Whatever Happened To Donna Fargo?

If you were on the planet and in the United States of America in 1972, you couldn't help but sing along, could you?

There was a song that played everywhere, country music stations, pop music stations, easy listening stations. The song?

"Happiest Girl In The Whole USA."

The singer (and writer) of this song that became something of a "Happy Anthem" was a young lady named Yvonne Vaughn.

Who? Well, we all knew her by her stage name. She was Donna Fargo.

A Mount Airy, North Carolina native,  she was a High School teacher in Southern California and singing part-time in clubs when she wrote and recorded the song that would come to define her career.

And what a career it was! Besides "Happiest Girl," Donna topped the country charts with songs like "Superman," "Funny Face." "You Can't Be A Beacon (If Your Light Don't Shine)" and others. Donna's last Top 10 hit came in 1978.

So whatever happened to Donna Fargo?

In 1978 Donna was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. While she was ill for quite a while, she came back in a limited career role and in fact has released new music as recently as 2008. She's also written a book and released a successful line of greeting cards.

And, at the age of 75, I trust and hope she's still the "Happiest Girl In The Whole USA".