Ferlin husky gone

Ferlin husky - wings of a dove
Leona williams and ferlin husky
Ferlin husky family tree

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Ferlin Husky: Country singer who pioneered the 'Nashville Sound'

One of the most versatile vocalists in country music, Ferlin Husky was also one of its most popular all- round entertainers, as assured handling a comedy routine as he was performing classics like "Gone" and "Wings Of A Dove".

He was born on the family farm some 75 miles from St Louis, his first guitar coming courtesy of a neighbour who swapped it for a hen that then refused to lay. His mother hoped he would become a preacher, but he found himself drawn increasingly to music and honed his talent, entertaining fellow troops, during a five-year stint in the merchant marine. Following his discharge he returned to Missouri, working as a DJ and sometime musician at KXLW, St Louis before heading west for California, where he gained bit parts in Hollywood westerns.

He became friendly with the cowboy actor Smiley Burnette, who suggested he use the name "Terry Preston" rather than his own, which was thought uncommercial. It was under that name that he made his recording debut, cutting a handful of instrumentals for Four St

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(L) Husky's first Capitol success was the smash hit, "A Dear John Letter," on which featured artist, Jean Shepard, sang choruses punctuating Husky's recitation as a soldier whose sweetheart has decided to marry his brother. With the Korean War still underway, the recording entered Billboard's country chart in July of 1953, shot to #1, and crossed over to #16 pop. Capitalizing on their success, the duo toured widely-after Husky was officially named guardian for Shepard, not yet twenty-one.

(R) Back-up brother and sister vocalists, Orlo & Marvis Thompson, were with Ferlin in the 50's and 60's. Marvis was Ferlin's wife for over 30 years.

Later in 1953, Ferlin and Jean Shepard notched a #4 country hit with the answer song "Forgive Me John." Nineteen fifty-five brought Husky three solo Top Tens: "I Feel Better All Over (More than Anywhere's Else)," "Little Tom," and "Cuzz Yore So Sweet," his first hit as Simon Crum.

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Ferlin Husky dies at 85; singer helped open doors for California strain of country music

Ferlin Husky, a pioneering country music entertainer in the 1950s and early 1960s who helped open the door for performers specializing in a distinctively twangy California strain of country, died Thursday. He was 85.

Husky, who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year, died at a Nashville-area hospital, according to a statement on his website. He had a history of heart trouble.

“In the mid-’50s, Ferlin would create the template for the famed Nashville Sound, a sound that gave rock ‘n’ roll a run for its money and forever put Music City on the map,” Kyle Young, director of the Hall of Fame, said upon Husky’s induction.

After moving to Bakersfield in the late 1940s, Husky joined the burgeoning country music scene there and helped popularize the genre by performing with other musicians and appearing on Cliffie Stone’s “Hometown Jamboree” radio and TV series.

From the 1950s into the 1970s, Husky charted more than 50 country hits, the biggest of which were the heartache class