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Hello. You ever hear of this guy,
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Johnny Paycheck?
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No?
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You don't like country music, do you?
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You think it's corny and
twangy and kind of stupid.
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Well, you could be right,
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but it's always good
to keep an open mind.
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You know, Johnny Paycheck here
sold over 10 million records.
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That's on par with people
like NWA and Gwen Stefani.
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In the early '90s
once, I was watching TV,
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and there was all this hubbub on the news
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about NWA and gangsta rap
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and how it was just too violent.
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I got tired of watching this,
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because I actually like
NWA and gangsta rap,
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so I switched over to
the Country Music Channel,
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where I saw Johnny
Paycheck being interviewed.
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And he had just gotten out of jail
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for shooting a guy, like,
he really shot a guy.
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And I thought, "Why isn't anybody
worried about Johnny Paycheck?
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Why isn't Connie Chung picking on him?"
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♪ Hey, Sharon Rae ♪
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♪ You are my life ♪
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♪ Wish I was half the man ♪
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♪ That you been a wife ♪
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Johnny Paycheck was a dirt poor kid
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who pulled himself out
of poverty with his music,
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became a working-class hero,
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and almost killed himself
and one other person,
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that we know of, in the process.
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And he looks a lot like Charles Manson.
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Subtitle sync and corrections by
awaqeded for www.addic7ed.com.
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Greenfield, Ohio,
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birthplace of the
detachable horse collar,
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Johnny Paycheck,
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and these three guys,
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the Adams Brothers...
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Don, Gary, and Arnie...
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Paycheck's backup band
for nearly two decades.
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The first time I met Johnny Paycheck,
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I was like four years old.
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One of my brothers had him under a tree,
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kicking his butt.
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We just hung out together,
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'cause we lived in the...
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the same neighborhood, in the country.
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I remember one time when
he came to the house,
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he brought a guitar with him,
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and he sat in that kitchen
and sang and sang and sang.
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A couple years after that,
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me and Gary got in a
talent show in Greenfield,
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and we needed a guitar player,
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and so he played guitar
for us and, uh, and we lost.
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Lost to a woman that pantomimed,
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so that was rough to take.
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Of course at that time,
he was Donny Lytle.
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Donny Lytle.
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He had several different nicknames
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that a lot of people would call him.
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In his youth, uh, a lot of people
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referred to him as Hubcap Donny.
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He was a hubcap thief.
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Him stealing hubcaps,
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they forgot to mention
it had the car with it.
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Oh yeah.
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He had a little, uh,
criminal element to him.
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When he was in Greenfield one time, uh,
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he went downtown and, uh, got drunk,
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and he went and broke into a car lot.
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He seen the car out there on the lot
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that he liked, so he went
in and found a key for it,
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took it for a drive and didn't like it,
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so he brought it back,
went in, got another one.
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This time, he got the whole key board.
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Stole all the keys.
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Got him another car, took off again.
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Took it down to Paint Creek...
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And took all the keys and
throwed 'em in the creek.
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He got in a little trouble over that.
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Once he got out of jail, he was gone.
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He took off for Nashville.
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Down in Music City,
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Paycheck scraped by as a backup musician,
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playing with everyone from
Porter Wagoner to George Jones.
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He was kind of like a
country music Mozart.
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You know, he played guitar, lead guitar,
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uh, steel, and, uh, drums.
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He was an excellent bass player.
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Probably the best in
Nashville in his day.
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♪ Oh, this used to be ♪
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♪ Our favorite night spot ♪
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He was a great singer.
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Next time I'd seen him was, uh,
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he had come back, and he had
changed his name to Donny Young.
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Donny Young wasn't exactly
burning up the charts...
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...so he decided he would change his act.
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Back in them days there
was a Johnny Dollar, and a...
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Johnny Cash and, uh, Johnny Western.
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Donny's manager, figuring he'd
cash in on the Johnny trend...
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...recalled an obscure Polish boxer,
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Johnny Paychek with a "K."
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From that point on, I
mean, he totally believed
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he was Johnny Paycheck.
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You couldn't talk him out
of it. Saying, "Okay, Donny."
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Or every time you'd call him
Donny, he'd get mad at you.
