Donna Fargo

Country Singer

Name at birth: Yvonne Vaughn

Donna Fargo wrote and recorded the 1972 country/pop hit "Happiest Girl in The Whole USA." The song became a pop and country chart topper and won Fargo a Grammy; she followed up with a string of hits, including "Funny Face." Raised in North Carolina, Fargo was a school teacher in southern California when she decided to try a singing career in Nashville. Her sunny personality and upbeat songs put her in the national spotlight, and in 1978 she hosted her own syndicated television series. She announced she had multiple sclerosis in 1979, but she continued performing and recording. In recent years she has found a second career writing poetry and greeting cards; her books include Trust in Yourself: Thoughts About Listening to Your Heart and Becoming the Person You Want to Be (1997) and To the Love of My Life: A Collection of Love Poems (2002).