Faron Young was always part of my life . . . . "Hello Walls. . . How'd things go for you today?"From jango.com:
Originally known as "the Hillbilly Heartthrob" and "the Singing Sheriff," Faron Young had one of the longest-running and most popular careers in country music history. Emerging in the early '50s, Young was one of the most popular honky tonkers to appear in the wake of Hank Williams' death, partially because he was able to smooth out some of the grittiest elements of his music. At first, he balanced honky tonk with pop vocal phrasing and flourishes. This combination of grit and polish resulted in a streak of Top Ten hits -- including "If You Ain't Lovin'," "Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young," "Sweet Dreams," "Alone With You," and "Country Girl" -- that ran throughout the '50s. During the '60s, Young gave himself over to country-pop, and while the hits weren't quite as big, they didn't stop coming until the early '80s. Through that time, he was a staple at the Grand Ole Opry and various television shows, including Nashville Now, and he also founded the major country music magazine, Music City News. Most importantly, he continued to seek out new songwriters -- including Don Gibson, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson -- thereby cultivating a new generation of talent.
As soon as he returned to the States, Faron Young began turning out singles at a very rapid pace, and most of them charted in the Top Ten. In addition to recording, he began appearing in films, starting with 1955's Hidden Guns. Over the next few years, he was in no less than ten films -- including Daniel Boone, Road to Nashville, Stampede, A Gun and a Gavel, That's Country, and Raiders of Old California -- and was featured in many television shows. Upon his first film appearance, Faron earned the nickname "the Young Sheriff," which eventually metamorphasized into "the Singing Sheriff." Young's career truly began to hit its stride in 1956, as "I've Got Five Dollars and It's Saturday Night" and "You're Still Mine" reached number four and three, respectively, during the spring, followed by the number two "Sweet Dreams" later that summer. "Sweet Dreams" was not only his biggest hit since "All Right," but it gave songwriter Don Gibson his first significant exposure. Soon, Young developed a reputation for finding promising new songwriters, bringing Roy Drusky's "Alone With You" to the top of the charts in the summer of 1958 and taking Willie Nelson's "Hello Walls" to number one in 1961; Young was one of the first artists to record a Nelson song. 
Yes, Dixie Lee picks you!
The lovely Leslie Shelor posted this photo of Mountain Laurel and it made me so homesick! We literally lived in a laurel thicket as children. We cleared the forest floor and had "playhouses" underneath the thick canopy. Those are sweet, sweet, memories. My niece is Jathina Laurel after Granny and the laurel, and my granddaughter is Laurel Grace.
Speaking of Western characters, how about that Abe Lincoln? Sure enough, he graces the cover of this month's edition of Wild West magazine, with the title, "Boss of the Plains." He's wearing a cowboy hat. It's a priceless image! We tend to forget that the 16th president was a "western man," as Jefferson Davis said (in explaining why it would not do to kidnap him; he was a "Western man" and would thus fight to the death something Davis would not risk).
The son of a slave woman and an unknown white man, "Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey" was born in February of 1818 on Maryland's eastern shore. He spent his early years with his grandparents and with an aunt, seeing his mother only four or five times before her death when he was seven. (All Douglass knew of his father was that he was white.) During this time he was exposed to the degradations of slavery, witnessing firsthand brutal whippings and spending much time cold and hungry. When he was eight he was sent to Baltimore to live with a ship carpenter named Hugh Auld. There he learned to read and first heard the words abolition and abolitionists. "Going to live at Baltimore," Douglass would later say, "laid the foundation, and opened the gateway, to all my subsequent prosperity."
I was watching nerd tv on Sunday afternoon and absolutely enthralled by Richard Norton Smith when I realized he was discussing CSpan's ranking of the presidents (in which I participated). It's a fascinating project and I have to admit, I was so honored to get a letter from Brian Lamb that I framed it, dorky as that sounds. That man has done more for America and the furthering of democracy than any other person, in public or private office. Surely someone will realize, if they haven't already, that Lamb deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Looking good, Tom! You look like part of the "establishment" now and so unlike that skinny, rebel, radical, long-haired, kid who wore fatigues every day. Ah, the good ol' days at Patrick County High School! Speaking of hippies, Tom, do you recall that I dated Richard Rorrer? (Richard was the photographer for the high school paper, The Liberator; I was editor.) I can still remember Jackie Beeler screaming at Richard because the staff camera was dangling around his neck and banging against the water fountain when he stooped to take a drink.
Congratulations, Tom. The News is lucky to have you.
Ironically, Nick Nolte was born on the same day in 1940. Hmmmmmmmmmmm...............coincidence? I think not.