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I think he had an identity crisis.
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He legally changed his
name to Johnny Paycheck,
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and his career took off,
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but deep down inside, he
was still Hubcap Donny.
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Paycheck was, uh,
playing with Patsy Cline.
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♪ Crazy ♪
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I think that was... that
was down in Texas someplace,
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a big country music park,
and he got to drinking.
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He found her keys and he just went out,
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got in her car, and took off.
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And when he'd get to the gate,
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they would shut the gate on him.
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There was only one entrance to it.
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They said, "Just let him
go. He can't get out."
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And he went past that
gate a half a dozen times,
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and he just drove around and around...
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...and around inside the park.
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But eventually it ran out of gas.
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He had a total disregard for
the law when he was drinking.
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Old habits die hard,
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but somehow he managed
to pick up a new one.
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There was, like, a couple
of 24-hour pharmacists
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there in Nashville, you know what I mean.
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The drug of choice back
then was them Old Yellers.
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We'd go to the jam sessions,
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and Paycheck was always
up there playing bass.
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Well, we'd stay up for three or four days
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just to get in tune, and then
jam for three or four more.
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Between the speed binges
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and stints in jail,
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Paycheck found himself
broke and homeless.
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Then he met a man named Swamp Dogg.
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Umm...
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Excuse me.
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My song, I wrote,
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"Don't Take Her, She's All I Got,"
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single-handedly
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put Johnny Paycheck on the map,
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'cause he wasn't nowhere near the map.
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♪ Let me tell you now, friend ♪
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♪ Don't take her, she's all I've got ♪
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♪ Please don't take
her love away from me ♪
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♪ I'm begging you, friend ♪
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That single did a shitload of sales.
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People were buying the hell out of it.
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We made a fortune with that motherfucker.
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But, anyway, I digress.
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Paycheck had a way of destroying
hisself about every five years.
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I mean, you could look for it.
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I mean any... he'd get up, things
would be going pretty smooth,
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and then he would...
he would just totally...
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- he was hellbent on self destruction.
- Yeah, he did.
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He had a five-year cycle.
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- Yeah, he had about four of those.
- Yeah.
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Yeah, and was clean-cut, you know,
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and then "Don't Take
Her, She's All I Got,"
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and he just as tame as... doing
everything like a businessman,
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and then all of a sudden,
he put that hat on,
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and I thought, "Okay, the five
years is up. I'm going home."
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We was in Canada,
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and Paycheck got drunk and
rowdy in the hotel there.
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So, the hotel people
called the police on him,
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and they come down and
they hauled him off.
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Anyhow, we went down to get him out the
next morning and had to pay the fine.
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Paycheck didn't even have a shirt on,
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had to go to court without a shirt.
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- ♪ God save... ♪
- I mean, it was in Canada...
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...and that little deal
there where they all get up
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and all hail the queen,
something like that.
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Paycheck went, "Fuck the queen."
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I think Johnny Paycheck was the real deal
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when it came down to being a gangster,
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to being a thug, and he could've...
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he could've been a Crip... very easily.
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We just did things the way we wanted to,
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and, uh, somebody didn't like it,
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we'd tell 'em where to kiss it.
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Johnny... didn't take no shit.
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In October of 1976,
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Johnny released what
many considered to be
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the quintessential outlaw country record,
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11 Months and 29 Days.
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This was a reference to the length
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of his latest stint in
prison for check fraud.
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This charge earned him a new nickname:
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Johnny Bad Check.
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A psychiatrist might
be able to figure out
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what caused all Paycheck's troubles,
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but his friends have their own theory.
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Paycheck was a little feller.
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He was intimidated by
anybody over four feet tall.
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He had that little man complex.
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I guess he would have a Napoleon complex,
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'cause he was short.
Hadn't been for that hat,
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he really would have been short.
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Paycheck's longtime manager, Ernie Stepp,
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had to stick up for Johnny
on more than one occasion.
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If I'm working for you,
and if it's any way possible
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without killing somebody...
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I'll do it.
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One time, we was coming
out of California,
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and, uh, John wanted a... a Big Mac.
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That's what he was wanting.
