The Country Classics

Faron Young was born in Shreveport Lousianna in 1932, and he passed away in 1996. A song that is hard to research, but remembered by many, is “Riverboat.” As I started writing this article I thought I listened to the song on AM radio around 1959 or 1960. Listeners could hear part of American history on country radio stations, with hits like Johnny Yuma, Riverboat, Johnny Reb, North To Alaska, and The Alamo. I heard “Riverboat” on XM-13, Willie’s Place, and decided to do some research.

In 1960 Faron Young appeared in an advertisement for Prince Albert Tobacco. The ad said “Featuring Faron Young of “Grand Ole Opry”.” Faron’s genre was categorized as honky tonk music. On his “20 Greatest Hits” Album he performed songs by Ray Price (The Other Woman), Warner Mack (Sittin’ in an All Night Cafe
), Hank Williams (Your Cheatin’ Heart), Jim Reeves (Mexican Joe), and Roger Miller (King Of The Road), just to name a few. That leads me to believe they were not Faron Young’s greatests hits, and the term was used generally.

So on I go, still looking for “Riverboat” as I remember my old radio, the song, and how young I was. At this point I am sure our readers have the answers. I just have the memories at this point in time. The answer is that I should have looked at Faron Youngs “All-Time Greatest Hits” album or CD. pardon me for splitting hairs, I guess. The sound tracks are 1. Hello Walls 2. Live Fast, Live Hard, Die Young 3. Sweet Dreams 4. Goin’ Steady 5. Country Girl 6. Alone With You 7. I Miss You Already (And You’re Not Even Gone) 8. Riverboat 9. The Come Back 10. Your Old Used to Be. It was releasd by Curb records in 1999.

But what year was it that “Riverboat” got a lot of air time on country radio stations? I started listening to country music in 1959. With some help from Capitol Records I was able to document Faron’s Capitol recordings from 1952 through 1962. “Complete Capitol Hits of Faron Young” contained a recording of “Riverboat” but that does not specifically solve the problem. As I said in the opener, I already had it pinned down to 1959 - 1960. Maybe our readers can help.

In summary here is the song for your listening enjoyment: