Gone: Ferlin Husky, R. I. P.

Country Music Hall-of-Famer Ferlin Husky, who helped opened the door for a California strain of country and western music, and who had more than 50 charted hits from the 1950s to the 1970s, passed away on Thursday at a Nashville-area hospital at age 85.  He had a history of heart trouble.


Among the big hits during Ferlin's career, "Dear John" ( a duet with Jean Shepard, 1953), "Gone" (1957), and "Wings of a Dove' (1960).