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He was coming down off
of drinking a little bit.
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I told the bus driver...
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I said, "John wants a
double-Decker hamburger."
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Anyway, he stopped at a truck stop,
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and that's where we were gonna eat.
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I said, "No, uh, John wants a...
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a different kind of sandwich,
a double triple hamburger."
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He said, no, he's
driving the fucking bus,
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we'll stop where he wants.
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John, he didn't come out of the back
of the bus for food, cops, or nobody.
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Anyway, I shot the bus driver in the ear.
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First I hit him upside the head.
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I got him down on the...
on that front seat.
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Yes, they're easier to
shoot when you get 'em down.
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Yeah, if you... if you don't get
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the right kind of sandwich
for me, I'll shoot you.
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Ernie not only made sure
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Paycheck got his double triple hamburgers
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and kept his bus driver in line,
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he also guided him to the
biggest moment of his career.
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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome, please,
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the fabulous Johnny Paycheck!
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♪ Take this job and shove it ♪
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♪ I ain't working here no more ♪
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That was a classic.
That's his signature song.
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It went to number one, and the
unemployment rate skyrocketed.
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♪ You better not try to stand
in my way as I'm walking ♪
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It was... All of a sudden,
that's all you heard.
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It was like "Jingle Bells."
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00:11:07,001 --> 00:11:09,668
♪ Take this job and shove it ♪
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It was the battle cry of
all the working people.
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John become the working-class hero
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00:11:19,279 --> 00:11:21,114
because that was their slogan.
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The governor of West
Virginia decided to bring
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Johnny Paycheck in to support the miners.
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00:11:27,654 --> 00:11:30,056
It is blood that has
made Harlan County famous,
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00:11:30,057 --> 00:11:34,060
blood spilled in some of the most violent
labor disputes in this country's history.
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00:11:34,061 --> 00:11:35,895
People in these mountains have guns,
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and violence on a picket
line is not unusual.
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00:11:38,798 --> 00:11:41,234
As the strike dragged
on for more than a year,
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00:11:41,235 --> 00:11:43,903
two miners were shot, one man was killed.
250
00:11:43,904 --> 00:11:45,338
So they brought in, basically,
251
00:11:45,339 --> 00:11:46,539
an army of state troopers,
252
00:11:46,540 --> 00:11:49,108
and the state troopers lined
up and put a wall between 'em.
253
00:11:49,109 --> 00:11:50,375
And they said, "If you
come across the line,
254
00:11:50,376 --> 00:11:52,710
"we're arresting all of you,
and you're all going to jail,
255
00:11:52,711 --> 00:11:55,280
or we'll shoot it out with
you." And it was really tense.
256
00:11:55,281 --> 00:11:57,916
And all of a sudden, right
out in the middle of the road,
257
00:11:57,917 --> 00:12:00,485
Paycheck walking out there
with a guitar, and he goes...
258
00:12:00,486 --> 00:12:02,521
♪ Take this job and shove it ♪
259
00:12:02,522 --> 00:12:05,257
And this crowd just explode...
260
00:12:05,258 --> 00:12:07,924
I mean, the coal miners just go insane.
261
00:12:09,929 --> 00:12:11,763
He was their hero.
262
00:12:11,764 --> 00:12:14,433
John spoke what they couldn't speak.
263
00:12:14,434 --> 00:12:17,469
He was the reason why they
got the contract signed
264
00:12:17,470 --> 00:12:19,271
and the scabbers went home.
265
00:12:19,272 --> 00:12:22,941
That was the only time
I ever seen Paycheck cry.
266
00:12:25,444 --> 00:12:26,945
Damn.
267
00:12:29,915 --> 00:12:31,415
For Johnny, the success
268
00:12:31,416 --> 00:12:33,084
of "Take This Job and Shove It"
269
00:12:33,085 --> 00:12:36,120
had its highs... and its highs.
270
00:12:36,121 --> 00:12:40,758
And the next thing I knew,
he was just a total cokehead.
271
00:12:40,759 --> 00:12:43,995
He was sucking a lot
of powder, a lot of it.
