Biography
Discover Gary S. Paxton's Impact
Producer, songwriter, record label owner, engineer, music publisher and artist Gary S Paxton was unquestionably one of the most original and colourful talents in the long history of rock'n'roll. In the mainstream he produced million selling hits like "Alley Oop" and "Monster Mash." As a Christian he produced CCM classics like "He's Alive" by Don Francisco and won a Grammy for his own gospel album.
Born in Coffeyville, Kansas to an unmarried teenage mother and initially named Larry Wayne Stevens, Paxton was adopted at age three, given a new name, and raised in rural poverty on a farm. His family moved to Arizona when he was 12, and he started his first band by 14, playing country and rock 'n' roll. 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 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 including the Association, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Four Freshmen, and Tommy Roe. His work throughout this early-1960s period is scattered over various labels, mostly his own (first "Garpax" and quickly followed up with "G.S.P. Records") His creativity and knack for promotion were legendary. 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 became a believer in Jesus. He turned his talents to gospel music, and worked in gospel ever since, while maintaining an interest in country.
Gary recorded six gospel albums from the 1970's to the early 1980's.
