Hoyt Axton

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

He was a guest performer in *Hee Haw*.

## Biography

Axton was born in Duncan, Oklahoma, the son of a naval officer and his English teacher wife. Raised primarily in Jacksonville, Florida, he studied classical piano as a child before switching to guitar, writing his first songs at fifteen. Despite the musical impact of his mother, Mae Boren Axton, the co-author of Elvis Presley's landmark 1956 chart-topper "Heartbreak Hotel", he initially pursued a career in athletics, attending Oklahoma State University on a football scholarship before serving a stint in the Navy. From there, Axton relocated to San Francisco, performing at local folk clubs and in 1962 writing his first hit, the Kingston Trio's "Greenback Dollar". Later that year he issued his first album, *The Balladeer*, a live effort recorded at the Hollywood nightspot the Troubadour; a concurrent appearance on the television western *Bonanza* also launched his acting career.

Axton resurfaced in 1963 with *Thunder 'N Lightnin'*, followed later that year by *Saturday's Child*; around that same time one of his best friends suffered a fatal drug overdose, inspiring his song "The Pusher", a hit for the rock band Steppenwolf, subsequently included on the soundtrack to the film *Easy Rider*. Despite his success as a songwriter, Axton's performing career failed to catch fire, and after 1965's *Sings Bessie Smith* he was without a recording contract for several years before signing to Columbia in 1969 to issue *My Griffin Is Gone*. While opening for Three Dog Night in support of the album, the band heard his composition "Joy to the World", their recording of the song topped the pop charts in the spring of 1971, and early the following year they returned to the Top Ten with Axton's "Never Been to Spain". He signed to A&M to release 1973's *Less Than the Song*; the follow-up, *Life Machine*, launched two of his biggest solo hits, the lovely "When the Morning Comes" (a duet with Linda Ronstadt) and "Boney Fingers". In 1975, Ringo Starr also notched a Top Three smash with Axton's "The No No Song".

Following the much-acclaimed 1977 album *Snowblind Friend*, Axton completed his deal with MCA with the release of *Free Sailin'*; he then formed his own label, Jeremiah Records, and with 1979's *A Rusty Old Halo*, scored his biggest solo hit with the classic "Della and the Dealer". In the wake of appearances in dozens of television series including *I Dream of Jeannie* and *McCloud*, he landed his first major film work that same year in the acclaimed family drama *The Black Stallion*. Axton's subsequent movie roles included co-starring appearances in projects including 1983's *Heart Like a Wheel*, 1984's *Gremlins*, and 1989's *We're No Angels*. After 1982's *Pistol Packin' Mama*, Jeremiah folded, and Axton was noticeably absent from recording until issuing the comeback album *Spin of the Wheel* in 1990. The LP was Axton's last major new release, however, and in 1996 he suffered a stroke; his health continued to decline, and after a series of heart attacks he died at the age of 61.