272
00:12:43,996 --> 00:12:47,498
We were driving down the
road in... in the bus,
273
00:12:47,499 --> 00:12:50,201
and he'd run out of cocaine.
274
00:12:50,202 --> 00:12:52,036
So he gets on the radio.
275
00:12:52,037 --> 00:12:55,573
He said, "Hey, out
there, breaker, breaker."
276
00:12:55,574 --> 00:12:58,075
He says, "This is Johnny Paycheck.
277
00:12:58,076 --> 00:13:01,545
I want some cocaine and
don't care what it costs."
278
00:13:03,681 --> 00:13:06,783
So, here are a couple of truckers,
279
00:13:06,784 --> 00:13:08,419
we're going down the roads a way,
280
00:13:08,420 --> 00:13:11,155
and they were going into a rest area.
281
00:13:11,156 --> 00:13:13,657
These guys brought it
back and handed it to him,
282
00:13:13,658 --> 00:13:15,192
and they said, "Here's
your cocaine, man."
283
00:13:15,193 --> 00:13:18,028
The cocaine they had, I
wouldn't give it to a dog.
284
00:13:18,029 --> 00:13:19,430
He said...
285
00:13:19,431 --> 00:13:20,751
..."Boy, that's some good stuff."
286
00:13:22,534 --> 00:13:25,669
And he spent... I know for a fact...
287
00:13:25,670 --> 00:13:29,140
$16 million up his nose.
288
00:13:29,141 --> 00:13:31,741
He'd just set there.
289
00:13:31,742 --> 00:13:33,743
There's nothing worse than a hillbilly
290
00:13:33,744 --> 00:13:36,979
with a hit record.
291
00:13:36,980 --> 00:13:39,149
I was with him one time when he said,
292
00:13:39,150 --> 00:13:41,684
"Don, let's rent a Learjet."
293
00:13:41,685 --> 00:13:46,088
And we flew 80 mile on the other
side of the job we was going to
294
00:13:46,089 --> 00:13:48,525
and had to catch cabs
back to where we was going.
295
00:13:50,494 --> 00:13:54,264
He couldn't handle success, if
you really wanna know the truth.
296
00:13:54,265 --> 00:13:55,931
Every time he was ready to make it big,
297
00:13:55,932 --> 00:14:00,270
he would screw up. He walked
into, uh, a meeting in LA
298
00:14:00,271 --> 00:14:02,505
with the... the heads of Epic Records,
299
00:14:02,506 --> 00:14:05,307
and, uh, I guess Paycheck got upset
300
00:14:05,308 --> 00:14:07,276
because they wasn't putting
enough money behind him
301
00:14:07,277 --> 00:14:08,910
or something like that, but he...
302
00:14:08,911 --> 00:14:10,579
he just busted in the door.
303
00:14:10,580 --> 00:14:12,447
"I'm a star. I'm a giant star."
304
00:14:12,448 --> 00:14:15,617
- "Bigger than Elvis."
- "I'm bigger than country music itself."
305
00:14:15,618 --> 00:14:17,819
Johnny's friends are quick to note
306
00:14:17,820 --> 00:14:22,157
that some parts of Paycheck were
not bigger than country music.
307
00:14:22,158 --> 00:14:24,326
He did like... like to be naked,
308
00:14:24,327 --> 00:14:27,095
and why... if you'd see
him, you'd wonder why.
309
00:14:27,096 --> 00:14:30,332
So small, he should have
been ashamed of hisself.
310
00:14:30,333 --> 00:14:34,002
I never heard anything about
his... teeny-weeny peenie,
311
00:14:34,003 --> 00:14:37,272
because I don't want 'em talking
about my teeny-weeny peenie,
312
00:14:37,273 --> 00:14:40,241
so I said shit. Uh...
313
00:14:40,242 --> 00:14:44,512
Clearly, Paycheck needed something
to make him feel like a man.
314
00:14:44,513 --> 00:14:47,381
He grew ten feet when he was, uh...
315
00:14:47,382 --> 00:14:48,817
riding with the Hells Angels.
316
00:14:48,818 --> 00:14:51,186
Hell, the Hells Angels
317
00:14:51,187 --> 00:14:54,222
took care of Johnny like he was a baby.
