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).
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 made his way to Southern California and began singing folk songs in clubs and coffee houses. 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 was backed by The Chambers Brothers for his Thunder 'N' Lightnin' album, released in 1963. It was reviewed by Billboard in the magazine's 19 January issue. The review was positive with advice to deejays to keep a watch on it.Billboard, January 19, 1963 - Page 33 ALBUM REVIEWS (cont.), (SPECIAL MERIT PICK), SPECIAL MERIT PICKS, FOLK SPECIAL MERIT, THUNDER 'N' LIGHTNIN' Hoyt Axton. Horizon 1613 (S)
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 early 1970s he was the warm-up act for Three Dog Night; in the mid-1970s, he produced studio covers of his own music for John Davidson and in 1975 he produced Tales from the Ozone, an 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, co-starring 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. During this time he also did TV ads for Pizza Hut, Ford trucks, Levi's jeans, and a spot for FTD with Merlin Olsen in 1989. In 1991, Hoyt 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" by Three Dog Night, "Never Been to Spain" by both Three Dog Night and Elvis Presley, "Greenback Dollar" by The Kingston Trio, "The Pusher" and "Snowblind Friend" by Steppenwolf, "No No Song" by Ringo Starr, as well as songs covered by Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, Nina Simone, Waylon Jennings, Martha Reeves, Jonathan Edwards, Glen Campbell, Anne Murray, Patti Page, Harry Belafonte, David Clayton-Thomas, John Fullbright 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, held the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six straight weeks in 1971, making it the top hit of the year. Axton 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. In his later years he was a proponent of medical marijuana use; he and his wife Deborah were arrested in February 1997 at their Montana home for possession of of marijuana. His wife later explained 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 and tributes Hoyt 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, Hoyt 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 Dixie Lanes (1988) – Clarence Laidlaw Desperado: Avalanche at Devil's Ridge (1988, TV Movie) - Sheriff Ben Tree Disorganized Crime (1989) – Sheriff Henault We're No Angels (1989) – Father Levesque Buried Alive (1990, TV Movie) – Sheriff Sam Eberly Gypsy Angels (1990) - bit part Harmony Cats (1992) – Bill Stratton Space Case (1992) - Charlie Season of Change (1994) – Big Upton Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long (1995, TV Movie) – Huey P. Long, Sr. Number One Fan (1995) – Lt. Joe Halsey King Cobra (1999) – Mayor Ed Biddle
Several songs for the 1977 film Outlaw Blues were composed by Axton and sung by Peter Fonda. Axton also contributed songs for the films The Legend of Hillbilly John (1972), Buster and Billie (1974), Mitchell (1975), and The Junkman (1982).
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 WKRP in Cincinnati (1979, season 1, episode 19: "I Do, I Do...For Now") – T.J. Watson Austin City Limits (1979, season 4, episode 411) - musical guest The Dukes of Hazzard (1981, season 3, episode 47: "Good Neighbors Duke") - himself, musical guest Flo (1981, weason 2, episode 26: "You Gotta Have Hoyt") - himself Barbara Mandrell & the Mandrell Sisters (1981, season 2) - musical guest Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982, season 1, episode 3: "Challenges" and episode 8: "Rodeo") – Cooper Johnson The Rousters (1983–1984) – Cactus Jack Slade Diff'rent Strokes (1984, season 7, episode 154: "Sam's Father", and episode 166: "A Camping We Will Go") – Wes McKinney Domestic Life (1984, season 1, episode 5: "Harold, Can You Spare $4,000?") – Rip Steele Faerie Tale Theatre (1984, Season 3, Episode 9: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears") – Forest Ranger Cover Up (1984, season 1, episode 3: "Death in Vogue") - John Cody Glitter (1985, season 1, episode 13: "The Runaway") - Christie's father The Steel Collar Man (1985, series pilot) - Red Trapper John, M.D. (1985, season 7, episode 133: "Game of Hearts: Part 1", and episode 134: "Game of Hearts: Part 2") - Jack Dearborne Murder, She Wrote (1988, season 5, episode 93: "Coal Miner's Slaughter") – Sheriff Tate Midnight Caller (1990, season 2, episode 30: "Kid Salinas") – Ralston Cash Dollar Growing Pains (1990, season 5, episode 118: "Where There's a Will") – Claver Jackson Doorways (1993, series pilot) - Jake Mitchell
In the 1980s and 1990s, Axton also contributed his distinctive voice to a number of documentary features. He served as the narrator for two documentaries about the Western States Endurance Race in 1982 and 1983, titled Desperate Dreams. In 1991, he narrated the VHS documentary Railfair '91 and the following year, he narrated The Alaska Highway: 1942-1992, produced by public television station KAKM of Anchorage and shown nationally on PBS. In the mid-1990s, Axton was chosen to host and narrate the profile series Life and Times on The Nashville Network.
Discography Albums {| class="wikitable" |- ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Album ! colspan="3"| Chart positions ! rowspan="2"| Label |- ! style="width:45px;"| US Country ! style="width:45px;"| US ! style="width:45px;"| CAN Country |- | 1962 | The Balladeer | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | rowspan="4" | Horizon |- | rowspan="3" | 1963 | Greenback Dollar | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- | Thunder'n Lightnin''' | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- | Saturday's Child| style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — | style="text-align:center;"| — |- | rowspan="2" | 1964 | Hoyt Axton Explodes!| style="text-align:center;"| —