Live Fast, Love Hard: The Faron Young Story

14. Business on Music Row

14 Business on Music Row The Faron Young Executive Building overlooks Interstate 40 in Nashville. As travelers approach the Demonbreun exit, heading west, the brick building comes briefly into view on a hill to the left. Close up, the name is still visible on the front—young executive bldg. The original one-story segment is attached to the three-story structure Faron built in 1975. Faron set up his first Music Row office in an old house he purchased in October 1963. The once-grand home at 728 Sixteenth Avenue South boasted a striking flamingo-colored exterior and a front porch featuring Greek columns. Faron moved his fledgling Music City News operation into the building and posted a sign above the porch that proclaimed faron young bldg. Like many of the large, rundown houses in the 11 neighborhood recently rezoned from residential to commercial, however, Faron’s had been neglected, and it was soon necessary to begin searching for a replacement.1 Having a Music Row office brought people off the street to plug their songs and singing abilities. Or they might be looking for a manager and booking agent. Some expected a concert schedule that would lead to a recording contract. “I really sit and explain to them,” Faron said. “Unless you can get into a studio and record a record and get it on a label and get something happening for it, you can’t get any show dates. Because you’re only as hot as your last record. I feel sorry for a lot of people that don’t understand the way the industry works. You don’t just say I’m a singer and all of a sudden go out and start making a lot of money at it.”2 One person who listened to Faron’s advice was a Texas rodeo cowboy, Eddie Kilroy, who had parked his Chevrolet pickup and horse trailer in front of RCA’s Studio B and pitched his songs to Chet Atkins. Leaving that office after an unsuccessful visit, he noticed the Faron Young Building. “Faron Young was a superstar,” Kilroy reminisces. “I said what the heck, I’ll go try it.” He introduced himself and said, “I want to sing you some songs, Mr. Young.” “First of all, my name’s Faron,” was the reply. “Get your ass in here and sing me the damn songs.” Faron didn’t like the songs but suggested that Kilroy move to Nashville. “Every time you write a song,” he said, “I want you to bring it over here and sing it to me.” Kilroy did so, and Faron eventually recorded “Pen and Paper” as the title track of a Mercury album. “It really got me started in Nashville,” Kilroy says.3 On January 30, 1964, Faron and his Music City News co-founder Preston Temple jointly purchased a building at the juncture of Pine and Division Streets near Music Row. They and their wives borrowed $28,000 from the First National Bank to pay for what would become the home of Music City News for two decades. The Youngs bought out the Temples in May 1965 after the relationship of the publishing partners disintegrated. Faron and Hilda sold the flamingo-colored house in October. Faron served as president of Faron Young Enterprises and president of Music City News, both headquartered at 1314 Pine Street. He leased building space to tenants and ran several publishing companies, the main one being Court of Kings. He continued to look for good songs. In 1968 he released two albums, Faron Young’s Greatest Hits, Volume 2 and Here’s Faron Young. Fiddler Ernie Reed co-wrote two of the songs on the second album. “I tried to pitch him songs,” Reed says, “and he’d ignore me. So someone else pitched him Business on Music Row live fast, love hard 10 these songs, and he recorded them. Then when we were on the bus, he said, ‘Well, damn, Ernie, why didn’t you ever pitch them to me?’”4 Faron’s two singles in 1968, “I Just Came to Get My Baby” and “She Went a Little Bit Farther,” both came from the Here’s Faron Young album. Merle Kilgore and Mack Vickery wrote “She Went a Little Bit Farther.” Both men were going through divorces and got the idea for the song from a gospel tune entitled “He Went a Little Bit...