Johnny Paycheck Would Be Proud
Jen is one of my two favorite Buffalo bloggers. You may recall that she got a LOT of traffic after a certain beauty queen with the name Jennifer lost a certain article of clothing bla bla bla old story let's get to an older one. I was reading her post 27 (times 3) things about me (geddit?) and enjoyed this item, excerpted from number 79 (but I encourage you to read all of item 79, plus the other items):

Well, while I was on vacation I was *fired* for a no-show after 3 days (when everyone knew I was in D.C. and was granted the vacation time) The scheduling supervisor at my agency *goofed* (I assume) and told me that he never told me I had the time off (when he did) and because of his mistake, I was fired. He lied to my face. It was AWFUL. I had a meeting with HR, the Union, and 3 supervisors and I was reinstated with backpay.

Good! So what happened next?

I resigned the next day.

Double good.

Back to the title. Most of us know Johnny Paycheck as the author of "Take This Job And Shove It." But his life was somewhat more complex...

Born Donald Eugene Lytle on May 31, 1938, in Greenfield, Ohio, Paycheck was playing in talent contests by the age of 9. Billing himself as "The Ohio Kid," he left home while still in his teens and knocked around the country playing bar gigs and clubs before enlisting in the U. S. Navy. While in the service, Paycheck was court-martialed in 1956 for hitting a superior officer and served two years in a military prison. After his release, he roamed around until finally settling in Nashville....

The singer re-invented himself as Johnny Paycheck, taking his name from a professional boxer. In 1966, he hooked up with producer Aubrey Mayhew and legally changed his name....

By decade’s end, Paycheck and Mayhew parted ways and the record company, deeply in debt, folded. As a result, Paycheck bottomed out -- for the first time -- and was drinking heavily and living on the streets of Los Angeles. After some keen detective work by CBS executive Nick Hunter, who tracked the singer down, Billy Sherrill signed Paycheck to a contract with Epic Records....

In June 1977, "Take This Job and Shove It" entered the charts and provided Paycheck with his sole No. 1 song. Written by David Allan Coe, what was intended to be a song about a bad relationship, "Take This Job" was adopted as a battle cry for dissatisfaction in the workplace. Hollywood seized the opportunity to produce a film by the same title in 1981 starring Robert Hays of Airplane fame....

Into the early 1980s a string of singles, many of them dealing with the theme of drinking such as "Drinkin’ and Drivin,’" "Fifteen Beers" and "D.O.A. (Drunk on Arrival)," did little to keep the momentum of Paycheck’s late ‘70s success moving forward....

On a trip back to Ohio to visit family for the holidays, Paycheck had his final -- and most serious -- run-in with the law. When a barroom-disagreement turned ugly, Paycheck shot and wounded his antagonist and was sentenced to prison....After exhausting all of his appeals options, Paycheck was sent to the Chillicothe Correctional Institute....

Paycheck served two years in prison and upon his 1991 release, emerged clean and sober. Paycheck also made good on the conditions of his parole. He kept his life on a straight course and gave anti-drug talks to young kids around the country as part of his required community service.

To his credit, and with an uphill battle ahead of him, Paycheck returned to the music industry and tried to once again to resurrect his career. The singer resumed his touring career, which included appearances in Branson, Mo., and recorded for Playback Records. In 1996, the Country Music Foundation released a collection of Paycheck’s early recordings for Little Darlin’ that found favor with young fans of classic country music.

Paycheck became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1997. He died on Feb. 19, 2003, following a lengthy illness.

Sometimes I'll write a bit about Freddy Fender. Just be thankful you can't hear my version of Freddy Fender's version of "Secret Love"....