Johnny Paycheck
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| Johnny Paycheck | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Donald Eugene Lytle |
| Also known as | Johnny Paycheck |
| Born | May 31, 1938 |
| Origin | Greenfield, Ohio, USA |
| Died | February 19, 2003 (aged 64) |
| Genre(s) | Country Music Outlaw Country Honky tonk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer and songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar |
| Years active | 1953 – 2003 |
| Website | www.johnnypaycheckmusic.com |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Electric Guitar Acoustic Guitar |
|
Johnny Paycheck (May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003) was a country music singer. He is most famous for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It".
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[edit] Early life and recordings
Born Donald Eugene Lytle in Greenfield, Ohio, United States, he began playing guitar by age six and made his first record at age 15.[citation needed] After a time served in the United States Navy (which included a court-martial for assault)[1], he began performing under the name Donny Young. The singer took a job with country music star George Jones, for whom he played bass and steel guitar. He later co-wrote Jones' hit song "Once You've Had the Best." Paycheck was a tenor harmony singer for numerous hard country acts of the late 1950s and early 1960s including Ray Price. Paycheck along with Willie Nelson worked in Price's band the Cherokee Cowboys. He is featured as a tenor singer on recordings by Faron Young, Roger Miller, and Skeets McDonald.[citation needed] All of these recordings are recognizable by their honky tonk purism. The recordings shun vocal choruses and strings, in favor of steel guitar, twin fiddles, shuffle beats, high harmony, and self-consciously miserable lyrics. As George Jones' tenor singer, Paycheck has been credited with the development of Jones' unique vocal phrasing.[citation needed]
[edit] Career success
By the 1960s, he had changed his name to Johnny Paycheck. Lytle reportedly re-named himself after the boxer, Johnny Paychek, who fought Joe Louis in 1940.[citation needed] Paycheck had his first hit with a minor Buck Owens' hit, "A-11". This recording set a pattern for the rest of his 1960's work. Paycheck also co-owned his own record company, Little Darlin' Records, with his producer, Aubrey Mayhew. Paycheck's Little Darlin' recordings featured the shrieking pedal steel guitar work of Lloyd Green. By the end of the 1960's, Paycheck had descended into alcoholism and drug abuse, and Little Darlin' Records folded. In the late 1990s, after taking them for granted for years, country music historians began to recognize the distinctive and sharp-edged sound of the Little Darlin' recordings as unique in their time, Paycheck's in particular.[citation needed]
In the early 1970s, Paycheck was revived by producer Billy Sherrill, who significantly changed Paycheck's sound and image. Some of Johnny's biggest hits from this era were "She's All I Got" (a cover of an R&B single by Freddie North), "Someone To Give My Love To," and "For a Minute There." With the popularity of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in the mid 70's, Paycheck changed his image to that of outlaw, where he was to have his largest financial success. It was ironic that Sherrill was best known for carefully choreographing his records and infusing them with considerable pop feel. The Paycheck records were clearly based on Sherrill's take on the bands backing Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson on records.
A member of the Grand Ole Opry, Paycheck is best remembered for his 1977 hit single, "Take This Job and Shove It." (The song was written by David Allan Coe). "Take This Job and Shove It" sold over 2 million copies and inspired a motion picture of the same name. "Colorado Kool-Aid," "Me and the IRS," "Friend, Lover, Wife," "Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets," and "The Only Hell my Mama Ever Raised" were hits for Paycheck during this period.
In his career, Paycheck recorded eleven songs that made it into country music's top ten chart. Additionally, he co-wrote several successful songs for other country singers, including "Apartment #9," Tammy Wynette's first hit.
