Gary Sanford Paxton (born Larry Wayne Stevens; May 18, 1939 – July 16, 2016… Read Full Bio ↴Gary Sanford Paxton (born Larry Wayne Stevens; May 18, 1939 – July 16, 2016) was an American record producer, recording artist, and Grammy and Dove Award winning songwriter. Paxton was a member of Skip & Flip and The Hollywood Argyles and was the producer of two number one Billboard Hot 100 singles, "Alley Oop" for The Hollywood Argyles in 1960 and "Monster Mash" for Bobby "Boris" Pickett in 1962.
Born in Coffeyville, Kansas, Paxton was adopted at age three and raised in rural poverty on a farm. He endured a troubled childhood, molested at age seven and afflicted by spinal meningitis at eleven. His family moved to Arizona when he was twelve, and he started his first band by fourteen, playing country and rock 'n' roll. He spent his middle teenage years touring the American Southwest with this and other forgotten bands.
Early stardom came as "Flip" in the pop duo Skip & Flip (with Clyde "Skip" Battin), courtesy of a million-selling 1959 smash the two cut in Phoenix, Arizona, "It Was I". In what became a pattern in Paxton's early career, the song was recorded first and the group assembled second: after successfully shopping their demo to a label owner, Gary became "Flip" and Clyde became "Skip", after the man's pet poodles, a "group" put together just to have a name on the record. According to Paxton, he was up picking cherries on an Oregon farm when he heard the song on a transistor radio and realized it had become a hit. The duo made television appearances, toured with superstar deejay Alan "Moondog" Freed, and soon followed their success with another hit, "Cherry Pie". After this second chart appearance, the pair split up.
By 1960, Paxton was living in Hollywood, California and was involved in a number of projects, collaborating with others as a performer, writer, producer, label owner, and audio engineer. He played a major role in the making of two novelty hits in the early 1960s and worked with artists like The Association, Paul Revere & the Raiders, The Four Freshmen, and Tommy Roe.
His work throughout this early-'60s period is scattered over various labels, mostly his own, which he seemed to open and close on a constant basis, making regular use of the five studios he owned. Over the years, Paxton built a reputation as an eccentric figure in the recording industry. Brian Wilson was known to admire his talents, and Phil Spector to fear him. His creativity and knack for promotion were legendary, but could also run to excess: once, after a local radio station dismissed one of his records ("Elephant Game (Part One)" by Renfro & Jackson) as "too black", he assembled a protest parade down Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, consisting of fifteen cheerleaders and a live elephant pulling a Volkswagen convertible. He was arrested after the elephant got scared and began to defecate in the street.
In the later 1960s, he gradually turned to the burgeoning Bakersfield sound in country music. By 1967, he had relocated entirely to that city, where he ran a variety of businesses and founded the label Bakersfield International. He moved on to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1970, and in 1971, following his partner's suicide and his own long struggles with drugs and alcohol, he converted to Christianity. He turned his talents to gospel music, becoming part of the hippie countercultural Jesus movement, and has worked in gospel ever since, while maintaining an interest in country.
On December 29, 1980, Paxton was shot three times by hitmen hired by a country singer he was producing, putting him out of the music world for eight years and nearly ending his life. After the trial, he visited the men in prison and forgave them. Paxton left Nashville in 1999 and lived in Branson, Missouri with his fourth wife, Vicki Sue Roberts. He suffered from hepatitis C and almost died from the disease in 1990. Paxton made it very clear that his name is Gary S. Paxton, not "Gary Paxton".
Beyond his early work as part of Skip & Flip, Paxton is best known for his involvement in two novelty hits: the 1960 No. 1 smash "Alley Oop" — written by Dallas Frazier and cut quickly with a group thrown together by Paxton's roommate Kim Fowley, The Hollywood Argyles — and a 1962 No. 1 hit inspired by the Mashed Potato dance craze, "Monster Mash", which Paxton produced and recorded with its author Bobby "Boris" Pickett and another assembled group billed as The Cryptkickers.
In 1965, he produced "Sweet Pea", a hit for Tommy Roe, and "Along Comes Mary", a hit for The Association, winning a Grammy nomination in engineering for his efforts. The following year, he produced another hit for The Association, "Cherish", and another for Roe, "Hooray for Hazel". As Paxton moved toward the Bakersfield sound in the late 1960s, he scored his first country hit in 1967 with "Hangin' On" by The Gosdin Brothers.
