Ain’t This a Countdown: If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’)

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This is the last die-hard country song for a couple of days. If it’ll make you feel better, seven of the top ten are NOT country. And, since this is a country song, we get a two-for-one special with the word “ain’t.” Here’s today’s song. If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’) - Faron Young Linda? NO!!!!! Younger country music fans might know this as a #1 hit by George Strait in 1988. But 34 years before King George did his rendition there was the Young Sheriff, Faron Young, also making this a top five hit. It was written by the great Tommy Collins, whom I had the pleasure to meet in the early 90s. What can I say about Faron? (Except, yes, that was his real name.). He was a man who was musically terrific but personally one of the biggest jerks in Nashville history. I’ve told this story before, but I’ll tell it again: a guy I sat with at the country music conference said he stopped reading Young’s biography after a couple of chapters. NOT because it wasn’t well-written (the woman who wrote it later won the “book of the year” award for her Marty Robbins book), but because Young was such a jerk that the man decided it was a waste of time to read about him. On top of that, my late lamented friend, comedian Tim Wilson, frequently told the story of Young spanking a 6-year-old girl onstage. (And I’d frequently have to back him up that it was a true event: it happened September 17, 1972 in Clarksburg, West Virginia.) The music was great; the person was not. If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’) Written by Tommy Collins Recorded by Faron Young From This is Faron Young!, 1954 You can’t make hay, boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6yZpCCLuWI