[edit] Misfortunes
In 1985, Paycheck was convicted of shooting a man in Hillsboro, Ohio (after the man asked Paycheck to visit his home and try his deer meat and turtle soup).[citation needed] Paycheck reportedly responded, "Do you see me as some kind of hick?...I don't like you," and later fired a .22 pistol -- grazing the man's head with a bullet. Paycheck claimed the act was self-defense. He spent 22 months in prison.[citation needed]
Paycheck also spent a number of years in prison after he was convicted of statutory rape.[citation needed] At a concert in Mississippi, Paycheck was approached by a young girl who told him that she was a student at University of Mississippi. Paycheck allegedly engaged in sexual relations with the girl. The girl's family filed charges against Paycheck, and the musician learned that she was only fourteen years old, instead of nineteen, which is what she allegedly told Paycheck.[citation needed]
In 1990, Paycheck filed for bankruptcy after tax problems with the IRS.[citation needed]
Paycheck suffered from drug and alcohol addiction during his career, although he was said to have "put his life in order" [2] after his prison stay. Suffering from emphysema and asthma after a lengthy illness, Johnny Paycheck died at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Country icon and longtime friend, George Jones, purchased Paycheck's burial plot and headstone when he learned that his family couldn't cover the interment costs.[citation needed] He was buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville.
[edit] Discography
- The Lovin' Machine – Little Darlin' – 1966
- Johnny Paycheck at Carnegie Hall – Little Darlin' – 1966
- Jukebox Charlie – Little Darlin' – 1966
- Johnny Paycheck Sings Jukebox Charlie – Little Darlin' – 1967
- Gospel Time in My Fashion – Little Darlin' – 1967
- Country Soul – Little Darlin' – 1967
- Wherever You Are – Little Darlin' – 1969
- Again – Certron – 1970
- She's All I Got – Koch – 1971
- Somebody Loves Me – Epic –1972
- Someone to Give My Love To – Epic – 1972
- Mr. Lovemaker – Richmond – 1973
- Song & Dance Man – Epic – 1974
- Greatest Hits – Epic – 1974
- Country Spotlight – K-Tel – 1974
- Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets – Epic – 1977
- Take This Job & Shove It – Epic – 1978
- Armed and Crazy – Epic – 1979
- Bars, Booze & Blondes – Little Darlin' – 1979
- 11 Months and 29 Days – Epic – 1979
- Double Trouble (with George Jones) – Epic – 1980
- New York Town (live) – Epic – 1980
- Everybody's Got a Family, Meet Mine – Epic – 1979
- Mr. Hag Told My Story – Epci – 1981
- Encore – Epci –1981
- Extra Special – Accord – 1982
- I Don't Need to Know That Right Now – Allegiance – 1984
- Back on the Job – Intermedia – 1984
- Hell Raisers – CBS (UK) – 1986
- Modern Times – Mercury – 1987
- Difference in Me – Playback – 1988
- Johnny Paycheck - Live In Branson, MO, USA – Laserlight – 1993
- Johnny Paycheck Hits Home – Sony Special – 1995
- I'm a Survivor – Sterling – 1996
- Johnny Paycheck Sings George Jones – K-Tel – 1996
- Live at Gilley's – Q – 1999
- Survivor – Hitman – 2001
- Tribute to George Jones – K-Tel – 2002
- Remembering – Orpheus – 2002
[edit] Cover versions of Johnny Paycheck's songs
- His 1979 song, "(Stay Away from) the Cocaine Train," was covered by The Fall in 1996, re-titled "Stay Away (Old White Train)."
- "I'm the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised)" was recorded by Kevin Fowler and Hank Williams III.
- Tracy Byrd released versions of "Someone to Give my Love to" in 1993, and "Don't Take Her, She's All I've Got" in 1997.
- "I'm the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised)" was later recorded by Hellstomper
[edit] Awards
- 1977 — Academy of Country Music – Career Achievement
[edit] Trivia
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- Paycheck appeared on the popular television show, The Dukes of Hazzard, as himself.[citation needed] The scene had him playing "Take This Job and Shove It" and happily arguing with Boss Hogg when the sheriff tried to give him a citation over the content of the song.
[edit] Tributes
An original tribute song and video to Paycheck called Greenfield To Nashville can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=skavLJ33Sts
[edit] Quotes
- "I heard from fans constantly throughout the entire two years. The letters never stopped, from throughout the world. I looked forward to mail call every day."[citation needed] (After his release from prison).
- "I'm a man who believes that right is right and wrong is wrong. Treat me right, and I will give you my all. Treat me wrong, and I will give you nothing. They don't like me for that, but that's the way I am."[citation needed]
- "To me, an "outlaw" is a man that did things his own way, whether you liked him or not. I did things my own way."[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Cooper, Daniel. (1998). "Johnny Paycheck". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 408.
