Known as The Hillbilly Heartthrob, Faron Young was the central figure of the honky-tonk movement in the 1950s. He also played a significant role in the evolution of country music’s rugged, post-war roadhouse tune to the more refined Nashville Sound of the 1960s and early 1970s.
Born in Shreveport and raised on his father’s dairy farm, Young’s interest in music started when he was only a teenager. But Young was more attracted to pop music than the country genre. Things changed when his school football coach, who plays with his country band on the side, encouraged Young to sing at the Local Optimist Club and various nursing homes.