In the wake of his conversion to Christianity, Paxton focused his efforts on gospel music. He still kept one foot in the world of secular country during the early 1970s — writing and producing "Woman (Sensuous Woman)" for Don Gibson (a Grammy nominee and a million-plus seller in three different versions) along with two other country-chart hits, and at one point signing with RCA Records as a solo country artist — but gospel was now his chief priority. In 1973 he wrote and produced "L-O-V-E" for The Blackwood Brothers, who took home the Grammy for Best Gospel Performance. In 1975, Paxton won the Best Inspirational Grammy for his album The Astonishing, Outrageous, Amazing, Incredible, Unbelievable, Different World of Gary S. Paxton, which contained his oft-recorded devotional song "He Was There All the Time". Appearing on his gospel album covers in a halo of facial hair and a tall-top cowboy hat, Paxton infused his religious work with the same eccentricity, individuality, and hippie humor that had characterized his 60s material in Los Angeles: acting the role of the Jesus freak, likening himself to "an armpit in the body of Christ", and crafting song titles like "When the Meat Wagon Comes for You", "Will There Be Hippies in Heaven?", "I'm a Fool for Christ (Whose Fool Are You?)", and "Jesus Is My Lawyer in Heaven".
Paxton's gospel work was released through NewPax Records, another in his long series of labels, founded in 1975 as an outlet for his new ideas in songwriting and engineering. NewPax was closely linked with Paragon Associates, with which it eventually merged. Paxton was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999 on the basis of his innovation and accomplishments in the field and his production and writing for numerous noted artists in the industry.
Paxton passed away at his home in Branson, Missouri on July 16, 2016, at the age of 77. No cause of death was announced.
Discography
Studio albums
1975 - The Astonishing, Outrageous, Amazing, Incredible, Unbelievable, Different World of Gary S. Paxton
1977 - More from the Astonishing, Outrageous, Amazing, Incredible, Unbelievable Gary S. Paxton
1978 - Terminally Weird/But Godly Right
1979 - Gary Sanford Paxton
1979 - The Gospel According to Gary S.
Compilations
1980 - (Some Of) The Best Of Gary S. Paxton (So Far)
2006 - Hollywood Maverick: the Gary S. Paxton Story
2009 - "Grandpa Rock, Volume 1" - 50 years of Gary S. Paxton hits.
2011 - "Vote 'Em Out Boogie" - LuPax CDs. Duet with Jim Lusk.
2014 - "AARP Blues" - LuPax CD's. Duet with Jim Lusk.
Born in Coffeyville, Kansas, Paxton was adopted at age three and raised in rural poverty on a farm. He endured a troubled childhood, molested at age seven and afflicted by spinal meningitis at eleven. His family moved to Arizona when he was twelve, and he started his first band by fourteen, playing country and rock 'n' roll. He spent his middle teenage years touring the American Southwest with this and other forgotten bands.
Early stardom came as "Flip" in the pop duo Skip & Flip (with Clyde "Skip" Battin), courtesy of a million-selling 1959 smash the two cut in Phoenix, Arizona, "It Was I". In what became a pattern in Paxton's early career, the song was recorded first and the group assembled second: after successfully shopping their demo to a label owner, Gary became "Flip" and Clyde became "Skip", after the man's pet poodles, a "group" put together just to have a name on the record. According to Paxton, he was up picking cherries on an Oregon farm when he heard the song on a transistor radio and realized it had become a hit. The duo made television appearances, toured with superstar deejay Alan "Moondog" Freed, and soon followed their success with another hit, "Cherry Pie". After this second chart appearance, the pair split up.
By 1960, Paxton was living in Hollywood, California and was involved in a number of projects, collaborating with others as a performer, writer, producer, label owner, and audio engineer. He played a major role in the making of two novelty hits in the early 1960s and worked with artists like The Association, Paul Revere & the Raiders, The Four Freshmen, and Tommy Roe.
His work throughout this early-'60s period is scattered over various labels, mostly his own, which he seemed to open and close on a constant basis, making regular use of the five studios he owned. Over the years, Paxton built a reputation as an eccentric figure in the recording industry. Brian Wilson was known to admire his talents, and Phil Spector to fear him. His creativity and knack for promotion were legendary, but could also run to excess: once, after a local radio station dismissed one of his records ("Elephant Game (Part One)" by Renfro & Jackson) as "too black", he assembled a protest parade down Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, consisting of fifteen cheerleaders and a live elephant pulling a Volkswagen convertible. He was arrested after the elephant got scared and began to defecate in the street.
