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.
Make Up Your Mind
Gary Paxton Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Make Up Your Mind' by these artists:
5 A.M You want me and boy I want you Consistency is getting…
A-Reece Make up your mind You couldn't make me Anymore crazy Than I…
Alfred Beck Gotta control myself Console myself It’s not enough Think…
Anna & The King Talking to the moon as we lay down in this…
Aurra Why don't you make up your mind Stop wasting all my…
Barrett Strong Honey you say That you would never leave me Then you turn…
Bators Stiv When I get the nerve to walk on by They come…
BIGMAMA make up your mind 心臓はまるで 投げそびれた手榴弾(Grenade) ウソツキか正直か もう試さないで…
Blistur Speak your mind truth or dare Seek and find or do…
Braxton Keith I wake up and the first thing that I see Is…
Bro'Sis Girl you must be crazy But maybe that's what keeps…
Bro´sis Girl you must be crazy But maybe that's what keeps…
C-Bra Took you by surprise caught you on the phone Had to…
Carl Belew That's right it's me again I thought I'd call and…
Chris Brown Yeah Are you done playin' games? I'm not into that (not…
Codey Exe She said "Codey I'm just hoping that you make it" But…
Coldcut Long time, girl, I have got feelings for you I…
Copyright As you wander by a place you used to play And…
Cordae I said, she love me She love me not But she don't…
D & D You don't even know You don't even know You don't…
Damien Jurado Sat on the couch for hours talking About the current situat…
David M. Bailey Had a headache all week Didn’t get that much sleep But I’ll…
Deana Carter I don't understand the things you do The more you think…
Devan Make up your mind Make up your mind Make up your mind Why…
DJ.DAI Although I'm crazy bout ya I can live without you If you…
Drawn To Waves Can you tell me what's in your head Cause all the…
Earthride Adventure of a lifetime Can't escape the thrill It's like …
F.R.E.E. How can everything seem like it was 1993? Smoke and mirror…
Fiddler's Green A lonely evening settles down There's no escape here ‘cause…
Final State You say that I don't care at all You think that…
Florence the Machine I never thought I'd be a killer 'Cause there's so much…
G-Bros Make up your mind Girl you must be crazy But maybe…
Haelphon What's another word for betrayal? Seems like you would know …
Here We Go Magic First guess, best guess Unless, actress Little bit of light,…
Hlengiwe Mhlaba the train make up ur mind accept Jesus today as saver…
Hott 22 Stop wasting all my time Why don′t you make up your…
Howard Well I hate being the one Waiting in here for…
Ice Prince Oti fo lo uh Oti do do uh Oti gbo no uh Osi…
Irishcream Have your ever tried to leave your past behind? Fearlessly f…
J. Edwards This love feels so hurried Think that every time Is it you O…
J.Geils Band The Feels like we just kissed for the last time I look…
J.ガイルズ・バンド This love feels so hurried Think that every time Is it you O…
Janelle de la Rosa Been patient with you Waiting for your move But you keep fre…
JeFF BERNAT Lady, I'ma be real witchya I ain't gonna act like it's…
Joe 90 I remember can that dream Life is not what it seems Always…
Johnnie & Joe Stayed up all night waiting, thought that you might call…
Junkyard Drive Oh Yeah You′re not hard to see You're a for the eyes A…
Kitty Wells MAKE UP YOUR MIND Writers Jack Agglin, Eddie Hill, Johnnie W…
Kool Keith [Kool Keith] Yeah.. so you called me last night You…
Lee You Can make up My mind Tonight Only you I want By my side …
Make up Your Mind lay on the couch, feed your big fat belly see the…
MAKE UP YOUR MIND - WAIN L Will you be tonight the man I used to know And…
Man Make up your mind and I'll make up mine Don't worry…
Micky Green Swinging back and forth Between the trees Your fall gets cau…
Mind Heart & Soul [Opio] Eruptions, and rustin' When I'm thrustin' Cuts men In…
MxPx Make up your mind, 'Cause no ones gonna do it for…
N'Spyre Music ohh Tell me why you're playin' with my mind, boy you either…
O.D.I.N. You don't even know You don't even know You don't…
Orgy Make up your mind You couldn't make me Anymore crazy Than …
Patrick C.J. This love feels so hurried Think that every time Is it you O…
Psychopunch I stagger through the door Like million times before Just to…
Quatermass Let me tell you all the things I see Take your…
Quix Verse: You take your limits way too far Feels like we’re…
Relentless 3 Too many faces, too many faces They get wise to the…
René Miller I know That I probably shouldn't think about tomorrow I know…
Richie Spice Oh nananana yes aaaah nanananana yehh nananana ehhhh na…
San Francisco T.K.O.'s Feels like we just kissed for the last time I look…
Seven Mary Three Oh yeah She says we can't tell them Oh yeah She wants up…
Standback I have to tell you something You've taken the wrong way…
Stiv Bators When I get the nerve to walk on by They come…
Svntxmvlx Many faces I have seen Bloody swollen screaming please Crawl…
Swayzak You're going out with her tonight and That's no good. Becaus…
Swayzak feat. Clair Dietrich You're going out with her tonight and That's no good. Beca…
Swell So, if you want something And you call, call Then'll come ru…
Tame Impala Why won't you make up your mind? Give me a sign Why…
Teen Rock You should tell me that you love me Then you tell…
The 40 Acre Mule YOU KNOW THAT I LOVE YOU BABY. YOU'RE THE ONLY…
The Goodmen Do you really care? Do you, do you? Make up your mind And…
The J. Geils Band This love feels so hurried Think that every time Is it you O…
The Secret Handshake This whole thing started bout two years ago It seems like…
The Softies I see that you're still wearing my ring I stopped wearing…
The Theory of a Deadman Make up your mind and I'll make up mine Don't worry…
The Vacation I'm stoned, baby, to the gills I stare right through the…
The Valkyrians Without you, I can no make plans for tomorrow. Without you…
Theory of a Deadman Make up your mind and I'll make up mine Don't worry…
Trixie Mattel Never was the kind to have too easy Never was a…
Tyrese [Intro] God bless the day I found you Can somebody tell me W…
U.N.V. Long time, girl, I have got feelings for you I…
Unamerican Gotta tell you Going out of my head Gotta tell you Going out…
Up From Here You've got one chance to make it right Another day, another…
V.A - Funky Collection I You want me and boy I want you Consistency is getting…
Valley Lodge Make up your mind And maybe I‘ll get off of your…
Volcanoless In Canada Break out the shakers Through all of the scene We're leavi…
Wain L Will you be tonight the man I used to know And…
whereswilder You know I heard you're growing older I can see it…
Yves Klein Blue A choice is yours, you make it all on your…
Zeper Lyrics: Make up your mind Vs1 Let me tell you how it's…
에일리(Ailee) You take your time 마치 연인 같아 Don't waste my time Baby, make…
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
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found