318
00:14:54,223 --> 00:14:57,025
They made sure he never got hurt,
319
00:14:57,026 --> 00:14:58,526
and they took care of that boy.
320
00:14:58,527 --> 00:15:00,428
Uh, you know, he liked to play the role,
321
00:15:00,429 --> 00:15:02,563
like ride a big, bad motorcycle.
322
00:15:02,564 --> 00:15:06,067
He got to be the badass
that he dreamed that he was.
323
00:15:06,068 --> 00:15:08,903
We played at the Cow
Palace in San Francisco,
324
00:15:08,904 --> 00:15:11,339
and Willie was on the show, and
the Hells Angels was all up there,
325
00:15:11,340 --> 00:15:14,141
and he said, "Don, hey,
326
00:15:14,142 --> 00:15:16,443
I think I'm gonna be a
hitman for the Hells Angels."
327
00:15:16,444 --> 00:15:20,147
I said, "You set your
sights pretty high, buddy."
328
00:15:22,416 --> 00:15:25,119
And here's the story that goes with that.
329
00:15:25,120 --> 00:15:27,687
In Oakland, California,
federal and local police
330
00:15:27,688 --> 00:15:31,825
tried to round up members of
the Hells Angels motorcycle gang.
331
00:15:31,826 --> 00:15:33,426
Late in 1985,
332
00:15:33,427 --> 00:15:34,762
after wrapping up a tour,
333
00:15:34,763 --> 00:15:36,630
Johnny Paycheck kept the party going
334
00:15:36,631 --> 00:15:39,432
at a Hells Angels clubhouse in Maryland.
335
00:15:39,433 --> 00:15:41,969
It happened to be under FBI surveillance.
336
00:15:41,970 --> 00:15:45,705
Agents allegedly warned the
bikers about a credible threat
337
00:15:45,706 --> 00:15:48,408
by a rival gang to blow the place up.
338
00:15:48,409 --> 00:15:52,345
Upon hearing the news, Paycheck
summoned all the courage he had,
339
00:15:52,346 --> 00:15:57,250
ran into the clubhouse and grabbed
a stash of Peruvian cocaine.
340
00:15:57,251 --> 00:15:59,653
He headed back home to Greenfield,
341
00:15:59,654 --> 00:16:05,558
high out of his mind, with two
suitcases full of money and said cocaine.
342
00:16:05,559 --> 00:16:09,629
And he was looking for my cousin
Red Dog's daughter, Niecey,
343
00:16:09,630 --> 00:16:12,265
my niece, who was 14 years old.
344
00:16:12,266 --> 00:16:13,900
And I said, "They call her Niecey."
345
00:16:13,901 --> 00:16:16,836
I said, "Here in Greenfield,
we call that statutory rape."
346
00:16:16,837 --> 00:16:19,238
For some reason or other,
347
00:16:19,239 --> 00:16:21,841
he had thought that I'd
been sleeping with Niecey,
348
00:16:21,842 --> 00:16:24,010
who was just like a daughter to me.
349
00:16:24,011 --> 00:16:26,312
I said, "No, that's bullshit."
350
00:16:26,313 --> 00:16:28,781
Somebody told me he was
coming over to shoot me.
351
00:16:28,782 --> 00:16:33,152
Attorney Rocky Coss has a slightly
different version of the events.
352
00:16:33,153 --> 00:16:36,155
Johnny claimed the purpose of the visit
353
00:16:36,156 --> 00:16:38,925
was to come see his
mother before Christmas.
354
00:16:38,926 --> 00:16:41,928
He then decided to come look
for a place to get a drink.
355
00:16:41,929 --> 00:16:45,397
And so he drove down
72 down into Hillsboro,
356
00:16:45,398 --> 00:16:48,667
and the first bar that
he came to that was open
357
00:16:48,668 --> 00:16:51,237
was the North High Lounge.
358
00:16:51,238 --> 00:16:53,239
So he come in there and he was talking
359
00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:57,408
to a couple of old boys that...
we all used to grow up together.
360
00:16:57,409 --> 00:17:00,312
Lloyd and Larry had both
been drinking that evening
361
00:17:00,313 --> 00:17:02,846
and had several beers,
maybe as many as eight.
