Hoyt Axton

At 61 years old, Hoyt Axton has this physical status:

Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American folk music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and a film and television actor.

He made his name as a folk singer with an earthy look and a soaring voice in the early 1960s, emerging himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and a booming voice.

As he matured, some of his songwriting became well-known around the world.

"Joy to the World," "The Pusher," "No No Song," "Greenback Dollar," "Della and the Dealer," and "Never Been to Spain" were among them.

Early life

Axton, a native of Duncan, Oklahoma, and his brother, John, spent their teen years in Comanche, Oklahoma. Mae Boren Axton, a songwriter, co-wrote the classic rock 'n' roll hit "Heartbreak Hotel," which became a major hit for Elvis Presley. Presley also recorded some of Hoyt's own songs. John Thomas Axton, Axton's father, was stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, and the family first met him there in 1949.

Axton graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1956 and left town after Knauer's Hardware Store burned down on graduation night, a prank gone wrong.

He attended Oklahoma State University on a scholarship and played football for the university, but he left to enlist in the US Navy. Axton served on two ships, the US Princeton (CV-37) and the US Ranger (CVA-61).

Axton was the first cousin of David Boren, who served as governor of Oklahoma and three terms in the United States Senate, as president of the University of Oklahoma.

Personal life and death

Axton was married four times before the first three marriages ended in divorce. He had five children.

Axton struggled with cocaine use, and many of his songs, including "The Pusher," "Snowblind Friend," and "No No Songs," partially resemble his negative drug use. He was a proponent of medical marijuana use for many years before his wife Deborah and he were arrested in February 1997 in Montana for possessing less than 500 grams (1.1 lb) of marijuana. Following his 1995 accident, his wife later announced that she gave Axton marijuana to ease his pain and anxiety. They were fined and served deferred sentences. Axton never fully recovered from his injury, and he used a wheelchair most of the time after. Axton died on October 26, 1999, at his Victor, Montana, home, after suffering two heart attacks in two weeks.

Axton and his mother Mae were both inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in Muskogee, Oklahoma, on November 1, 2007.

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Career

Axton began performing folk songs in San Francisco nightclubs after being discharged from the Navy. He released The Balladeer, his first folk album (recorded at The Troubadour), in the early 1960s, which included his song "Greenback Dollar." The Kingston Trio made a 1963 comeback.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Axton released several albums. "Boney Fingers," "When the Morning Cames," and 1979's "Della and the Dealer" were among his minor hits. His vocal style included his distinct bass-baritone (which later progressed to near-bass) and a use of characterization.

In a David L. Wolper ABC production of The Story of a Folksinger (1963), Axton first appeared on television (1963). During this time, he appeared on Hootenanny, which was also hosted by Jack Linkletter. He appeared on Bonanza in 1965, where he performed duets with Pernell Roberts. He made his film debut in 1966 in the film Smoky as Fred Denton, the evil brother of actor Fess Parker's character. He made his name in the 1970s and 1980s as a result of his film appearances, including The Black Stallion (1979), Heart Like a Wheel (1983), and Gremlins (1984). His television appearances included WKRP In Cincinnati (1979) and Diff'rent Strokes (1984, 1985). Axton sang "The Ballad of Big Mac" in a 1969 commercial advertisement he shot for McDonald's Big Mac, as well as "Head For the Mountains" in Busch Beer's voice-overs. He appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial in 1985 and with Merlin Olsen in a TV spot for FTD Florists in 1989.

Axton's most popular songs, however, were "Joy to the World" and "Never Been to Spain" (the Kingston Trio); "The Whistle and His Blinders), "The Pusher" and "Southbound" (Ringo); "The Fool" and "The Blinding Friend) (British Radioman"), and "Southbound," with lyrics by Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, Jonathan Edwards, Matthew Axton performed a few duets with Linda Ronstadt, including "Lion in the Winter" and "When the Morning Comes" (a top-40 country hit). In 1971, his composition "Joy to the World," as performed by Three Dog Night, was number one on the charts for six weeks in a row, making it the year's most popular hit. After the bullfrog was mentioned in the song, he named his album Jeremiah.

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