Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voice. Among his best-known songs are "Joy to the World", "The Pusher", "No No Song", "Greenback Dollar", "Della and the Dealer", "Never Been to Spain", and "Boney Fingers".
He was also a prolific character actor with many film and television roles to his credit, playing a father figure in a number of films, including The Black Stallion (1979), Heart Like a Wheel (1983), and Gremlins (1984).
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Early life
Born in Duncan, Oklahoma, Axton spent his preteen years in Comanche, Oklahoma, with his brother John. His mother Mae Boren Axton, a songwriter, cowrote the song "Heartbreak Hotel", which became a major hit for Elvis Presley. Some of Hoyt's own songs were later recorded by Presley. Axton's father John Thomas Axton was a naval officer stationed in Jacksonville, Florida, where the family joined him in 1949.
Axton graduated from High School in 1956 and left town after being involved in the burning of a hardware store that was started as a misguided prank.
He attended Oklahoma State University on a scholarship, where he played football, but he left to enlist in the U.S. Navy. Axton held the rank of petty officer second class and served on two ships, the USS Princeton (CV-37) and the USS Ranger (CVA-61).
Axton was a distant cousin of musician Arlo Guthrie. He was also the first cousin of David Boren, who served as governor of Oklahoma and three terms in the United States Senate and was also president of the University of Oklahoma.
Career
After his discharge from the Navy, Axton began singing folk songs in coffee houses and nightclubs in Southern California. In the early 1960s, he released his first folk album, The Balladeer (recorded at the Troubadour), which included his song "Greenback Dollar". It became a 1963 hit for the Kingston Trio.
Axton released numerous albums throughout the 1960s and 1970s through Vee-Jay, Capitol, A&M, MCA, and other labels, and on his own Jeremiah Records, which he founded in 1978. In the mid-1970s, he produced studio covers of his own music for John Davidson and also produced Tales from the Ozone, a 1975 album by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. He released many minor hits of his own, such as "Boney Fingers", "When the Morning Comes", and 1979's "Della and the Dealer". His vocal style featured his distinctive bass-baritone (which later deepened to near-bass) and use of characterization.
Axton first appeared on television in a David L. Wolper ABC production of The Story of a Folksinger (1963). He appeared on Hootenanny, hosted by Jack Linkletter, during this period. In 1965, he appeared in an episode of Bonanza in which he sang duets with Pernell Roberts. In 1966, he made his film debut in Smoky, playing the role of Fred Denton, the evil brother of the character played by Fess Parker. He gained fame in the 1970s and 1980s through his film roles, including those in The Black Stallion (1979), Liar's Moon (1982), Heart Like a Wheel (1983), and Gremlins (1984). His television appearances included McCloud (1976), The Bionic Woman (1976), WKRP in Cincinnati (1979), and Diff'rent Strokes (1984, 1985). In 1980, he sang the theme song for the short-lived series Flo, and guest-starred as himself in the episode titled "You Gotta Have Hoyt". Axton sang the jingle "The Ballad of Big Mac" for a 1969 McDonald's Big Mac television commercial, as well as "Head for the Mountains" in voiceovers for Busch beer in the 1980s. He appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial in 1985 and in a TV spot for FTD with Merlin Olsen in 1989. In 1991, Axton was awarded an induction to the Walk of Western Stars in Newhall, California.
Axton's most lasting contributions, however, were songs made famous by others: "Joy to the World" (Three Dog Night) and "Never Been to Spain" for both Three Dog Night and Elvis Presley, "Greenback Dollar" for the Kingston Trio, "The Pusher" and "Snowblind Friend" for Steppenwolf, "No No Song" for Ringo Starr, and songs covered by singers such as Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, Nina Simone, Waylon Jennings, Martha Reeves, Jonathan Edwards, Glen Campbell, Anne Murray, Harry Belafonte, David Clayton-Thomas, and Colter Wall. Axton sang duets with Linda Ronstadt on the songs "Lion in the Winter" and "When the Morning Comes", with Renee Armand on "Boney Fingers", and with Tanya Tucker on "You Taught Me How to Cry." His composition "Joy to the World", performed by Three Dog Night, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six straight weeks in 1971, making it the top hit of the year. He named his record label Jeremiah after the bullfrog mentioned in the song.
Personal life
Axton was married four times; his first three marriages ended in divorce. He had five children. One of his children, Matt Axton, is a musician.
