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Johnny Paycheck passed away on February 19, 2003 at the age of 64. |
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Discography | BMI Song List | Latest CD | Columbus Dispatch Article |
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Click photos to enlarge. |
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Johnny Paycheck Information |
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Biography of Johnny Paycheck |
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Appeared on a website operated by Legendary Artist. Date of article is unknown but information regarding Johnny's current (May 11, 2002) medical condition is dated. |
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 Born
Donald Eugene Lytle, in Greenfield, Ohio on May 31st (1938), Johnny was
playing guitar at the age of six and singing professionally at the age of
fifteen. He knew then what his dream was, and this is when he began to
search for his Star. He once said that "He'd sing until he was too
old, and then he'd hum." That statement made in the early 1980's now
sums up Johnny Paycheck's renewed dedication to his music and his new
career.After a stint in the Navy in the mid-50's, Johnny took a job with the Legendary and now member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, George Jones. He stayed with George for six years, playing 
bass and later steel guitar. Many of his fans don't realize that Johnny is
a very accomplished musician. Johnny was always known as a great, great
singer. Singing tenor to Jones' lead vocals, the playful Possum soon began
altering his phrasing in an amusing attempt to confuse Johnny in his vocal
back-ups, but the ploy was unsuccessful every time it was tried. Johnny
then worked with such country music greats as Faron Young, Ray Price and
Porter Wagoner, and began receiving recognition as a very good songwriter.
His early credits include his composition of one of  Tammy
Wynette's first great hits, "Apartment #9, & A great hit for Ray
Price, Touch My Heart. Johnny was nominated for two Grammy Awards for
(Don't Take Her, She's All I've Got & Take This Job and Shove It), and
was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Broadcast Music,
Inc. (BMI) In 1965, Johnny started seeing his dream come true, with a
string of hit records, beginning with A-11, a hard-driving honky tonk
anthem that gave him his first chart ride. & then came hit after hit,
to name a few, There were, "11 Months & 29 days," "Song
& Dance Man," "Someone To Give My Love To," "Don't
Take Her She's All I've Got," Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets, and the
great "Old Violin." Then it all broke loose for Johnny Paycheck,
when he released the song that has now become a standard, to the heart of
the working man, "Take This Job & Shove It," this is the
song that took Johnny Paycheck on a success ride that many artists never
get in their entire career.
Johnny was in demand from all the major TV Variety Shows and Concert
Promoters. This one record put Johnny Paycheck's name all over the world,
and gave him a taste of what life can be, as a celebrity of such
magnitude. With six gold albums, one platinum album, one double- platinum
album (almost unheard of back then for a country music artist), and 33 hit
singles, you would think that Johnny's continued success was a sure thing
and that the road he was traveling was paved with gold. BUT NOT SO--THERE
WERE SOME ROUGH ROADS AND DETOURS ON THAT ROAD, BUT NOW HE IS BACK ON THE
MAIN HIGHWAY. ALL ROADS ARE SMOOTH WITH NO DETOURS OR POTHOLES TO ALTER
JOHNNY'S TRAVEL PLANS. He is back and he says sincerely, if it weren't for
the fans, "I would have been gone a long time ago. They have always
stuck with me. I sing about the little guy who has  been
kicked around by the big guy." He says, "I sing from the heart,
and the fans know that." Johnny Paycheck is one of the last of a
dying breed, and there are only a few left. Johnny's fresh new state of
mind extends to his family, his new career, his band, and to the new
people who are surrounding his rise back to the top of country music,
where he deserves to be. He
has had a major role in a movie, and in 1991, received the Entertainer of
the Year Award from the major Independent Record Labels. Johnny now has a
heavy touring schedule and is actively spreading the word about the
benefits of obtaining his G.E.D., and the evil of DRUGS and ALCOHOL.
"I feel better than I've felt since I was 20 years old", smiles
John. "I didn't know how good life was. I am in complete control of
my life, and I know exactly where I am going with my singing career."
