06/26/2025
Set to perform Donna Fargo’s new song for a video at the downtown mural honoring her are, from left, Loida Peterson Slate, Livia Livengood, Emmy Smith, Kandis Lynn and Ashton Freeman. All are from Mount Airy.
Submitted photo
Anyone who might’ve heard a group of singers in downtown Mount Airy recently displaying their vocal talents weren’t witnessing a performance by the latest all-female group, but one honoring an established local legend.
This was part of a special taping on June 14 in front of the Donna Fargo mural on North Main Street, where the five ladies sang the Grammy-winning local native’s latest song, “You Can Count On Me!”
The effort was organized by local resident Donna Hiatt, a longtime friend of Fargo’s.
Hiatt said she was surprised to learn that few business owners downtown were even aware of the new song by Fargo, who churned out such hits as “Happiest Girl In The Whole U.S.A.” and “Funny Face” during the 1970s.
So Hiatt was motivated to produce a video to promote the new single by Fargo, who now lives in the Nashville area.
The recent performance coincided with a “challenge” posted on the Donna Fargo fan page of Facebook, building on the fact that her new song is described as “a fun record” that makes listeners want to dance along.
Fans were asked to post videos of themselves either singing or dancing to “You Can Count On Me!”
Yet Hiatt, in accepting that challenge, learned about the pitfalls sometimes accompanying even a small production.
“I had a list of girls and it kept falling apart,” she explained Monday afternoon.
Finally she got a group of five together for the June 14 taping, which was done by Hiatt.
The video has been posted on the Donna Fargo fan page, where someone can watch it after joining that page.
“It sounded great,” Hiatt reported. “And Donna was thrilled.”
Along with helping to promote the new song, Karen Cottingham, who coordinates the Donna Fargo Fan Club along with managing the singer’s fan page and website, said the video will serve another purpose.
That is “to let people know she’s making new music they’ve never heard before,” Cottingham said Monday afternoon.
“We are hoping it will go viral and people will keep hearing it,” Hiatt said of the video.