Editing Johnny Paycheck

{{Short description|American country singer (1938–2003)}}
{{for|the boxer|Johnny Paychek}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name             = Johnny Paycheck
| image            = Johnny Paycheck.jpg
| caption          = From left to right: [[Johnny Lee (singer)|Johnny Lee]], Johnny Paycheck, and [[Mickey Gilley]] at Gilley's Nightclub, 1978
| birth_name       = Donald Eugene Lytle
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1938|5|31}}
| birth_place      = [[Greenfield, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|2003|2|19|1938|5|31}}
| death_place      = [[Nashville, Tennessee]], U.S.
| genre            = {{flatlist|
*[[Country music|Country]]
*[[outlaw country]]
*[[honky tonk]]}}
| occupation       = Singer, songwriter
| years_active     = 1953–2003
| label            = [[Sony Records|Sony]], Little Darlin', [[Epic Records|Epic]], Certron
| associated_acts  = {{flatlist|
* [[George Jones]]
* [[Ray Price (musician)|Ray Price]]
* [[Willie Nelson]]
* [[Merle Haggard]]
* [[The Strangers (American band)|The Strangers]]
* [[Porter Wagoner]]
* [[Faron Young]]
* [[Marty Robbins]]
* [[Roger Miller]]
* [[David Allan Coe]]
* [[Jesco White]]
}}
| alias            = Donny Young
}}

'''Johnny Paycheck''' (born '''Donald Eugene Lytle'''; May 31, 1938 – February 19, 2003)<ref>Cooper, Daniel. (1998). ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p.&nbsp;408.</ref> 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 country|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, including alcohol, and legal problems. He served a prison sentence in the early 1990s, and his declining health effectively ended his career in early 2000.

== Early life ==
Johnny Paycheck was born Donald Eugene Lytle on May 31, 1938, in [[Greenfield, Ohio]].<ref name= WPost>{{cite news| url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/02/20/singer-songwriter-johnny-paycheck-dies-at-64/fda5e03e-635b-4634-9989-0cd609eda73b/| newspaper= The Washington Post| date= February 20, 2003| title= Singer-Songwriter Johnny Paycheck Dies at 64| first= John| last= Gerome| access-date= April 5, 2022| archive-date= November 21, 2024| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20241121053215/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2003/02/20/singer-songwriter-johnny-paycheck-dies-at-64/fda5e03e-635b-4634-9989-0cd609eda73b/| url-status= live}}</ref> By age 9, Lytle was already playing in talent contests. He was singing professionally by age 15.<ref name= CBS64>{{cite news| url= https://www.cbsnews.com/news/johnny-paycheck-dead-at-age-64/| website= CBSnews.com| title= Johnny Paycheck Dead At Age 64| date= February 20, 2003 | agency= [[Associated Press]]| access-date= April 5, 2022}}</ref>

== 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}}

== Personal life ==
Paycheck was married; his wife Sharon Rae<ref name= WPost /> and he had a son, Jonathan.<ref name= faces />

=== Legal troubles ===
In the 1950s, he was court-martialed and imprisoned for two years for assaulting a naval officer.<ref name= WPost />

In 1981, Paycheck was arrested on accusations of statutory rape of a 12-year-old girl in [[Wyoming]].<ref name= faces>{{Cite web|title=Singer Johnny Paycheck faces extradition for sex with minor|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/14/Singer-Johnny-Paycheck-faces-extradition-for-sex-with-minor/2478377154000/|access-date=February 19, 2021|website=UPI.com|publisher=[[United Press International]]|language=en|archive-date=October 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211019034441/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/12/14/Singer-Johnny-Paycheck-faces-extradition-for-sex-with-minor/2478377154000/|url-status=live}}</ref> Members of Paycheck's band told police that the singer had numerous problems with allegations because of his celebrity status. He was released on bond. In 1982, he pled [[no contest]] to continue his touring and not go to trial. The prosecution's witnesses were reluctant to testify.<ref name= faces /> He pleaded down to a misdemeanor<ref>{{Cite web |title=Singer pleads no contest to sexual assault charge |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/07/15/Singer-pleads-no-contest-to-sexual-assault-charge/2683395553600/ |access-date=February 19, 2021 |website=UPI.com |publisher=United Press International |language=en |archive-date=February 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210219090110/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/07/15/Singer-pleads-no-contest-to-sexual-assault-charge/2683395553600/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and received a $1,000 fine.<ref name= faces /> A $3 million civil suit resulted from the incident,<ref name= faces /> but the case never made it to a court.

