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.
So Close
Gary Paxton Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'So Close' by these artists:
Ólafur Arnalds feat. Arnor Dan Through dark and light I fight to be So close, shadows…
00. Daryl Hall & John Oates They met on the dance floor in the old high…
A-RAM It hit me different when my momma said she's proud…
Adriel Rivera I was getting close So close But they hit on the nose…
Aking Smoke in the rear-view mirror The wheels are coming off at…
Alan Menken Stephen Schwartz You're in my arms, and all the world is calm The…
Alice in Chains "I'm serious, there's big money going on" "Big big money!"…
Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness We cross a country In an airplane with the wings on…
Bethany Dillon I'm so close to being so far away from You I…
Bonnie Raitt So far There was not a second thought No heart Ever got clos…
Broach It's too late I can't forget you It's my fate Can't let you…
Brook Benton So close as we dance across the floor So close to…
Carroll Dina I know about all your faults Somehow they never deter me And…
Chaka Khan You've been keeping me in limbo Playing hide and seek You've…
Clyde Alexander The simple words From the mouth so sweet Yet for her…
D. Willz This close Maybe this is my last take? maybe this is…
Darlene Zschech & Hillsong I'm so secure You're here with me. You stay the same Your lo…
Daryl Hall & John Oates They met on the dance floor in the old high…
David Harris I feel so close to you right now It's a force…
Devine But, baby, I just don't care You should know that I'll…
Diana Ross (diana ross/bill wray/bob mounsey) So close When I look int…
Dina Carroll I know about all your faults Somehow they never deter me And…
Disney - Enchanted You're in my arms And all the world is calm The music…
Elvis Presley So close, yet so far from paradise I hold, you in…
Enchanted You're in my arms And all the world is calm The music…
Evanescence I've spent so much time Throwing rocks at your window That…
Ferry de Ruiter Don′t leave me, If you care Don't leave me, Don′t you…
Flying Pickets There is a better way to live our lives And I…
Grant Leslie Will you stand by me in the morning Will you stand…
Hall & Oates They met on the dance floor in the old high…
Hardy My body, your body up under the covers Whiskey and wine…
Harry Belafonte Where′s that smile, hope you didn't lose it Put it on…
J Rice What good does it do ya When you never tell me…
J-Diggs Words in my mind Can't see night or daylight Your world is…
Jake Holmes Where's that smile? I hope you didn't lose it. Every now and…
Jennette McCurdy You just keep tuggin, pushin, pullin On my little heartstrin…
Jill Paquette Don't you tell me how to feel Every time your state…
John Barrowman You're in my arms And all the world is gone The music…
John Garrison Nothing personal, nothing you said, Nothing I found out, no…
John McLaughlin You're in my arms, and all the world is calm The…
Jon McLaughlin You're in my arms, and all the world is calm The…
Jourdan Rystrom Sitting right next to you Talking like we always do Laughing…
Kidnap Kid (Verse) I wait each day to be with you So long, so…
Kyle Lionhart I was still as her breath took the silence when…
Libbie Schrader You sit here beside me At the corner of my eye If…
LIVING ROOM - Daryl Hall & John Oates They met on the dance floor in the old high…
Mary Mary There's something in your yeterday That's keeping you away f…
Matthew Good So Close There was a bird from Camden High Street That hit…
Moonlight Social I'm not afraid of falling Cause if I'm gonna hit the…
Mr. Krime Tere Bin Reh Nahi Hona Kalya e Jana …
Nicholas Roy Lie next to me And hold me until I sleep Mould to…
Not By Choice You said that you wanted everything they took away, Everyti…
NOTD Thinking about you As I'm lying next to someone else Drinkin…
Oceans of Sadness SO CLOSE... I - SEE - no ways to go I -…
Ólafur Arnalds Through dark and light I fight to be, so close,…
Ólafur Arnalds feat. Arnór Dan [Agent Fresco] Through dark and light I fight to be So close Shadows and…
Ólafur Arnalds ft. Arnor Dan Through dark and light I fight to be So close Shadows and…
Olafur Arnalds Ft. Arnуr Dan Through dark and light I fight to be So close Shadows and…
Oxala Ya it is what it is But I still care And I…
R.R. Perkins Tere Bin Reh Nahi Hona Kalya e Jana …
Rachel Proctor She gets in from work, takes off her coat Sits down…
Raia Was I remember it all and its memory torturing me before we…
Ruco Chan 差半步 單戀雙城 插曲 天灰了 合著眼睛 忘記了彩虹 沒有天晴 黑暗下 無力提防涙水浸沒愛情 最痛的回憶化做雨滴 還…
Russell Groovy [feat. Stract] I just gotta let her know Sometimes You gotta let it go To…
Scherb Can't fall for you but can you keep my hopes…
Shawn Hook I'm walkin' to the sound, The blood that moves around inside…
Six By Seven Last night I thought I heard you stepping through the door …
Skye Holland VERSE I’ve been waiting for my phone To light up And I’ve be…
smoothlettuce Leave me To my solitude, I Don't need a friend to rescue…
Stevano-U.G.O Green light, Seven Eleven You stop in for a pack of…
Steve Kroeger & Skye Holland VERSE I’ve been waiting for my phone To light up And I’ve be…
Steve Kroeger x Skye Holland VERSE I’ve been waiting for my phone To light up And I’ve…
Stolen Babies At their worst, their stares are a killing force I go…
Such Gold This city has become a commercial for itself (and everyone…
The Darling Buds Eyes look tired Where've you been I've been sitting here …
The Flying Pickets There is a better way to live our lives And I…
The Hell Kinda wish I wasn't born so close to London Always seemed…
The People's Thieves Can you feel my heart beating? I can still hear you…
the Pierce kingans So close to god I thought I would've been found…
The Undertones If its a fact some thing won't ever change Will your…
The Usual Sometimes I go To a world inside my mind And when I…
The Velvet Ants Told you I would write a song, dear Now it's done…
The Willis Clan Do you remember All of the times we said goodbye And all…
Thrillsville At their worst their stares are a killing force I…
Tinie Tempah Why'd you have to give up? (Why? Why? Why?) Why'd you…
Tom Misch I'll let you real near to my heart So close that…
Tom Misch Carmody I′ll let you real near to my heart So close that…
Tom Misch & Carmody I'll let you real near to my heart So close that…
U-Topia Green light, Seven Eleven You stop in for a pack of…
Velvet Belly music : Velvet Belly lyrics : Anne Marie Almedal No one…
Waiting for Autumn I Sat across the wall I thought about it all I said…
Yung Pinch Yeah got the crowd singing yeah Beach boy in your ho She…
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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jim lusk
My mentor! Miss you Gary - I know there is at least one "hippy in heaven" lol. Thanks for the lifelong friendship.
Jimmy Brown
Rightly said Wilbur. Man you sure got the knowhow of all these great artists. God bless ya. Thanks.
Dennis Freels
I met Gary in the late 70’s. I was alcoholic living homeless on the streets of Nashville. He was very instrumental in leading me to the lord. Since then I lost touch never heard what ever happened to him. If I could say anything to him it would be thank you Gary.
Vicki Paxton
Gary S. Paxton I miss you so much my soul mate. I know you are asking Jesus all those questions you wanted answers to!
Debra Lynn Paxton
Bless you, Dad :D ♡