Johnny Paycheck

Highly regarded by his peers as one of Country Music’s finest singers, Johnny PayCheck has been frequently compared to George Jones. He popularized such as “A-11,” “Old Violin” or his most famous song, “Take This Job and Shove It.” Ready to watch?

Johnny PayCheck – Highly regarded by his peers as one of Country Music’s finest singers, Johnny PayCheck has been frequently compared to George Jones. Whenever he appeared on the Grand Ole Opry, it was not uncommon to see other performers lining the stage to watch the singer and guitarist perform any number of the songs he popularized such as “A-11,” “Old Violin” or his most famous song, “Take This Job and Shove It.”

Born Donald Eugene Lytle on May 31, 1938, in Greenfield, Ohio, PayCheck was playing in talent contests by the age of 9. Billing himself as “The Ohio Kid,” he left home while still in his teens and knocked around the country playing bar gigs and clubs before enlisting in the U. S. Navy. While in the service, PayCheck was court-martialed in 1956 for hitting a superior officer and served two years in a military prison. After his release, he roamed around until finally settling in Nashville.

His considerable talents did not go unnoticed, and Music Row executive Buddy Killen signed PayCheck to a songwriting deal with Tree Publishing (now Sony/ATV Music Publishing) and landed him a Decca Records contract.

Using the stage name Donny Young, the singer recorded four singles for the label that failed to make a dent on the charts. A pair of singles for Mercury in 1962 ended similarly. After his initial attempts at a recording career failed to yield results, PayCheck went to work for some of the top bands in Country Music including those of Porter Wagoner, Ray Price and Faron Young. From 1962-1966, PayCheck was the frontman and bass player for George Jones’ band, the Jones Boys.

The singer re-invented himself as Johnny PayCheck, taking his name from a professional boxer. In 1966, he hooked up with producer Aubrey Mayhew and legally changed his name. A pair of singles, “A-11” and “Heartbreak Tennessee,” for the tiny Hilltop label produced some chart activity.

PayCheck and Mayhew formed Little Darlin’ Records in 1966 and during the course of the next three years, PayCheck’s singles were consistently hitting the charts. PayCheck enjoyed his first Top 10 single in 1966 with “The Lovin’ Machine” and quickly followed up with “Motel Time Again,” and “Jukebox Charlie.” In December 1966, Tammy Wynette placed her first single on Billboard’s chart with her recording of PayCheck’s song, “Apartment #9.” Sharing co-writing credits with Fuzzy Owen and Bobby Austin, the song was named the Academy of Country Music’s song of the year. Ray Price had a Top 5 record with PayCheck’s “Touch My Heart” in 1966 as well. In June 1977, “Take This Job and Shove It” entered the charts and provided PayCheck with his sole No. 1 song. Written by David Allan Coe, what was intended to be a song about a bad relationship, “Take This Job” was adopted as a battle cry for dissatisfaction in the workplace. Hollywood seized the opportunity to produce a film by the same title in 1981 starring Robert Hays of Airplane fame. The follow-up single, “Georgia in a Jug” (backed with “Me and the IRS”) didn’t fare as well on the charts, but in late 1978 Paycheck bounced back with the Top 10 single, “Friend, Lover, Wife.” In 1996, the Country Music Foundation released a collection of PayCheck’s early recordings for Little Darlin’ that found favor with young fans of classic Country Music. PayCheck became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1997. He died on Feb. 19, 2003, following a lengthy illness.

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Learn More About Johnny Paycheck

About Country's Johnny Paycheck

Johnny Paycheck (born Donald Eugene Lytle; May 31, 1938) 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 1970’s as a force in country music’s “outlaw movement” popularized by artists Hank Williams Jr., Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, and Merle Haggard.

Is Johnny Paycheck still living?

Johnny Paycheck passed away on February 19, 2003 in Nashville, Tennessee. He was buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville. 

Johnny Paycheck Songs

Some of Johnny Paycheck’s most popular songs include Take This Job and Shove It, She’s All I Got, Colorado Kool-Aid, Old Violin, The Outlaw’s Prayer, and Someone to Give My Love To.

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