In the later 1960s, he gradually turned to the burgeoning Bakersfield sound in country music. By 1967, he had relocated entirely to that city, where he ran a variety of businesses and founded the label Bakersfield International. He moved on to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1970, and in 1971, following his partner's suicide and his own long struggles with drugs and alcohol, he converted to Christianity. He turned his talents to gospel music, becoming part of the hippie countercultural Jesus movement, and has worked in gospel ever since, while maintaining an interest in country.
On December 29, 1980, Paxton was shot three times by hitmen hired by a country singer he was producing, putting him out of the music world for eight years and nearly ending his life. After the trial, he visited the men in prison and forgave them. Paxton left Nashville in 1999 and lived in Branson, Missouri with his fourth wife, Vicki Sue Roberts. He suffered from hepatitis C and almost died from the disease in 1990. Paxton made it very clear that his name is Gary S. Paxton, not "Gary Paxton".
Beyond his early work as part of Skip & Flip, Paxton is best known for his involvement in two novelty hits: the 1960 No. 1 smash "Alley Oop" — written by Dallas Frazier and cut quickly with a group thrown together by Paxton's roommate Kim Fowley, The Hollywood Argyles — and a 1962 No. 1 hit inspired by the Mashed Potato dance craze, "Monster Mash", which Paxton produced and recorded with its author Bobby "Boris" Pickett and another assembled group billed as The Cryptkickers.
In 1965, he produced "Sweet Pea", a hit for Tommy Roe, and "Along Comes Mary", a hit for The Association, winning a Grammy nomination in engineering for his efforts. The following year, he produced another hit for The Association, "Cherish", and another for Roe, "Hooray for Hazel". As Paxton moved toward the Bakersfield sound in the late 1960s, he scored his first country hit in 1967 with "Hangin' On" by The Gosdin Brothers.
In the wake of his conversion to Christianity, Paxton focused his efforts on gospel music. He still kept one foot in the world of secular country during the early 1970s — writing and producing "Woman (Sensuous Woman)" for Don Gibson (a Grammy nominee and a million-plus seller in three different versions) along with two other country-chart hits, and at one point signing with RCA Records as a solo country artist — but gospel was now his chief priority. In 1973 he wrote and produced "L-O-V-E" for The Blackwood Brothers, who took home the Grammy for Best Gospel Performance. In 1975, Paxton won the Best Inspirational Grammy for his album The Astonishing, Outrageous, Amazing, Incredible, Unbelievable, Different World of Gary S. Paxton, which contained his oft-recorded devotional song "He Was There All the Time". Appearing on his gospel album covers in a halo of facial hair and a tall-top cowboy hat, Paxton infused his religious work with the same eccentricity, individuality, and hippie humor that had characterized his 60s material in Los Angeles: acting the role of the Jesus freak, likening himself to "an armpit in the body of Christ", and crafting song titles like "When the Meat Wagon Comes for You", "Will There Be Hippies in Heaven?", "I'm a Fool for Christ (Whose Fool Are You?)", and "Jesus Is My Lawyer in Heaven".
Paxton's gospel work was released through NewPax Records, another in his long series of labels, founded in 1975 as an outlet for his new ideas in songwriting and engineering. NewPax was closely linked with Paragon Associates, with which it eventually merged. Paxton was inducted into the Country Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 1999 on the basis of his innovation and accomplishments in the field and his production and writing for numerous noted artists in the industry.
Paxton passed away at his home in Branson, Missouri on July 16, 2016, at the age of 77. No cause of death was announced.
Discography
Studio albums
1975 - The Astonishing, Outrageous, Amazing, Incredible, Unbelievable, Different World of Gary S. Paxton
1977 - More from the Astonishing, Outrageous, Amazing, Incredible, Unbelievable Gary S. Paxton
1978 - Terminally Weird/But Godly Right
1979 - Gary Sanford Paxton
1979 - The Gospel According to Gary S.
Compilations
1980 - (Some Of) The Best Of Gary S. Paxton (So Far)
2006 - Hollywood Maverick: the Gary S. Paxton Story
2009 - "Grandpa Rock, Volume 1" - 50 years of Gary S. Paxton hits.
