Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American folk music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and a film and television 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. As he matured, some of his songwriting became well known throughout the world. Among
Born in Duncan, Oklahoma, Axton spent his pre-teen years in Comanche, Oklahoma, with his brother, John. His mother, Mae Boren Axton, a songwriter, co-wrote the classic rock 'n' roll song "Heartbreak Hotel", which became the a major hit for Elvis Presley. Some of Hoyt's own songs were also later recorded by Presley. Axton's father, John Thomas Axton, was a naval officer stationed in Jacksonville, Florida; the family joined him there in 1949.
As a child, Axton learned classical piano but, as his mother recalled, "he would start playing boogie in the middle of a lesson". The teenage Axton was swept up in the folk music revival and was inspired by Woody Guthrie.
After his discharge from the navy , he played guitar and sang in San Francisco and Los Angeles clubs before making his first album, The Balladeer, in 1962. It was a year later that he enjoyed his first commercial success, when the Kingston Trio recorded Greenback Dollar, although their version omitted the word "damn" in the chorus.
For Axton, it was the prelude to a lucrative period as a songwriter. In 1964, John Kay, leader of Canadian rock band Steppenwolf, heard Axton perform his anti-drug song The Pusher. Steppenwolf 's version was a hit and later used in the film Easy Rider. Even greater success came in 1970 when Three Dog Night recorded his
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infectious, lightweight Joy to the World and Never Been to Spain (which Presley also recorded). Joy to the World was top of the American hit parade for six weeks. Axton toured America with Three Dog Night and treated audiences to his views on the then US president Nixon.
In 1975, Axton's humorous No No Song was a hit for Ringo Starr and he provided numerous songs for country singers such as Lynn Anderson, Glen Campbell and Tanya Tucker in the 1960s and 1970s. His compositions were equally popular with Joan Baez, Tiny Tim and BB King. Axton maintained a parallel career as a singer-songwriter where his idiosyncratic and anti-establishment vision flourished.
Axton also performed from the mid-1960s onwards as a character actor, playing "good old boy" types. He appeared in 20 films including The Black Stallion (1979) and Gremlins (1984). His final role was in King Cobra, released during 1999. His television credits included guest appearances in the series McCloud and The Bionic Woman and as Aaron Southworth in Dallas: The Early Years.
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He recorded more than 20 albums of his own work, of which the best was probably Road Songs (1977) where he duetted with Linda Ronstadt. In the 1980s he issued his recordings on his own Jeremiah label. His final albums were Spin of the Wheel, issued in 1991, and Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog, a collection of songs for children.
In 1996 Axton suffered a severe stroke which hampered his mobility. He had to use a wheelchair much of the time afterwards. He died of heart failure on October 26, 1999, at the age of 61 at his home in the Bitterroot Valley near Victor, Montana. Two weeks prior to his death, he suffered a heart attack at his home and another while undergoing surgery.
On November 1, 2007, Axton and his mother were both inducted posthumously into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
(Edited from the Guardian & Wikipedia)