362
00:17:04,050 --> 00:17:06,051
And you know, they were certainly loose,
363
00:17:06,052 --> 00:17:08,686
you know, as many people
are that are drinking.
364
00:17:08,687 --> 00:17:10,922
Bowers wanted to meet him, so he went up
365
00:17:10,923 --> 00:17:13,358
and initiated the contact
with Paycheck at the bar.
366
00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:16,127
"Hey, buddy, come here and let me
buy you a drink" and all that stuff.
367
00:17:16,128 --> 00:17:19,097
They was as friendly as
they could possibly be.
368
00:17:19,098 --> 00:17:21,432
Well, they didn't know
he was just totally...
369
00:17:21,433 --> 00:17:24,936
...totally gone on his cocaine.
370
00:17:24,937 --> 00:17:26,972
Paycheck's version of the events
371
00:17:26,973 --> 00:17:30,640
was that Larry and Lloyd
were basically crowding him
372
00:17:30,641 --> 00:17:33,610
and that Larry had a bottle in his hand.
373
00:17:33,611 --> 00:17:36,480
He took that as being a prelude
374
00:17:36,481 --> 00:17:39,884
to Wise attacking him with the bottle.
375
00:17:39,885 --> 00:17:42,753
Attorney Ralph Buss,
lawyer for the Hells Angels,
376
00:17:42,754 --> 00:17:47,057
Johnny Paycheck, and owner and
operator of his own karate studio.
377
00:17:47,058 --> 00:17:48,792
Johnny was especially afraid
378
00:17:48,793 --> 00:17:50,560
of broken bottles.
379
00:17:50,561 --> 00:17:52,229
He had a tremendous acuity
380
00:17:52,230 --> 00:17:53,764
of imminent danger.
381
00:17:53,765 --> 00:17:57,634
Yeah, during that process is
when the hat exchange took place.
382
00:17:57,635 --> 00:18:00,637
Johnny was wearing his
Johnny Paycheck tour hat.
383
00:18:00,638 --> 00:18:03,039
Bowers had a... I
believe, a camouflage hat.
384
00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:05,775
Larry Wise is wearing
a Jack Daniel's hat.
385
00:18:05,776 --> 00:18:07,410
In Highland County, I mean, people...
386
00:18:07,411 --> 00:18:09,145
lots and lots of people wear hats.
387
00:18:09,146 --> 00:18:11,080
You know, I wear hats quite often.
388
00:18:11,081 --> 00:18:13,182
Lloyd indicated that
he liked Johnny's hat,
389
00:18:13,183 --> 00:18:17,387
talked to Johnny about it, and
ended up they exchanged hats.
390
00:18:17,388 --> 00:18:20,823
It appeared to be a fair
and clean exchange of hats.
391
00:18:20,824 --> 00:18:25,461
I remember the hat was a big, big
deal to him and definitely a threat.
392
00:18:25,462 --> 00:18:29,198
Then shortly after that... Wise,
uh, was a part-time taxidermist,
393
00:18:29,199 --> 00:18:32,501
and he said he had a
great turtle soup recipe
394
00:18:32,502 --> 00:18:35,538
and you know, he suggested
that Johnny might,
395
00:18:35,539 --> 00:18:38,173
you know, enjoy having
a meal cooked by Larry.
396
00:18:38,174 --> 00:18:41,676
Well, it... really, Paycheck
was kind of hungry and...
397
00:18:41,677 --> 00:18:45,981
and Lloyd had said, "We got some turtle
soup out in the... out in the truck."
398
00:18:45,982 --> 00:18:50,351
I heard that they had a little
disagreement on how you make it.
399
00:18:51,154 --> 00:18:52,921
Not, uh, "Was it there?"
400
00:18:52,922 --> 00:18:54,756
Or "Who had it?" That's what I heard.
401
00:18:54,757 --> 00:18:56,992
Paycheck made the comment
that well, you know,
402
00:18:56,993 --> 00:18:59,761
made him sound like, "I... they
thought I was some kind of a hick."
403
00:18:59,762 --> 00:19:01,596
That kind of insulted Paycheck.
