Back in the 1950s, a fresh-faced country music singer by the name of Faron Young
came onto the scene and started making waves with hits such as “Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young”
and “If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)”. Faron quickly gained a reputation as one of
the decade’s preeminent singing cowboys, and he maintained a career in the entertainment industry
until the early 1990s. Sadly, Faron’s popularity had dwindled by the end of his life,
and he committed suicide in 1996 without many country music fans even taking notice. In 2008,
much of Faron’s classic material was lost in the infamous 2008 Universal Studios fire, further
calling his legacy into question. Join Facts Verse as we explore the devastating loss of Faron Young.
Faron Young was born on February 25, 1932, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Faron's
parents were named Harlan and Doris, and they operated a dairy farm just outside of the city.
Faron was the last of six children, finding himself the youngest of his many siblings.
As the young of six, Faron had a challenge standing out from his brothers and sisters.
This led to Faron developing some notable talents, such as singing. The young boy began
singing at an early age, and it wasn't long before he envisioned himself as a pop singer.
Although Faron Young had initially envisioned himself as a pop singer, this dream changed when
he and a few of his friends caught country music singer Hank Williams
performing on Louisiana Hayride, a local program broadcast out of Shreveport Municipal
Memorial Auditorium. Faron was incredibly impressed by the singer's performance,
as well as the reactions of the crowd! From that moment forward,
Faron no longer wanted to be a popular music singer. Instead, he wanted to sing country music.
As Faron Young came of age, he began performing more and more in public. He could often be
seen performing at a local club called the Optimist Club, and it was during one of his
performances there that Faron eventually caught the eye of honky-tonk singer Webb Pierce. Webb
found himself incredibly impressed by the young Faron, and it was this connection that led to
the singer getting a gig performing on Louisiana Hayride himself! Faron performed on the program in
1951, and the subsequent broadcast brought the young man to more attention than ever before.
During these early years, Faron Young was also attending school.
He graduated from Fair Park High School the same year that he made his premiere on Louisiana
Hayride. Subsequently, he began attending Centenary College of Louisiana. However,
Faron’s other interests were quickly being overshadowed by his country music career.
As Faron began making waves in his local area,
he also began recording music! Before signing with Capitol Records in February of 1952,
Faron had released a few pieces of recorded material through Gotham Records, located in
Philadelphia. After Faron signed with Capitol Records, he remained with the prestigious record
label for 10 years, during which time he released his most notable material.
Faron Young’s first single released through Capitol Records came out in the spring of 1952,
just after he had signed with the label. Although the song didn’t chart, it proved to the
label that the singer was serious. Faron moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in the latter half of 1952,
feeling that big things were about to happen in his music career. In October of that year, he
released his first charting single, “Goin’ Steady”.
While it appeared that Faron Young’s career was about to take on an impressive upwards trajectory,
things were put to an unfortunate halt when the singer was drafted into the United States Army
in November of 1952, immediately following the release of his first hit single. Faron found
himself in basic training as “Goin’ Steady” was climbing the charts.
The song peaked at number two on the chart of the most popular country songs.
When the army realized that it had a star in its ranks, Faron was recruited into the United States
Army Band. Faron was brought into the band to replace the previous member Eddie Fisher, and
he became the band’s first country music singer. As Faron began touring with the US Army Band,
another one of his singles, “If You Ain’t Lovin’”, was climbing up the country charts.
Faron Young was discharged from the United States Army in 1954, after which point he came back
to America and continued to release music to immense avail through Capitol Records.
Faron would continue working with the label until 1962, releasing many hit honky-tonk songs. Sadly,
Faron’s fame would dwindle in his later life before his 1996 suicide, and he would also
experience several controversies in his career leading up to that point. If you’re enjoying this
video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel
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After being discharged from the United States Army and returning to America to continue releasing
music through Capitol Records, Faron Young saw the most successful period of his career!
This most successful period lasted from 1954 to 1962, during which time the country music
singer released such hits as “Sweet Dreams” and “Hello Wall”. The prior song was a cover of a
Don Gibson tune, while Willie Nelson had initially written the latter song. Willie Nelson’s version
of “Hello Walls” didn’t prove as successful as Faron’s cover, with Faron turning the song
into a crossover hit that made an impact on much more than just the country charts.
Faron Young’s cover of Willie Nelson’s “Hello Walls” went on to sell over one million copies,
leading to it being awarded a gold disc. Besides achieving success
in the recording industry, the 1950s also saw Faron break out into film. In the mid-1950s,
the country music signer could be seen in such features as Raiders of Old California,
Hidden Guns, Country Music Holiday, and Daniel Boone, Trail Blazer. Faron could also be seen
on television, frequently performing his hit country songs. One of the television
programs that Faron could be seen on was Ozark Jubilee. As its name suggests, Ozark Jubilee was
a country music variety show showcasing various artists in the honky-tonk scene.
In 1963, Faron Young made the move from Capitol Records to Mercury Records.
This move coincided with a slight change in the singer's sound and a slight decrease in
his popularity. Faron found himself lost in the shuffle for years before releasing
his final number one hit in 1971. That hit song was called "It's Four in the Morning",
and it also became the singer's only success in the United Kingdom.
After the release of Faron’s final number one hit, it was a downward slope for the singer
until his 1996 suicide. Not only was his music becoming less popular, but his career
also began to be mired by various controversies. In 1972, Faron was charged with assault when he
spanked a young girl in the audience at a concert he was performing in West Virginia.
Faron had claimed that the girl had spat at him, which is what led him to spank her.
The country music singer ended up getting off with just a slap on the wrist,
being forced to pay a small fine, before moving on with his life. Faron had also begun drinking
excessively, and fans began noticing that he wasn't the same man that he used to be.
In 1979, Faron Young signed with MCA Records, though he only worked with the label for a
few years. The singer’s popularity had decreased considerably by that point.
Following his release from MCA Records, Faron began working with a small independent label
named Step One Records. He signed with the small Nashville-based label in 1988 and continued to
release material through the label into the early 1990s. Around 1991, Faron concluded that
he wasn't welcome in the world of country music anymore and decided to withdraw from the public.
In 1952, while in the army, Faron met the woman that was to become his first and only wife over
the course of his lifetime. That woman's name was Hilda Macon. The two went on to marry after Faron
was discharged, tying the knot in November of 1954. They remained married until 1986,
over which time the couple had numerous domestic spats, frequently related to Faron's excessive
drinking. Despite their domestic turmoil, Faron and Hilda had a total of four children during the
period of their three-decade marriage, with those children being Damion, Robyn, Kevin, and Alana.
In 1984, there was an incident in which Faron Young decided to shoot a pistol into the ceiling
of his home while his family was present. This resulted in some legal trouble and, inevitably,
a divorce trial. After 32 years of marriage, Faron and Hilda officially divorced in 1986.
When Faron was asked during the trial if he had been worried that he might have hurt one of his
children during the shooting of his pistol within his home, the singer had said that he hadn’t been.
By all accounts, the last years of Faron Young’s life were incredibly
dark. Alone without his family and abandoned by the country music scene
that had previously held him in such esteem, the singer lived out the remaining years of his life
lost and alone before eventually deciding to pull the plug. Faron Young shot himself on December 9,
1996. Few people in the world of country music even noticed at the time, though the
singer would end up being posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.
Although few people even noticed when Faron Young committed suicide in late 1996,
there had been a time several decades prior where
the singer had been one of the most popular musicians in country music!
Now it's time to hear from you: did you know that country music singer Faron Young committed suicide
in 1996 or did you think that he was still out there somewhere singing his songs? As always,
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