ROOTS of Country Music

The Professional Work of Faron Young

(Feb. 25, 1932 – Dec. 10, 1996)

Career Highlights

No. 20 Country Music Artist (1944 - 1993)

Barn Dance Affiliate: Louisiana Hayride

Grand Ole Opry Member (1952-1964)

Band Name: Country Deputies

Stage Name: The Young Sheriff

Film, Night Club, Radio & TV

• Austin City Limits, 4
• Country Music Holiday, 1
• Daniel Boone, 1
• Ed Sullivan Show, 4
• Ernest Tubb’s  Midnight Jamboree, 3
• Gilley’s Club, 2
• Hee Haw, 4
• Hidden Guns, 1 -1956
• Nashville Now, 4
• Pop Goes the Country, 4
• Raiders of Old California, 1
• Road to Nashville, 1
• Stampede, 1
• The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, 4
• The Johnny cash Show, 4
• The Porter Wagoner Show, 4
• The Wilburn Brothers Show, 4
• That's Country, 1 

1-Film, 2-Night Club, 3-Radio, 4-TV 

Billboard Chart Data 

• No. 1 Singles: 5
• Top-10 Singles: 41 
• Crossover Singles: 1
• Consecutive No. 1 Singles 16#
• Charted Singles: 89
• Chart Years Active: 1953 - 1989 

Awards

Country Music Association

Country Music Hall of Fame  -2000

Career Labels:

• Capitol Records (1953-1962)
• Mercury Records (1962-1978)
• MCA Records (1979-1981)

Billboard Top-10 Singles

1. Goin' Steady -1953
2. Can't Wait (For the Sun to Go Down)
3. A Place for Girls Like You -1954
4. If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')
5. Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young* -1955
6. All Right
7. It's a Great Life (If You Don't Weaken)
8. I've Got Five Dollars and It's Saturday..-1956
9. Sweet Dreams
10. Turn Her Down
11. I Miss You Already -1957
12. Alone With You*#1 -1958
13. Every Time I'm Kissing You
14. That's the Way I Feeol
15. Country Girl* -1959
16. Riverboat
17. Face to the Wall
18. Your Old Used to Be -1960
19. Hello Walls*2
20. Backtrack
21. Three Days -1962
22. The Comeback
23. Down By the River, 3
24. The Yellow Bandana, 4 -1963
25. You'll Drive Me Back (Into Her Arms Again)
26. Keeping Up With the Joneses, 5 -1964
27. Wall Tall -1965
28. Unmitigated Gall -1966
29. I Just Came to Get My Baby -1968
30. Wine Me Up -1969
31. Your Time's Comin'
32. Occasional Wife -1970
33. If I Ever Fall in Love (With a Honky Tonk..)
34. Goin' Steady, 6
35. Step Aside -1971
36. Leavin' and Sayin' Goodbye
37. It's Four in the Morning
38. This Little Girl of Mine -1972
39. Just What I Had in Mind -1973
40. Some Kind of a Woman -1974 

*-No. 1 Chart Single

#-Biggest Chart Single

1-2nd Biggest Single in 1958

2-3rd Biggest Chart Single in 1961

3-1-23 Capitol Records Singles

4-24-40 MercuryRecords Singles

5-With Margie Singleton

6-Originally Charted in 1953 on Capitol Records 

Researched and compiled by Roots of Country Music, 2010. 

Hello Walls: The Faron Young Story 

Hello Walls

 Faron Young was a prominent country music entertainer who left an indelible mark on the country music façade. A star of the Grand Ole Opry (1952-1964), he was called The Young Sheriff after appearing in a 1956 western Hidden Guns.

Faron helped Willie Nelson launch his music career. One of Young's final No. 1 hits was the 1961 Nelson-penned tune Hello Walls.

Faron Young was born (2/25/1932) and raised near Shreveport, Louisiana. By the time he entered high school, Faron had begun singing in a country band. After briefly attending college, Young joined the Louisiana Hayride. While on the Hayride, Faron met Webb Pierce and in a short time, the pair was touring throughout the region, singing as a duo in nightclubs and honky-tonks. In 1951, Faron recorded a couple minor hits for the tiny Gotham label. After hearing the singles, Capitol Records decided to buy Young's contract away from Gotham (1952).

In 1953, Young was drafted into the Army and served in the Korean War. Assigned to the Special Service division, he sang for the troops in the Asian theater. While on leave, he recorded his debut for Capitol, Goin' Steady (No. 2, 1953). After his discharged, If You Ain't Lovin' (No. 2, 1954) charted and was followed by Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young (No. 1, 1955). Young began turning out top-10 singles at a very rapid pace starting with I've Got Five Dollars and It's Saturday Night (No. 4, 1956) and ending with his biggest single, Alone With You (No. 1, 1958). Faron then took Willie Nelson's Hello Walls to No. 1 (1961).

Young continued to record for Capitol through 1962, then he switched to Mercury Records. There his music became more polished and he charted several top-10 hits, including his final No. 1 single, Its Four in the Morning (1971).

By the late-'70s, Young's hits began to dwindle and he left Mercury. In 1979, Faron joined MCA, but he was unable to return to the top-40. For most of the 1980s, Faron performed concerts, maintained his business interests and appeared on TV shows. In 1988, he briefly returned to recording. After signing with the small Step One label, he charted two minor hits. However, after that brief burst of activity, he retreated to semi-retirement, occasionally making concert and TV appearances.

For a decade (1952-1962), Faron was a dominate force in country music and his popularity was reflected in his chart activity. During his long career, he charted '41 top-ten singles. Faron is ranked the 20th all-time biggest recording artist by Record Research.

By the mid-1990s, Young was estranged from his family and he lived alone. Faron became depressed over emphysema and prostate problems and a divorce from his wife of 40 years. On December 9, 1996, Young fired two rounds with a 38-caliber pistol. One bullet went into the headboard and the other went through his head and dropped by a window.

Young was found unconscious on a bed in his home by former band member, Ray Emmett. Robyn, his son rushed to the hospital where Faron lay in an emergency room bed near death. A turban of bandages was wrapped around his head and a respirator assisted his breathing. An intern showed Robyn the x-rays and pointed out the entrance and exit wounds.

The following day, a close friend informed the hospital of Young's living will and that he did not want to be kept alive by artificial means. Faron was moved to intensive care, where a neurosurgeon cleaned his wounds and removed the respirator, yet he continued to breathe. Faron was completely paralyzed on the left side of his body, but he had good movement on his right side. The neurosurgeon explained to Robyn that he could close off blood vessels, try to repair damaged tissue and install plates to seal the wound. However, because of the massive damage, he predicted only a 15% chance of survival and that indeed would include paralysis and blindness. He further explained the natural course of death occurring from a gunshot wound: A rise in temperature results from the kidneys shutting down. Skin turning yellow, the fever breaking and then, a few hours later, labored breathing. The neurosurgeon told Robyn that he believed that hearing would be the last sense lost before death.

December 10, 1996: "Dad," Robyn said, "I don't know whether you like me being here or not. I know you and me haven't spoke to each other in a long time and I just want you to know I've never stopped loving you." Faron squeezed Robyn's hand. The natural progression of death occurred exactly as the neurosurgeon had described. The room was nearly silent, except for subtle weeping in the background. Robyn stood with his hand on Faron's chest, feeling it rise and fall until the Young Sheriff took a breath and let it out for a final time.

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

From Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story. Copyright 2007 by Diane Diekman. Used with permission of the University of Illinois Press.