Donna Fargo’s late-70s return to the charts
Top 40 listeners will remember Donna Fargo for her pair of 1972 crossover hits, “The Happiest Girl in the Whole U.S.A.†and “Funny Face,†but country fans will also recall the decade-long tail of her career. After her commercial fortunes began to fade in 1975, Fargo moved from Dot to Warner Brothers, and reignited her chart success with “Mr. Doodles.†That song provides the launching point for this collection of Fargo’s Warner Brothers-era sides, running through 1981’s non-LP “Lonestar Cowboy†and “Jacamo.†There are a few singles missing (1979’s “Walk on By†and a pair of low-charting sides from 1980’s Fargo), but what’s here covers the core of her commercial success at Warner Brothers, including six Top 10 hits, and the chart topping title track “That Was Yesterday.†Unusually for the times, Fargo wrote most her own material, only turning to others for hits (including “Mockin’ Bird Hill,†“Shame on Me,†“Do I Love You (Yes in Every Way),†“Ragamuffin Man,†and “Another Goodbyeâ€) in the late ‘70s. For her earlier material on Dot, check out Varese’s Best Of collection, but to fill out the second half of her hit-making years, this is the set to get. [©2016 Hyperbolium] 