In December 1985, Paycheck was convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail for shooting a man at the North High Lounge in [[Hillsboro, Ohio]];<ref name= homage /> he had fired a [[.22LR|.22]] pistol, and the bullet grazed the man's head. Paycheck claimed the act was self-defense. After several years spent fighting the sentence, he began serving his sentence in 1989, spending 22 months in prison before being pardoned by Ohio Governor [[Richard Celeste]].<ref>{{cite web| first= Paul W.| last= Dennis| url= http://www.the9513.com/forgotten-artists-donald-lytle-aka-donny-young| title= Forgotten Artists: Donald Lytle, aka Donny Young| website= the9513.com| publisher= | date= March 4, 2010| access-date= | archive-date= March 14, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100314085330/http://www.the9513.com/forgotten-artists-donald-lytle-aka-donny-young/| url-status= dead}}</ref>

{{blockquote|text=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.|author=Johnny Paycheck|source=after his release from prison<ref name= WPost />}}

In 1990, he filed for bankruptcy after tax problems with the [[Internal Revenue Service]], including  a $300,000 lien.<ref name= faces />

=== Health issues and death ===
Although Paycheck was addicted to drugs including alcohol during his career, he later was said to have "put his life in order"<ref>{{cite web| title= Country singer Johnny Paycheck dead at 64| url= http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/19/obit.paycheck.ap/ | url-status= dead| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20031118195332/http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Music/02/19/obit.paycheck.ap/ |archivedate= November 18, 2003| website= CNN.com| date= February 19, 2003| access-date= April 5, 2022}}</ref> after his prison stay.

After 2000, his health would only allow for short appearances. Contracting [[emphysema]] and [[asthma]]<ref name= CBS64 /> after a lengthy illness, Paycheck died at [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]'s [[Vanderbilt University]] Medical Center in 2003, aged 64. He was survived by his son Jonathan Paycheck.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ratliff |first=Ben |date=2003-02-20 |title=Johnny Paycheck Dies at 64; Hard-Living Country Singer |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/20/arts/johnny-paycheck-dies-at-64-hard-living-country-singer.html |access-date=2022-12-23 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126014248/https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/20/arts/johnny-paycheck-dies-at-64-hard-living-country-singer.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

He was buried in [[Woodlawn Memorial Park (Nashville, Tennessee)|Woodlawn Memorial Park]] in Nashville; reportedly the plot was paid for by George Jones. Among the roughly 200 attendees at Paycheck’s memorial were Jones, [[Little Jimmy Dickens]], and a sizable grouping contingent of Hell's Angels, admirers of the hard-living Paycheck. "By and large, it was the roughest-looking funeral crowd I have ever seen," a ''Nashville Skyline'' columnist wrote in [[CMT (American TV channel)|CMT]].<ref name="Oxford">{{cite news |last1=Bengal |first1=Rebecca |title=Will the Real Mr. Heartache Please Stand Up and Cry? |url=https://oxfordamerican.org/magazine/issue-119-winter-2022/will-the-real-mr-heartache-please-stand-up-and-cry |access-date=7 April 2024 |issue=119 |publisher=Oxford American |date=13 December 2022 |archive-date=April 7, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240407135350/https://oxfordamerican.org/magazine/issue-119-winter-2022/will-the-real-mr-heartache-please-stand-up-and-cry |url-status=live }}</ref>

== 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 (NRBQ)|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|date=November 2014}}

{{blockquote|text=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.{{Quote without source|date=March 2008}}|author=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]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Flanagan |first=Andrew |date=2013-08-27 |title='Grand Theft Auto V' Soundtrack Leaks After U.K. Pre-Loads, Features METZ, Kendrick Lamar, Elton John |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/grand-theft-auto-v-soundtrack-leaks-after-uk-pre-loads-features-metz-kendrick-5672721/ |access-date=2022-12-20 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>

His song "(Pardon Me) I've Got Someone to Kill" is covered on the album ''[[All the Way (Diamanda Galás 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 ==
{{Main|Johnny Paycheck discography}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|http://www.thejohnnypaycheck.com/}}
* {{AllMusic| id=p1761 | title= Johnny Paycheck}}

{{Johnny Paycheck}}
{{Grand Ole Opry members}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paycheck, Johnny}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:2003 deaths]]
[[Category:American country singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Deaths from asthma]]
[[Category:Deaths from emphysema]]
[[Category:Epic Records artists]]
[[Category:Mercury Records artists]]
[[Category:Outlaw country singers]]
[[Category:Grand Ole Opry members]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Ohio]]
[[Category:People from Greenfield, Ohio]]
[[Category:American people convicted of assault]]
[[Category:American people convicted of child sexual abuse]]
[[Category:Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons]]
[[Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:Country musicians from Ohio]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Ohio]]
[[Category:Burials at Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery (Nashville, Tennessee)]]