- Ned Fairchild
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Ned Fairchild is the pen name of Nelda Fairchild (born August 26, 1929 in Burley, Idaho) an American songwriter.[1] Her best known work is the hit rock'n'roll hit "Twenty Flight Rock".
She was an AMI staff songwriter who variously wrote and performed as Ned Fairchild and Sunny Bingo. Born Nelda Fairchild, she and her sister Teena (real name Ella) began performing at ages 4 and 5 as a sister act on various radio shows. As teenagers living in Southern California, they worked regularly and were cast members on Foreman Phillips' musical variety show in Compton, California. By the 1950s, Sunny and Teena were appearing as The Southern Belles, appearing on Town Hall Party with Merle Travis and other early TV music stars. Travis introduced Nelda to AMI President Irv Cross, who made her a staff writer, one of a very few.
Her first marriage at age 15 in 1944 was to Jack B. Farnsworth. He fought in the South Pacific during World War II, was disabled by malaria, and came home a war hero. They divorced, leaving Nelda a single mother of a four-year-old son, Jack D. Farnsworth.
She met and married Richard “Bing” Bingo in 1950. Together they had two children, Jill and Frank, and Sunny’s song writing and poetry proliferated. She was often on the road selling her songs and singing in bars and lounges with a small band. Bing died in 2002. Her son, Jack, died in July, 2011.
In 2006 she published the autobiographical book Sing or Cry - My life in verse.[2] Fairchild is the subject of a documentary due for release in 2008.
Songs written by Ned Fairchild
- "Twenty Flight Rock" performed by Eddie Cochran
- "Freddie the Little Fir Tree" (Ned Fairchild/Merle Travis) performed by Gene Autry
- "I Took Him From You" performed by the DeJohn Sisters
- "Too in Love" (Ned Fairchild/Merle Travis) performed by Hank Thompson
- "Since You Said Goodbye"
References
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