2011 - "Vote 'Em Out Boogie" - LuPax CDs. Duet with Jim Lusk.
2014 - "AARP Blues" - LuPax CD's. Duet with Jim Lusk.
Kansas City
Gary Paxton Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Kansas City' by these artists:
Aalisha Jaisinghani You got a lot to say You got a lot to…
Albert King I'm goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City, here I come I'm…
Ann-Margret Goin' to Kansas City Kansas City here I come Goin' to Kansas…
B.G. Bulletwound Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come Goin' to…
B.J. Crosby Pattie Darcy Jones Michael Park Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come Goin' to…
Beat Brothers Ahhh, Kansas City, gonna get my way back home, all…
Beat Brothers/The Beatles/Tony Sheridan Ah, Kansas City Coming to get my baby back home…
Beat Brothers/Tony Sheridan Ahhh, Kansas City, gonna get my way back home, all…
Beat Brothers; Tony Sheridan Ah, Kansas City Coming to get my baby back home…
Blues Balls Born in this place You only see so far Hear…
blues.the-butcher-590213 & ムッシュかまやつ I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City, here I come I'm going…
blues.the-butcher-590213 with James Gadson Born in this place You only see so far Hear…
Brenda Lee Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come Ah Going…
Bromberg David You know I’m going to Kansas City, Kansas City here…
Buck Owens For two long weeks you're goin' to Kansas City And I'm…
Carl Mann I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come…
Chris Barber (Oh, let's go to Kansas City, now.) I'm going to Kansas…
Chris Connor I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Damien Jurado Kansas City, I fought back the tears I know that I…
Danny Fisher I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
David & The High Spirit He bought her a flower at the fair 1927 Kansas City Said…
David Bromberg Leiber-Stoller You know I’m going to Kansas City, Kansas …
Derek O'Brien We're goin' to Kansas City Kansas City here we come We're…
Dion I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
Dion & The Belmonts I′m going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
Dixie-balls (Baby, baby Please believe me I would never never do anythin…
Domino Fats I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm…
Doug Cox River's long, deep and wide Gal I love is on the…
Fats Domino I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
Freddie & The Dreamers Ah, Kansas City gotta get my baby back home yeah, yeah I'm g…
George Jones & Johnny Paycheck We're goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come We're…
George Jones;Johnny Paycheck We're goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come We're…
George&Beatovens We're goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come We're…
Grand Canyon I seen a lotta strange things in my time But nothing…
Hank Ballard & The Midnighters I′m going to Kansas City Kansas City, here I come I'm going…
Harrison Wilbert I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Harry Groener Mary Wickes & Rodgers & Hammerstein I got to Kansas City on a Firday By Saturday I…
Hound Dog Taylor (Leiber & Stoller) Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here…
J.B. Hutto Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come Goin' to…
J.F. Murphy & Salt I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
J.J. Jackson I'm goin' to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm…
J.T. Adams & Shirley Griffith Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come Goin' to…
Jackson Wanda I'm goin' to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm…
James Brown I'm goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City, here I come Yes,…
James Brown & The Fabulous Flames Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come Goin' to…
James Davis I got to Kansas City on a Frid'y By Sattidy I…
Jan I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Jimmy Reed & Little Walter I'm goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City, here I come I'm…
Jimmy Witherspoon I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Joe Dassin I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come, I'm…
Joe Turner I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Joe Williams I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
John Blackinsell Orchestra & Singers Kansas City with a friend of mine We loved the women…
John Valby I've had enough of this Christmas shit, let's rock out! I'm…
Johnny and Jack We're goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come We're…
Jr. Sammy Davis I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Korner Alexis Woke up this morning Feeling bad Thought about the good time…
Lee Brenda Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come Ah Going…
Lee Peggy I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Les Humphries Kansas City with a friend of mine We loved the women…
Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs I'm goin' to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm…
Little Milton I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
