Post by Rob Durkee on Mar 18, 2011 11:43:36 GMT -5
By ROCKIN' ROBIN
Ferlin Husky, who had over 50 country western hits and had three of them cross over to the pop chart, died Thursday at a Nashville area hospital, March 17, 2011. He was 85. According to The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times, he had been struggling with heart problems in recent years. He had the first of many heart operations as far back as 1977, plus had at least two other surgeries in the past six years.
Ferlin Husky was best remembered in pop circles for the 1957 ballad, "Gone," which reached #6 on the Cash Box pop chart, and the #11 peaking "Wings Of A Dove" in early 1961. In between, Husky also had a Top 40 hit with "A Fallen Star," a #24 hit in 1957.
"Gone" had a uniquely-sounding ending, with a chorus singing loudly, "Now you've gone." This ending was so popular that it was played twice to end the #37 peaking "Flying Saucer The 2nd" by the duo of (Bill) Buchanan and (Dickie) Goodman, also in 1957. That novelty record followed in the footsteps of the legendary "The Flying Saucer" 1956 record that included then-current song drop-pieces that were the answers to questions.
"Flying Saucer The 2nd" was about a monster on Mars that's killed. The recording ends with a sped-up voice sounding like a martian saying, "You saved our planet...and now you're Goooooonnnnnnneeee." The word "Gone" was heard with an echo effect. Then the ending to Husky's "Gone" was heard. But once wasn't enough. Goodman then said "One more time" and the ending to the Husky hit song was heard a second and last time.
Ferlin Eugene Husky was born December 3, 1925 near Flat River, Missouri. After a stint with the Merchant Marines, he wound up performing in the Bakersfield, California, area, where Buck Owens and Merle Haggard also came from. Husky remembered singing in Bakersfield area bars. "I'd walk into a bar and if there wasn't any music playing, I'd ask the bartender if I could perform. Then I'd pass a hat around." Typically, he'd make 50 to 75 cents a night.
Husky burst onto the country music scene with a song about his World War II experiences. "A Dear John Letter" became a huge country western hit in 1953 during the Korean War. Jean Shepard sang the contents of a letter, singing how she was going to marry Husky's brother. Husky's records would sell over 20 million copies in his career.
Some tours would follow where Husky was the headline act. On at least one of those tours was a then-unknown singer named Elvis Presley. Husky remembered this about Elvis, "He was so eager to learn how to entertain an audience, he'd watch everything I did."
Haggard recalled, "There were a lot of years when nobody in the business would follow Ferlin Husky (onstage). He was the big live act of the day. A great entertainer."
A street named for Ferlin Husky exists in Leadwood, Mo., according to Wikipedia. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010. He told the AP that he was worried people would forget about him when he was inducted, noting "This is for my family and for the many people who want to see me go in there before I die. This is a great honor."
Ferlin Husky, who had over 50 country western hits and had three of them cross over to the pop chart, died Thursday at a Nashville area hospital, March 17, 2011. He was 85. According to The Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times, he had been struggling with heart problems in recent years. He had the first of many heart operations as far back as 1977, plus had at least two other surgeries in the past six years.
Ferlin Husky was best remembered in pop circles for the 1957 ballad, "Gone," which reached #6 on the Cash Box pop chart, and the #11 peaking "Wings Of A Dove" in early 1961. In between, Husky also had a Top 40 hit with "A Fallen Star," a #24 hit in 1957.
"Gone" had a uniquely-sounding ending, with a chorus singing loudly, "Now you've gone." This ending was so popular that it was played twice to end the #37 peaking "Flying Saucer The 2nd" by the duo of (Bill) Buchanan and (Dickie) Goodman, also in 1957. That novelty record followed in the footsteps of the legendary "The Flying Saucer" 1956 record that included then-current song drop-pieces that were the answers to questions.
"Flying Saucer The 2nd" was about a monster on Mars that's killed. The recording ends with a sped-up voice sounding like a martian saying, "You saved our planet...and now you're Goooooonnnnnnneeee." The word "Gone" was heard with an echo effect. Then the ending to Husky's "Gone" was heard. But once wasn't enough. Goodman then said "One more time" and the ending to the Husky hit song was heard a second and last time.
Ferlin Eugene Husky was born December 3, 1925 near Flat River, Missouri. After a stint with the Merchant Marines, he wound up performing in the Bakersfield, California, area, where Buck Owens and Merle Haggard also came from. Husky remembered singing in Bakersfield area bars. "I'd walk into a bar and if there wasn't any music playing, I'd ask the bartender if I could perform. Then I'd pass a hat around." Typically, he'd make 50 to 75 cents a night.
Husky burst onto the country music scene with a song about his World War II experiences. "A Dear John Letter" became a huge country western hit in 1953 during the Korean War. Jean Shepard sang the contents of a letter, singing how she was going to marry Husky's brother. Husky's records would sell over 20 million copies in his career.
Some tours would follow where Husky was the headline act. On at least one of those tours was a then-unknown singer named Elvis Presley. Husky remembered this about Elvis, "He was so eager to learn how to entertain an audience, he'd watch everything I did."
Haggard recalled, "There were a lot of years when nobody in the business would follow Ferlin Husky (onstage). He was the big live act of the day. A great entertainer."
A street named for Ferlin Husky exists in Leadwood, Mo., according to Wikipedia. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010. He told the AP that he was worried people would forget about him when he was inducted, noting "This is for my family and for the many people who want to see me go in there before I die. This is a great honor."
