Faron Young grew up on his parents' farm in rural Louisiana. Influenced by his football coach, he found country music early on. After he had gained his first experience in a high school band, he succeeded in the early 1950s, the entry into the popular radio show Louisiana Hayride . Here he met rising star Webb Pierce , who hired him as a singer. The first records were recorded for a smaller label .
Career
In 1952, the hearing producer Ken Nelson Faron Young happen to the car radio and took him in the same year for the label Capitol Records under contract . Shortly afterwards he was drafted into the army. In Korea he was used as a troop supervisor. He even had the option to record records. In early 1953, his single Goin 'Steady reached number two on the country charts. His next recordings were equally successful.
In 1955, Young was discharged from the army. A little later he made his first number 1 hit with Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young . In the same year he took on a film role for the first time. His appearances in Hidden Guns and then in a television series earned him the nickname "Singing Sheriff". His success as a country singer continued. The Don Gibson song Sweet Dreams reached number two on the country charts. In 1961 Young achieved another top hit with Hello Walls, written by the then completely unknown songwriter Willie Nelson , which also made it to the top of the pop charts . It just became a hallmark of Youngs promoting young emerging musicians and songwriters.
A year later he switched to the Mercury Records label , where he initially reoriented towards Nashville Sound . It wasn't until the end of the decade that he returned to honky tonk and was rewarded with significantly increasing sales. In 1969 he reached second place again with Wine Me Up . His last number 1 hit came in 1971 with the ballad It's Four in the Morning .
The last few years
From the mid-1970s, the successes became rarer. He changed the label again. His business activities came increasingly to the fore. He has worked on office buildings in Nashville and was a co-editor of Music City News magazine .
After severe health problems, Faron Young shot himself on December 9, 1996. A day later, he was officially declared dead. In 2000 he posthumously received the greatest honor in country music: he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame .
Varia
In 1985 the British band Prefab Sprout wrote a song about Faron Young, which they released on their album Steve McQueen (in the USA under the title Two Wheels Good ).
Discography
Albums
1957: Sweethearts or Strangers
1958: The Object of My Affection
1959: Talk About Hits!
1959: This Is Faron Young!
1959: My Garden of Prayer
1961: The Young Approach
1961: Hello Walls Fan Club Favorites
1963: Aims at the West
1963: This Is Faron
1964: Country Dance Favorites
1964: Story Songs for Country Folks
1965: Story Songs of Mountains and Valleys
1965: Pen & Paper
1965: Faron Young Sings on Stage for Mary Carter Paints (with Margie Singleton, Mel Tillis , Archie Campbell, Darrell McCall and The Young Deputies)
