Johnny Paycheck
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Johnny PayCheck | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Donald Eugene Lytle |
Also known as | Donny Young |
Born | Greenfield, Ohio, U.S. | May 31, 1938
Died | February 19, 2003 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. | (aged 64)
Genres |
|
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Years active | 1953–2003 |
Labels | Sony, Little Darlin', Epic, Certron |
Johnny PayCheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003)[1] was an American country music singer and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greatest success in the 1970s as a force in country music's "outlaw movement" popularized by artists Hank Williams Jr., Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, and Merle Haggard. In 1980, PayCheck appeared on the PBS music program Austin City Limits, though in the ensuing decade, his music career slowed due to drug, alcohol, and legal problems. He served a prison sentence in the early 1990s, and his declining health effectively ended his career in early 2000. In autographs, PayCheck signed his name "PayCheck" with the camel case C.
Early life
Johnny PayCheck was born Donald Eugene Lytle on May 31, 1938, in Greenfield, Ohio.[2] By age 9, Lytle was already playing in talent contests. He was singing professionally by age 15.[3]
Career
After a stint in the Navy in the 1950s, he relocated to
In 1964, he changed his name legally to Johnny PayCheck, taking the name from Johnny Paychek, a top-ranked boxer from Chicago who once fought Joe Louis for the heavyweight title (and not directly as a humorous alternative to Johnny Cash, as is commonly believed).[5] He first charted under his new name with "A-11" in 1965. His bestselling single from this period was "She's All I Got", which reached No. 2 on the US country singles charts in 1971 and made it onto the Billboard Hot 100. His "Mr. Lovemaker" also reached No. 2 on the US country singles chart in 1973. But with the popularity of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in the mid-1970s, PayCheck changed his image to that of outlaw, with which he was to have his largest financial success. [citation needed]
His producer Billy Sherrill helped revive his career by significantly changing his sound and image. 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.[citation needed]
A member of the Grand Ole Opry, PayCheck is best remembered for his 1977 hit single, "Take This Job and Shove It", written by David Allan Coe, which sold over two 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 "I'm the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised)" were other hits for PayCheck during this period. He received an Academy of Country Music Career Achievement award in 1977.
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.[6]
— Johnny Paycheck
The most successful of his later singles, released during his appeal, was "Old Violin", which reached No. 21 on the country chart in 1986. His last album to chart was "Modern Times" in 1987. He continued to release albums, the last of which, Remembering, appeared in 2002. He continued to perform and tour until the late 1990s. Shortly before his retirement, in 1997, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry; in a rare exception to protocol, Opry general manager Bob Whittaker personally invited PayCheck to join instead of having another member do the invitation.[7]
Record companies
With his producer,
Personal life
PayCheck was married; he and his wife Sharon Rae[2] had a son Jonathan.[9]
Legal troubles
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In the 1950s, he was court-martialed and imprisoned for two years for assaulting a naval officer.[2]
In 1981, PayCheck was arrested on accusations of statutory rape of a 12-year-old girl in
In December 1985, PayCheck was convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail for shooting a man at the North High Lounge in
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.
— Johnny PayCheck, after his release from prison[2]
In 1990, he filed for bankruptcy after tax problems with the Internal Revenue Service, including a $300,000 lien.[9]
Health issues and death
Although PayCheck was addicted to drugs and alcohol during his career, he later was said to have "put his life in order"[12] after his prison stay.
After 2000, his health would only allow for short appearances. Contracting emphysema and asthma[3] after a lengthy illness, PayCheck died at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2003, aged 64. He was survived by his son Jonathan PayCheck.[13]
He was buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville; reportedly the plot was paid for by George Jones. Among the two-hundred-some attendees at Paycheck’s memorial were Jones, Little Jimmy Dickens, and a sizable grouping contingent of Hells Angels, admirers of the hard-living Paycheck. “By and large, it was the roughest-looking funeral crowd I have ever seen,” the “Nashville Skyline” columnist wrote in CMT.[4]
Legacy
A tribute album, Touch My Heart: a Tribute to Johnny PayCheck, was released in 2004 on the Sugar Hill Label. Produced by Robbie Fulks, the album features George Jones, Marshall Crenshaw, Hank Williams III, Al Anderson, Dallas Wayne, Neko Case, Gail Davies and Fulks himself covering some of PayCheck's best-known songs. In his song "Grand Ole Opry (Ain't So Grand Anymore)", Hank Williams III praises PayCheck (along with Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Hank Williams Jr.) as a "real rebel" the Grand Ole Opry only reluctantly inducted. [citation needed]
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.[This quote needs a citation]
— Johnny PayCheck
His song "It Won't Be Long (And I'll Be Hating You)" appears in the open-world action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto V.[14]
His song "(Pardon Me) I've Got Someone to Kill" is covered on the album All the Way by Diamanda Galás.
An episode of Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus features an account of PayCheck's life and rise to fame during the Outlaw country movement.
Discography
References
- ^ Cooper, Daniel. (1998). The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 408.
- ^ a b c d Gerome, John (February 20, 2003). "Singer-Songwriter Johnny PayCheck Dies at 64". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Johnny PayCheck Dead At Age 64". CBSnews.com. Associated Press. February 20, 2003. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ a b Bengal, Rebecca (December 13, 2022). "Will the Real Mr. Heartache Please Stand Up and Cry?". No. 119. Oxford American. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
- ^ "Obituary: 'Johnny Paycheck: Hell-raising country singer'". independent.co.uk. February 21, 2003. Archived from the original on June 14, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
- ^ a b Billboard Staff (March 27, 2002). "New Compilation Pays Homage To Johnny Paycheck". Billboard.com. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ^ "Grand Ole Opry now in its 72nd year". country.com. January 19, 1998. Archived from the original on January 19, 1998. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ "Certron Album Discography". Bsnpubs.com. May 26, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f "Singer Johnny Paycheck faces extradition for sex with minor". UPI.com. United Press International. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ "Singer pleads no contest to sexual assault charge". UPI.com. United Press International. Retrieved February 19, 2021.
- ^ Dennis, Paul W. (March 4, 2010). "Forgotten Artists: Donald Lytle, aka Donny Young". the9513.com.
- ^ "Country singer Johnny PayCheck dead at 64". CNN.com. February 19, 2003. Archived from the original on November 18, 2003. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
- ^ Flanagan, Andrew (August 27, 2013). "'Grand Theft Auto V' Soundtrack Leaks After U.K. Pre-Loads, Features METZ, Kendrick Lamar, Elton John". Billboard. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
External links
- Official website
- Johnny PayCheck at AllMusic