404
00:19:01,597 --> 00:19:05,066
Like, I don't know why that
would insult him, but it did.
405
00:19:05,067 --> 00:19:06,634
It was not intended as an insult.
406
00:19:06,635 --> 00:19:08,203
It was intended to be friendly
407
00:19:08,204 --> 00:19:10,272
and offer hospitality, a unique dish.
408
00:19:10,273 --> 00:19:14,576
All right now, I gotta tell you, you
gotta go out and catch this turtle.
409
00:19:14,577 --> 00:19:16,410
And you cut him out of the shell.
410
00:19:16,411 --> 00:19:18,279
Now, he must still be alive,
411
00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:21,749
but if he don't, you cut his
head off, take his guts out.
412
00:19:21,750 --> 00:19:23,718
He's still got skin on his tail,
413
00:19:23,719 --> 00:19:26,955
- because that's how they have sex. A male turtle...
- With their tail?
414
00:19:26,956 --> 00:19:28,623
- Yeah.
- I didn't know that.
415
00:19:28,624 --> 00:19:32,727
A male turtle has got a dick in his tail,
416
00:19:32,728 --> 00:19:36,531
and the female turtle has
got a pussy in her tail.
417
00:19:36,532 --> 00:19:39,000
- And he gets up...
- Seem like you know an awful lot about turtles.
418
00:19:39,001 --> 00:19:41,235
Oh listen, I'm... Here, I have fucked
419
00:19:41,236 --> 00:19:44,305
every kind of animal, woman there is
420
00:19:44,306 --> 00:19:47,108
but a turtle, and I tried.
421
00:19:47,109 --> 00:19:50,978
I never had turtle soup, but
Johnny apparently considers this
422
00:19:50,979 --> 00:19:53,647
to be the third and
final insult and erupts.
423
00:19:53,648 --> 00:19:55,516
Gun is fired.
424
00:19:55,517 --> 00:19:58,519
It hit Larry Wise right in the forehead.
425
00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:00,521
Thankfully, he was hardheaded
426
00:20:00,522 --> 00:20:03,190
and kind of went around it
and it came out the scalp,
427
00:20:03,191 --> 00:20:04,858
and it goes through the hat.
428
00:20:04,859 --> 00:20:07,028
The hat flips off onto the floor,
429
00:20:07,029 --> 00:20:09,030
and he started bleeding.
430
00:20:09,031 --> 00:20:11,999
It just barely went under his scalp,
431
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,301
you know, wasn't nothing serious.
432
00:20:14,302 --> 00:20:19,406
Wise, fearing for his
life, runs out the door.
433
00:20:19,407 --> 00:20:21,074
According to one of the witnesses,
434
00:20:21,075 --> 00:20:23,276
he was booking it down South High Street.
435
00:20:23,277 --> 00:20:26,580
Johnny, for reasons that no one knows,
436
00:20:26,581 --> 00:20:29,149
scoops up Larry's hat,
the Jack Daniel's hat,
437
00:20:29,150 --> 00:20:32,519
runs out the door with
the gun, yells at Larry:
438
00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,188
"Come back, Larry!" Said,
"I won't shoot you no more."
439
00:20:37,625 --> 00:20:40,594
Johnny gets in his car and takes off.
440
00:20:41,629 --> 00:20:43,229
During that time, he looked over
441
00:20:43,230 --> 00:20:46,465
and he saw the gun, he
threw it out the window.
442
00:20:47,669 --> 00:20:49,536
Drives back to Larry Adams' house.
443
00:20:49,537 --> 00:20:53,606
Well, the hat is found when
the police search his car
444
00:20:53,607 --> 00:20:55,608
with an incriminating
bullet hole in it...
445
00:20:55,609 --> 00:20:57,810
...sitting there on the seat.
446
00:20:57,811 --> 00:21:00,646
Paycheck claimed he didn't
know how it got there.
447
00:21:00,647 --> 00:21:02,448
And the police went in...
448
00:21:02,449 --> 00:21:04,951
...and made the arrest.
449
00:21:04,952 --> 00:21:07,653
Paycheck needed money fast.
