Sunday, December 02, 2012

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Donna Fargo

Artist:Donna Fargo
Song:Funny Face
Album:20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best Of Donna Fargo




Donna Fargo was a popular country music singer songwriter in the 70s. She had a total of six number one country hits and Funny Face was one of her two pop crossover hits. In the late 70s, she was fading anyway but then she got sick and never returned to the top of the charts. She was born Yvonne Vaughn Nov. 10, 1945 in Mount Airy, NC. She sang part time but never thought singing could be a career. So she earned a degree in English at the University of Southern California and became a teacher at Northview High School in Covina, CA. She was still singing in local clubs and was spotted by Stan Silver. He became her manager and the two were married in 1968. Donna recorded a few singles for small labels but had little success until Dot Records picked up The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA for national distribution and signed her to a contract in 1972. That song topped the Country Singles chart and reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Funny Face did even better as it topped the Country Singles chart and reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. And the 1972 album The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA was certified Gold. Donna wrote both songs. She continued to have success on the country charts with songs like Superman, You Were Always There and You Can't Be A Beacon if Your Light Don't Shine. But by 1975, Dot parent company Paramount Pictures was looking to get out of the record business and the company was sold to ABC Records in 1976. Donna left for Warner Bros. and her final number one country hit That Was Yesterday was from the 1977 album Fargo Country. This budget CD has all of Donna's Dot hits. Donna hosted her own TV variety show in 1978. By the late 70s, her recording career was already fading. But then she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and she was forced to come off the road. She left Warner Bros. in 1980 and recorded for MCA/Songbird, RCA, Cleveland/Columbia and Mercury in the 80s. Donna Fargo has written several books of poetry and also has a successful line of greeting cards. She was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2010. Here's Donna Fargo performing Funny Face 1972.

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