PureCountryMusic.Com Blog

It seems that everybody wants to revert to using Hank Williams as the ultimate example of a life wasted by drugs and alcohol. But I say consider Faron Young. Faron Young was constantly belittled and abused by his father. His father doted on the rest of the children, but he treated Faron like he was not officially part of the family. When his fame started to take off, so did his drinking. I think there was alot of mental anguish that was caused by his dad, and that led to his alcoholism. He would go on week long binges to battle his depression. And when that wasn’t enough he would threaten to kill himself and his wife. His wife called the police several times, scared of what he might do. He was notorious for his mood swings. One minute he was the nicest and the most generous person you would ever meet, but then he would fly off the hand, and would become your worst enemy. His condition sounded like he was bi-polar. His only redeeming quality was that he had an incredilble sense of humor. It seems that if he was able to notice his state early in his life, the pain that he caused himself could have been avoided. The pain was more that he could bear, so on December 10, 1996 he committed suicide. It seems whatever he tried to do to kill himself, never did the trick. So he became the enabler. His is truly a tragic story. He is still one of the greats, but he could have been greater.