Over the years, Johnny Paycheck has truly lived all of the good and bad
that any one man could possibly handle, but he has weathered the storms
and survived, and now he is back - STRONGER and BETTER. The first time or
the next time that you meet Johnny Paycheck, and he looks you in the eye,
you will know that he is living proof, his life is full of positives, and
he is living for the future. |
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PAYCHECK WITH A BRITISH TWIST |
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The following article appeared on the BBC's website on May 11, 2002. |
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 A one-time Nashville renegade, Johnny Paycheck was an Outlaw before Waylon
and Willie had even thought about leaving Texas. It took more than 20 years of
hard-drinking, womanizing, pill-popping and near misses before Paycheck finally
made the breakthrough to commercial success in the late 1970s. The man who stood
up for the working man and proudly proclaimed across American jukeboxes ‘Take
This Job And Shove It’ finally screwed up one time too many. He followed that
1977 smash with a rapid and painful downfall back into alcoholism and drugs,
bankruptcy, a rock-bottom reputation and a serious assault related to a bar-room
shooting incident, resulting in a nine-year prison sentence. An early publicity
handout, written before much of that had even taken place, stated: 'With a life
story that fits impeccably into the "rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches"
stereotype, the only truly amazing thing about Johnny Paycheck is that no-one
has yet seen fit to put his biography on the silver screen. Change a couple of
names to protect the guilty and avoid lawsuits and you'd have an instant smash.'
The only problem, of course, is that very few would ever have believed a word of
it.
Born Donald Lytle on 31 May 1937 in Greenfield, Ohio, he was performing in talent contests by the age of nine,  and riding the rails as a drifter by the
time he turned 15, performing in bars and clubs as the ‘Ohio Kid’. He joined the
Navy, and, following a fight with an officer, ended up in the brig for two
years. After his discharge he arrived in Nashville, where he worked in the bands
of Porter Wagoner, Faron Young, George Jones and Ray Price. Under the tutelage
of Buddy Killen, he recorded for Decca and Mercury using the name Donny Young.
He fronted George Jones’s band from 1962 to 1966; it was a love-hate
relationship, both men being highly volatile and heavily into booze and drugs.
 In 1965 he renamed himself Johnny Paycheck (from John Austin Paycheck, a
Chicago prize-fighter) and, working with producer Aubrey Mayhew, charted with a
couple of minor country hits, A-11 and Heartbreak Tennessee. The following year
he and Mayhew started Little Darlin' Records, providing the label with several
good-sellers, the biggest being The Lovin' Machine, a Top Ten hit in 1966. The
Little Darlin' recordings were all stone country, honky-tonk, driven by
Paycheck's keening hillbilly vocals and the superb steel guitar work of a young
Lloyd Green. In a just world, they would all have been big sellers. They
certainly stood out at a time when string-laden pop-country ruled the airwaves.
It was around this time that Paycheck also made the grade as a songwriter, his
Apartment No. 9 affording Tammy Wynette her first hit. Touch My Heart,
another of his compositions, provided Ray Price with a Top Ten hit.
Little Darlin' folded at the end of the 1960s, a period during which Paycheck had become a self-confessed  alcoholic and hit rock-bottom. He proved not to be a
quitter, though, and he made a celebrated comeback, teaming up with Billy
Sherrill on Epic. His debut single for the label, She's All I Got, became a
number two hit in 1971 and was quickly followed by another Top 10 hit, Someone
To Give My Love To. Over the course of the next few years he was hardly out of
the charts - finally Paycheck was becoming a star. Though he appeared to be off
the booze, his wild ways had not changed all that much. He was convicted of
cheque forgery, and in 1976 was saddled with a paternity suit, tax problems, and
bankruptcy. Then, after a couple of lean years on the charts, he bounced back
with a harder-edged sound and image. 1976's 11 Months And 29 Days (which
happened to be the length of his suspended sentence for passing that bad cheque)
featured a cover image of Paycheck in a jail cell. He notched up three major hit
singles with Slide Off Your Satin Sheets, I'm the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised)
and Take This Job And Shove It; the latter, one of David Allan Coe's
anti-establishment anthems, became one of the year's biggest sellers. Paycheck’s
records were like parodies of his lifestyle, as the titles Me and the I.R.S. and
D.O.A. (Drunk on Arrival) indicated. His unruly behaviour once again had an
impact on his chart success. A flight attendant sued him for slander after he
began a fight on an aeroplane, and he was arrested for alleged rape (the charges
were later reduced). By 1982 Epic had had enough, and he was dropped from the
label.