Little Richard Goin' to, Kansas city Gonna get my baby one time, hey,…
Little Willie Littlefield I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
Lopez Trini (Oh, let's go to Kansas City, now.) …
Lou Rawls I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Louis Prima / Keely Smith / Sam Butera I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Mark Murphy I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Marvin & Johnny We're goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come We're…
Melissa Etheridge I've got my old man's Delta '88 The windows cracked I'm…
Micke Muster & T-Cats Well I rode a while, for a mile or so Down…
Midwest M.A.F.I.A. I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
Monday of Mine Monday, It was a Monday, (or) Thursday or Friday, Evening, (…
Mr. Blue and The Tight Groove I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City, here I come I'm going…
Mr. Blues I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
Muddy Waters Kansas City by Muddy Waters (Oh, let's go to Kansas City, n…
Muddy Waters Blues Band (Oh, let's go to Kansas City, now.) I'm going to Kansas…
New Basement Tapes I listen to you time and time again While you tell…
Okkervil River The river is deep and the river is wide, and…
Oklahoma Will: I got to Kansas City on a Frid'y By Sattidy I…
Otis Spann (Oh, let's go to Kansas City, now.) I'm going to Kansas…
Otis Spann with Muddy Waters and His Band Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come Goin' to…
Paul McCartney I'M GOIN' TO KANSAS CITY, KANSAS CITY, HERE I COME, …
Peggy Lee I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Peggy Lee & Quincy Jones I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Phil Ochs She comes from Kansas City, in the middle of the…
R&B Goin' to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come Goin' to…
Rich the Factor People jeffin' my checks be nice sums By the way the…
Roadside Monument honey curvature dipped deeply to define the mixture rehashe…
Rodgers & Hammerstein I got to Kansas City on a Frid'y By Sattidy I…
Rodgers & Hammerstein. Rodgers And Hammerstein Oklahoma Kansas City Will: I got to …
Rodgers And Hammerstein I got to Kansas City on a Frid'y By Sattidy I…
Rogers & Hammerstein Got a letter just this mornin' it was postmarked Omaha It…
Roy Clark I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Sheridan & The Beat Brothers Ah, Kansas City Coming to get my baby back home…
Slim Memphis I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
Sneaky Sound System When you're coming home and it?s getting late I was unwritte…
Steve Lawrence I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Susan Tedeschi We're goin' to Kansas City Kansas City here we come We're…
Taylor Hound Dog & the Houserockers I'm going to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm going…
Tech N9ne feat. The Popper & Rich The Factor People jeffin' my checks be nice sums By the way the…
The Beat Brothers Ahhh, Kansas City, gonna get my way back home, all…
The Beatles Ah, Kansas City Gonna get my baby back home Yeah,…
The Beatles & Tony Sheridan Ah, Kansas City Coming to get my baby back home…
The Beatles Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers Ah, Kansas City Coming to get my baby back home…
the criticals Dinner time in Kansas City I’ll eat the fine to keep…
The Everly Brothers I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
The Les Humphries Singers Kansas City with a friend of mine We loved the women…
The Muddy Waters Band (Oh, let's go to Kansas City, now.) I'm going to Kansas…
The New Basement Tapes I listen to you time and time again While you tell…
The Spencer Davis Group Spoken: "stevie, do an up-tempo one for me." Sw: "yeah, do…
The Valiants & Peter Layton I′m going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Tom Jones Going to Kansas City; Kansas City, here I come, ah,…
Tony Sheridan Ah, Kansas City Coming to get my baby back home…
Tony Sheridan & The Beat Brothers Ahhh, Kansas City, gonna get my way back home, all…
Tony Sheridan & the Beatles Ah, Kansas City Coming to get my baby back home…
Tony Sheridan and The Beatles Ah, Kansas City Gonna get my baby back home Yeah,…
Tony Sheridan The Beatles and The Beat Brothers Ahhh, Kansas City, gonna get my way back home, all…
Trini Lopez (Oh, let's go to Kansas City, now.) …
Various Artists Al cerrar mis ojos un momento nada mas que uno pienso en…
Wanda Jackson I'm goin' to Kansas City Kansas City here I come I'm…
Waters Muddy (Oh, let's go to Kansas City, now.) I'm going to Kansas…
Wilbert Harrison I'm going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come I'm…
Wilbert Harrison (Jerry Leiber - Mike Stoller) I'm going to Kansas City, Kan…
Willie D. Warren & Mystery Train My feelings for you are not new But if you're not…
Willie Nelson We're goin' to Kansas City Kansas City here we come We're…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Gary Paxton:
It Had To Be You It had to be you, it had to be you. I…
Mother-In-Law The worst person I know, mother-in-law, mother-in-law She wo…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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