Donna Fargo born 10 November 1941

Donna Fargo (born November 10, 1945) is an American country singer-songwriter known for a series of Top 10 country hits in the 1970s. These include "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" (1972) and "Funny Face (1972)," both of which became crossover pop hits. She has won major awards since her debut in the late 1960s, including one Grammy Award, five awards from the Academy of Country Music and one award from the Country Music Association. 

Fargo (center) as chief of High School cheerleading squad

Fargo was born "Yvonne Vaughn" in Mount Airy, North Carolina. She sang from her early years, but never thought about singing professionally. Fargo attended High Point College in North Carolina, then earned a degree at the University of Southern California (USC). After graduating from USC, she became a teacher at Northview High School in Covina, California, eventually progressing to head of the English Department. While still teaching, Fargo started pursuing a music career, performing in local clubs in Southern California. She met Stan Silver, who became her manager and, in 1968, her husband.

She soon started to appear around Los Angeles, California, while teaching. She went to Phoenix in 1966, adopted the name Donna Fargo, and recorded her second single (her first had been cut under her real name). Her first major concert was with Ray Price, and she began playing in Southern California. Fargo recorded for a few small labels in the early 1960s, including Ramco and Challenge, but songs like "Who's Been Sleeping on My Side of the Bed" were not successful. Although her original singles were not successful, the Academy of Country Music Awards named her the "Top New Female Vocalist" in 1969. 

                             

In 1972, one of Fargo's self-penned songs, "The Happiest Girl in the Whole USA" was picked up by Dot Records. Fargo was then signed to the label, and the single was released the same year. She was one of the few female country singers to write her own material at the time, and one of the few country singers to cross over to the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart in a big way, which she did in 1972 with "The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A." (number 11). The song peaked at No. 1 on the country music chart. 

An album of the same name was released following the song's success. The album was certified gold by the RIAA in early 1973, selling over 500,000 copies. The follow-up single, "Funny Face," also peaked at No. 1 on the country chart, and became a bigger pop hit than her previous single, peaking at No. 5. Both singles were certified gold by the end of the year. Fargo's other 70's country hits include such songs as ""Little Girl Gone," "I'll Try a Little Bit Harder," "It Do Feel Good," "Mr. Doodles," "Mockingbird Hill," and "Daddy." 

Fargo ultimately became the fifth most successful female country artist of the 1970s, according to Billboard Magazine, behind Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, and Lynn Anderson. Donna became one of the very few female artists to star in her own syndicated TV variety show called The Donna Fargo Show. In 1978 Donna was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; she took some time off to recover and bounced back in 1979. Although her career waned a bit in the 80's, Fargo continued to record albums and singles throughout that particular decade. She had a Top 30 country hit with "Me and You" and "Members Only," a duet with Billy Joe Royal, peaked at #23 on the country charts in 1987. 

By the mid 80’s Fargo's career had begun to decline in terms of album sales and chart placements. After several other label changes, Fargo signed with Mercury, and began another upswing. She recorded an album with the label, Winners, which resulted in three singles spawned from the album, including a Top 30 hit, "Me and You." Fargo also dueted with Billy Joe Royal on her next single, "Members Only,." this song became a Top 25 country hit in 1987, peaking at No. 23. In 1991, she released the song "Soldier Boy," a reference to the Gulf War which was going on at the time. The song was Fargo's last charting single. That same years Donna Fargo and her husband, Stan Silver, were declared bankrupt. 

After several years without a full-length recording, in 1992, Fargo began work on her autobiography. In 2008 she released the CD single "We Can Do Better in America." Although in retirement she has her own successful line of greeting cards and has written several books of poetry. She also has been busy with book signings, radio and television interviews and writing projects. 

During December 2017 Donna suffered a stroke which landed her in a hospital intensive-care unit. She recovered after a long period of therapy, but tragedy struck again this year when both Donna and her husband caught Covid which resulted in his death in April. She is still active at present on her Facebook page. 

(Edited from Wikipedia, IMDb and donnafargo.com)