Johnny Paycheck moved over to AMI, where he had a number of small hit singles between 1984 and 1985. Then came that infamous bar-room brawl with a complete stranger in Hillsboro, Ohio, which ended with Paycheck shooting and injuring his opponent. While appealing his nine-year prison sentence for aggravated assault, he recorded for Mercury Records, making the Top 20 with Old Violin in 1986. His appeals ran their course and he was sent to the Chillicothe Correctional Institute in 1989. He spent two years behind bars and even got to perform a prison concert with Merle Haggard, before being released on parole in January of 1991. Known for years as a renegade and victim of drugs and booze, Paycheck came out of prison clean. By 1993 he was headlining in Branson, Missouri and recording for the small Playback Records. In recent years he has suffered with poor health mainly based around asthma and emphysema. In January 1998 he was airlifted to hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, after suffering a severe asthma attack. He had recently signed with the Sony Music Nashville imprint Lucky Dog Records. Blake Chancey was due to produce the new Paycheck album, his first since 1987, but continuing ill health has put the project on hold. All too often, Paycheck's headlining exploits have over-shadowed his musical achievements. It is a great pity, for it just so happens that he remains one of the mightiest honky-tonk singers of his time. |
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Paycheck Update |
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This article came out of Associated Press in April of 2002 and is the most current information we have available. |
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 NASHVILLE,
Tennessee (AP) -- Johnny
PayCheck, one of country music's true outlaws, is short of breath
and struggling to concentrate on the conversation.
His emphysema and asthma have worsened, and he's now bedridden in a
nursing home. A bout with an infection of his lower intestine a few years ago
made it all the way to his lungs, and the 63-year-old singer has
never fully recovered, explains his manager, Marty Martel. "We're hopeful that therapy can help. He's tired of laying in that ... bed," Martel said. During his up-and-down career, PayCheck has recorded dozens of
hits, including "She's All I Got" and "Old
Violin," but he's best known for "Take This Job and Shove
It," which became a national catch phrase in 1977 and was the
basis of a 1981 movie. "Well, I'd like to be remembered by all my work, instead of
one song," PayCheck said. "But a lot of times you get
tagged that way. Maybe with this compilation album, people will hear
the body of the work." Country music at its best
His new 23-song CD, "The Soul & the Edge: The Best of
Johnny PayCheck," is country music at its best, dealing with
adult issues such as drinking, cheating and love gone wrong. It
includes "Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets," "I've Seen
Better Days" and "Colorado Cool-Aid." One single from 1977, "I Did the Right Thing" by Bobby
Braddock, deals with the pain of NOT cheating. PayCheck interprets
lyrics such as "I went home to my wife, straightened up my
life" into an anguished cry of pain. The song points out that
doing the right thing doesn't always make one happy. "Oh yeah," PayCheck said, with his now weakened voice.
"That came across good. That was one of my favorites." PayCheck was born Donald Lytle in Greenfield, Ohio. He began
playing guitar as a child, left home as a teenager to wander, and
then joined the Navy. He was court-martialed for hitting an officer
and spent two years in a military prison. After he arrived in Nashville -- where he took the name Donnie
Young -- he began writing songs and working in the bands of stars
such as George Jones, Porter Wagoner and Ray Price. Two record deals
came and went. Then Aubrey Mayhew agreed to manage him, and his name was changed
to Johnny PayCheck. On Mayhew's Little Darlin' label, he pushed the
boundaries of country music with a series of singles including
"The Cave," about the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust,
and "(Pardon Me) I've Got Someone to Kill." (Regrettably,
those early classics aren't included on the new CD.) Renewing a career
But his career all but disappeared in the late '60s as he sank into
alcohol and drug addiction. Tracked down by a record company
executive in Los Angeles, he went into rehabilitation and launched a
comeback on Epic Records, aided by producer Billy Sherrill. In 1971, "She's All I Got" made it to No. 2 on the
Billboard country singles chart, and PayCheck was a regular
hit-maker for the next decade. "I think my best times were in the '70s, when I made the
comeback," PayCheck said. "Then there was '76, when 'Shove
It' came along." His addictions and related health problems caused his career to
fade again in the 1980s, except for the superlative 1986 single
"Old Violin." He toured when his health allowed into the
1990s. Through it all, PayCheck's singing has been consistently cited as