Axton struggled with cocaine addiction and several of his songs, including "The Pusher", "Snowblind Friend", and "No No Song", partly reflect his experiences with the drug. He was a proponent of medical marijuana use and his wife Deborah and he were arrested in February 1997 at their Montana home for possession of about 500 g (1.1 lb) of marijuana. His wife later explained that she offered Axton marijuana to relieve his pain and stress following his 1995 stroke. They were fined and received deferred sentences. Axton never fully recovered from his stroke, and he used a wheelchair for the remainder of his life.
Death
Axton died at age 61 at his home in Victor, Montana, on October 26, 1999, after suffering two heart attacks in two weeks.
On November 1, 2007, Axton and his mother Mae Boren Axton were inducted posthumously into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Filmography
Film
Smoky (1966) – Fred Denton
The Black Stallion (1979) – Alec's father
Skinflint: A Country Christmas Carol (1979, TV Movie) – Cyrus Flint
Cloud Dancer (1980) – Brad's mechanic
Liar's Moon (1982) – Cecil Duncan
The Junkman (1982) – Himself / Cap. Gibbs / Rev. Jim Beam (voice)
Endangered Species (1982) – Ben Morgan
The Black Stallion Returns (1983) – Narrator (voice)
Heart Like a Wheel (1983) – Tex Roque
Deadline Auto Theft (1983) – Captain Gibbs
Fred C. Dobbs Goes to Hollywood (1983)
Gremlins (1984) – Randall Peltzer
Woody Guthrie: Hard Travelin' (1984, Documentary) - Himself
Act of Vengeance (1986, TV Movie) – Silous Huddleston
Dallas: The Early Years (1986, TV Movie) – Aaron Southworth
Retribution (1987) – Lt. Ashley
Christmas Comes to Willow Creek (1987, TV Movie) – Al Bensinger
Guilty of Innocence: The Lenell Geter Story (1987, TV Movie) - Charlie Hartford
Television
The Story of a Folksinger (TV special, 1963) - himself
Hootenanny (1964) – musical guest
Bonanza (1965, Season 6, Episode 27: "Dead and Gone") – Howard Mead
Iron Horse (1966, Season 1, Episode 4: "Right of Way Through Paradise") – Slash Birney
I Dream of Jeannie (1966, season 2, episode 7: "Fastest Gun in the East") – Bull
The Midnight Special (1973) - musical guest
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1975) - musical guest
The Hoyt Axton Country Western Boogie Woogie Gospel Rock and Roll Show (1975) – himself - NBC TV special featuring Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie, Ringo Starr and others
The Bionic Woman (1976, season 2, episode 18: "The Road to Nashville") – Buck Buckley
Dinah! (1976) - musical guest
McCloud (1977, season 7, episode 44: "The Moscow Connection") – Johnny Starbuck
Hee Haw (1977) - musical guest
Dick Clark's Live Wednesday (1978) - musical guest
Flying High (1978, season 1, episode 14: "Great Expectations") - himself
Hee Haw Honeys (1979) - musical guest
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1979) - musical guest
Discography
Selected list of songs
Among Axton's best-known compositions (or co-writing credits) are:
"Greenback Dollar" - covered by the Kingston Trio, Bobby Darin, Barry McGuire, Trini Lopez, and many others
"The Pusher" - covered by Steppenwolf on their debut album in 1968; this version was also used in the soundtrack of the 1969 film Easy Rider. Nina Simone recorded the song in 1971; also covered by Blind Melon, Isla Grant, Helix, The Flaming Lips and Slash
"Have a Nice Day" (1971) - covered by Bing Crosby and John Davidson
"Less Than The Song" (1972) - covered by Joan Baez, John Davidson and Patti Page
"Lion In The Winter" (1974) - duet with Linda Ronstadt; covered by Faan Rousseau Family Band, Isla Grant and Guthrie Girls
"Southbound" (1975) - covered by Three Dog Night and Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen
"No No Song" (1975) - became a number three hit for Ringo Starr in March 1975
"Never Been to Spain" - covered by Three Dog Night, Waylon Jennings, Elvis Presley, Cher, and Ike & Tina Turner, and others
"Joy to the World" - Three Dog Night hit from 1971 that spent six weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart; covered by Little Richard and Matt Axton
"Snowblind Friend" (1971) - covered by Steppenwolf, David Allan Coe, and Chestnut Station
"Lightning Bar Blues" (1973) - covered by Commander Cody, Brownsville Station, Linda Ronstadt, Arlo Guthrie and Hanoi Rocks