Editing Johnny Paycheck (section)

== Career ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=May 2024}}
After a stint in the Navy in the 1950s, he relocated to [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref name= CBS64 /> He was a [[tenor]] harmony singer with numerous hard country performers in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including [[Ray Price (musician)|Ray Price]]. He worked along with Willie Nelson in Price's band the Cherokee Cowboys. He was featured as a tenor singer on recordings by [[Faron Young]], [[Roger Miller]], and [[Skeets McDonald]]. {{Citation needed|date=March 2008}} In 1960, he reached top-35 status in ''Cashbox'' magazine's country charts as Donny Young, with the tune "Miracle of Love". In the early 1960s, he convinced country music legend [[George Jones]] to hire him.<ref name="Oxford"/> Paycheck provided harmony vocals, as well as playing bass and [[steel guitar]] for Jones. He later co-wrote Jones's hit song "Once You've Had the Best." From the early to mid 1960s, he also enjoyed some success as a songwriter for others, with his biggest songwriting hit being "Apartment No.&nbsp;9", which served as [[Tammy Wynette]]'s first chart hit in December 1966. {{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

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).<ref>{{cite news| url= https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/johnny-paycheck-36286.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220614/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/johnny-paycheck-36286.html |archive-date=June 14, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title= Obituary: 'Johnny Paycheck: Hell-raising country singer'| work= independent.co.uk| date= February 21, 2003| accessdate= March 26, 2015}}</ref> 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 number two on the US country singles charts in 1971 and made it onto the ''Billboard Hot'' 100. His "Mr.&nbsp;Lovemaker" also reached number two on the US country singles chart in 1973. With the popularity of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in the mid-1970s, though, Paycheck changed his image to that of [[outlaw country|outlaw]], with which he was to have his largest financial success. {{citation needed|date=November 2014}}

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|date=December 2022}}

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 [[Take This Job and Shove It (film)|a motion picture of the same name]]. "[[Coors Brewing Company|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.
{{blockquote|text=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.<ref name= homage>{{cite magazine| url= https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/new-compilation-pays-homage-to-johnny-paycheck-76334/| magazine= [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard.com]]| title= New Compilation Pays Homage To Johnny Paycheck| date= March 27, 2002| publisher= | author= Billboard Staff| access-date= April 5, 2022| archive-date= April 5, 2022| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220405164141/https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/new-compilation-pays-homage-to-johnny-paycheck-76334/| url-status= live}}</ref>|author=Johnny Paycheck}}

The most successful of his later singles, released during his appeal, was "Old Violin", which reached number 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.country.com/music/opry/opry-member-f.html| title= Grand Ole Opry now in its 72nd year| date= January 19, 1998| website= country.com| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/19980119131629/http://www.country.com/music/opry/opry-member-f.html|access-date=August 9, 2021|archive-date= January 19, 1998}}</ref>

=== Record companies ===
With his producer, [[Aubrey Mayhew]], Paycheck co-owned his [[record company|Little Darlin' Records]]. Paycheck's recordings by Little Darlin' featured the pedal steel guitar work of [[Lloyd Green]]. By the end of the 1960s, Little Darlin' Records folded. Mayhew and Paycheck soon created Certron Records, a newly formed recording company owned by Certron (a manufacturer of audio and video tape). The label was able to sign [[Bobby Helms]], [[Ronnie Dove]], [[Clint Eastwood]], [[Pozo-Seco Singers]] (as Pozo Seco), and Paycheck. After the move to Certron, the label was unable to make a profit and closed by 1972.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.bsnpubs.com/tennessee/certron/certron.html |title= Certron Album Discography |website= Bsnpubs.com |date= May 26, 2010 |access-date= April 15, 2020 |archive-date= June 5, 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200605194251/http://bsnpubs.com/tennessee/certron/certron.html |url-status= live }}</ref> In the late 1990s, after decades ignored, Little Darlin' recordings received recognition by country music historians for their distinctive and sharp-edged sound, considered unique in their time—Paycheck's in particular.{{Citation needed |date= March 2008}}