an influence by older stars such as Jones and Merle Haggard, and
younger singers as well. Daryle Singletary recorded PayCheck's "A-11" and
"Old Violin" for his new album, "That's Why I Sing
This Way." PayCheck does a short recitation on Singletary's
"Old Violin." "I've played that song at every live show I've done for
years," Singletary said of "Old Violin." "I'm a fan of great singers, and so I've been to a number of
Johnny PayCheck shows. "I've heard him sing 'Old Violin,' 'I'm the Only Hell (Mama
Ever Raised)' and 'A-11' many times, and he never sings them the
same way twice. That shows emotion, soul singing from the
heart." PayCheck says he would like to sing that way again, but isn't sure
of the prospects. "I'm a little sluggish, always tired," he said. "I
get tired pretty easy." |
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Discography of Johnny Paycheck |
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Paycheck's latest CD |
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The Soul & The Edge: The Best of Johnny Paycheck |
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| May 21, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Johnny PayCheck, one of country music's true outlaws, was short of breath and struggling to concentrate on the conversation. His emphysema and asthma have worsened, and he's bedridden in a nursing home. An infection of his lower intestine a few years ago reached his lungs, and the 63-year-old singer has never fully recovered, explained his manager, Marty Martel. "We're hopeful that therapy can help. He's tired of laying in that bed," Martel said. During his up-and-down career, PayCheck has recorded dozens of hits, including She's All I Got and Old Violin, but he's best-known for Take This Job and Shove It, which became a national catchphrase in 1977 and was the basis of a 1981 movie. "Well, I'd like to be remembered by all my work, instead of one song," PayCheck said. "But a lot of times you get tagged that way. Maybe with this compilation album, people will hear the body of the work." His new 23-song disc, The Soul & the Edge: The Best of Johnny PayCheck, is country music at its best, dealing with drinking, cheating and love gone wrong. It includes Slide Off of Your Satin Sheets, I've Seen Better Days and Colorado Cool-Aid. One single from 1977, I Did the Right Thing by Bobby Braddock, deals with the pain of not cheating. PayCheck interprets lyrics such as "I went home to my wife, straightened up my life" into an anguished cry. The song points out that doing the right thing doesn't always make one happy. "Oh, yeah," PayCheck said in his weakened voice, "that came across good. That was one of my favorites." PayCheck was born Donald Lytle in Greenfield, Ohio. He began playing guitar as a child, left home as a teen-ager to wander, then joined the Navy. He was court-martialed for hitting an officer and spent two years in a military prison. After he arrived in Nashville -- where he took the name Donnie Young -- he began writing songs and working in the bands of stars such as George Jones, Porter Wagoner and Ray Price. Two record deals came and went. Then Aubrey Mayhew agreed to manage him, and his name was changed to Johnny PayCheck. On Mayhew's Little Darlin' label, he pushed the boundaries of country music with a series of singles including The Cave, about the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, and (Pardon Me) I've Got Someone To Kill. (Regrettably, those early classics aren't included on the new compact disc.) But his career all but disappeared in the late '60s as he sank into alcohol and drug addiction. He went into rehabilitation and launched a comeback on Epic Records, aided by producer Billy Sherrill. In 1971, She's All I Got made it to No. 2 on the Billboard country singles chart, and PayCheck was a star for the next decade. "I think my best times were in the '70s, when I made the comeback," PayCheck said. "Then there was '76, when Shove It came along." His addictions and related health problems caused his career to fade again in the 1980s, except for the superlative 1986 single Old Violin. In the 1990s, he toured when his health allowed. PayCheck's singing has been consistently cited as an influence by older stars such as Jones and Merle Haggard and younger singers as well. Daryle Singletary recorded PayCheck's A-11 and Old Violin for his new album, That's Why I Sing This Way. PayCheck performs a short recitation on Singletary's Old Violin. "I've played that song at every live show I've done for years," Singletary said of Old Violin. "I'm a fan of great singers, and so I've been to a number of Johnny PayCheck shows. "I've heard him sing Old Violin, I'm the Only Hell (Mama Ever Raised) and A-11 many times, and he never sings them the same way twice. That shows emotion, soul, singing from the heart." PayCheck says he would like to sing that way again but isn't sure of the prospects. "I'm a little sluggish, always tired," he said. "I get tired pretty easy." |
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