Young was the spokesman for BC Powder.

Later years

Young signed with MCA Records in 1979 but the association lasted only two years. Nashville independent label Step One signed him in 1988 where he recorded into the early 1990s (including a duet album with Ray Price), then withdrew from public view. Though young country acts like BR549 were putting his music before new audiences in the mid-1990s, Young apparently felt the industry had turned its back on him. That, and despondency over his deteriorating health, were cited as possible reasons why Young shot himself with a 38-caliber pistol on December 9, 1996. He died in Nashville the following day and was cremated. His ashes were spread by his family into Old Hickory Lake outside Nashville, with Johnny and June Carter Cash in attendance.

Legacy and influence

A live performance video clip of Young's "It's Four in The Morning" was the first music video to air on CMT when it was launched on March 6, 1983.

In 1985, British rock group Prefab Sprout's album, Steve McQueen, included the song "Faron Young" with the refrain, "You give me Faron Young four in the morning/Forgive me Faron Young four in the morning..."

A Country Music Song written by Tex Garrison mentions Faron Young in his opening lyrics and contains the lines "Got a stack of records when I was one, listened to Hank Williams and Faron Young.

In 2000, Young was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame

The cat owned by Peanuts comic strip character Frieda was named Faron after Young, whom Charles Schulz "admired very much", but made few appearances in the strip.

Unknown Hinson Declared 9/2/11 on his social networking page "Faron Young is the ONLY Country/Western Singer/Songwriter/Musician/Performer that Unknown Hinson EVER recognizes as an influence on his music", "He was the best".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faron_Young#Discography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faron_Young#Movie_roles

US Army (1952-54)

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Faron Young's Timeline

1932
February 25, 1932
Shreveport, LA, United States
1955
August 16, 1955
Tennessee, United States
1996
December 10, 1996
Age 64
Old Hickory, Nashville, TN, United States
????
Cremated, Ashes scattered over Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee