Thursday, June 16, 2016

Faron Young

Artist: Faron Young
LP: Limbo: Talk About Hits!
Song: "Don't Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes" 
[ listen ]

Faron Young's version of "Don't Let the Stars Get In Your Eyes" certainly has a lively spring in its step. According to the liner notes below, by the time Faron recorded the song for this 1959 "Talk About Hits!" LP, it had already propelled songwriter Slim Willett into the national spotlight after both Skeets McDonald and Perry Como took turns flinging it up the country and pop singles charts, respectively. The first time I ever heard the song was in the 1980s, when k.d. lang stuck a rendition on the back of her "Lock, Stock, and Teardrops" 45

Known as the Hillbilly Heartthrob, Faron Young had a string of country hits between 1952 and 1980, though his drinking and public behavior began getting out of hand toward the end of his career. He was charged with assault for spanking a girl in the audience at one of his concerts in West Virginia in 1972. Suffering from poor health and depression, Faron committed suicide at the end of 1996. You can read more about the Hillbilly Heartthrob here and go here to find his obituary in The NY Times.

[ Faron Young: February 25, 1932 — December 10, 1996 ]

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