450
00:21:07,654 --> 00:21:09,555
Through his buddies in the Hells Angels,
451
00:21:09,556 --> 00:21:13,626
he contacted Ralph Buss
to raise the $50,000 bail.
452
00:21:13,627 --> 00:21:16,161
I personally called Johnny Cash...
453
00:21:16,162 --> 00:21:19,932
...and he answered the
phone as "House of Cash."
454
00:21:19,933 --> 00:21:24,236
And I said, "Mr. Cash, I
represent Johnny Paycheck."
455
00:21:24,237 --> 00:21:27,205
He says, "'The House
of Cash' is a misnomer."
456
00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:30,976
Then we contacted Jerry Lee Lewis,
457
00:21:30,977 --> 00:21:35,146
who actually did a
fundraiser for Paycheck.
458
00:21:35,147 --> 00:21:40,384
We got a check ultimately for $1,400.
459
00:21:40,385 --> 00:21:42,286
Somehow between Merle Haggard
460
00:21:42,287 --> 00:21:44,222
and some of his other Nashville cronies,
461
00:21:44,223 --> 00:21:45,890
Paycheck made bail
462
00:21:45,891 --> 00:21:48,226
and was finally released
from county jail.
463
00:21:48,227 --> 00:21:50,528
On New Year's Eve,
there's a party going on
464
00:21:50,529 --> 00:21:54,132
at the Sunnyside Bar, which is about
five, six miles west of Hillsboro.
465
00:21:54,133 --> 00:21:56,768
There's about 200 people in this bar.
466
00:21:56,769 --> 00:21:58,503
Paycheck shows up there.
467
00:21:58,504 --> 00:21:59,938
He walked in there,
468
00:21:59,939 --> 00:22:03,372
and he had a T-shirt on
that said "Kill 'Em All."
469
00:22:04,776 --> 00:22:08,178
As he's coming up on stage
there and putting the guitar on,
470
00:22:08,179 --> 00:22:10,180
some smart Aleck out there in the crowd
471
00:22:10,181 --> 00:22:13,117
went and busted one of the balloons.
472
00:22:14,786 --> 00:22:17,788
Two hundred people dove under the tables.
473
00:22:17,789 --> 00:22:19,757
And somebody asked him, said, "John,
474
00:22:19,758 --> 00:22:22,492
why did you shoot that guy
in Hillsboro last week?"
475
00:22:22,493 --> 00:22:25,228
He said, "'Cause the son of a
bitch had it coming! That's why!"
476
00:22:27,966 --> 00:22:29,900
And every one of those
people that heard that
477
00:22:29,901 --> 00:22:32,302
showed up in court and
testified against him.
478
00:22:32,303 --> 00:22:33,837
The trial was like a three-ring circus.
479
00:22:33,838 --> 00:22:37,606
There was a TV camera.
There was a photographer.
480
00:22:37,607 --> 00:22:39,075
There are reporters
481
00:22:39,076 --> 00:22:41,210
from newspapers from all over Ohio.
482
00:22:41,211 --> 00:22:44,047
And amid all that there
were some groupies, you know,
483
00:22:44,048 --> 00:22:45,347
you wouldn't describe 'em as hot
484
00:22:45,348 --> 00:22:47,684
except that the weather was warm.
485
00:22:47,685 --> 00:22:49,919
The judge presiding had one arm.
486
00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:52,955
He had lost his left
arm in a farm accident.
487
00:22:54,658 --> 00:22:59,495
The judge also had a tendency sometimes to
get headaches. He was sensitive to light.
488
00:22:59,496 --> 00:23:04,701
Uh, he was very... very concerned about
sunlight coming into the courtroom.
489
00:23:04,702 --> 00:23:08,771
So he would quite often on
the bench wear sunglasses.
490
00:23:08,772 --> 00:23:10,506
Two pairs of sunglasses.
491
00:23:10,507 --> 00:23:13,242
Either prescription,
or he'd have a clip-on,
492
00:23:13,243 --> 00:23:15,611
and sometimes he'd put on both of them.
493
00:23:15,612 --> 00:23:17,779
Well, Johnny Paycheck
walked into the courtroom.
494
00:23:17,780 --> 00:23:22,418
He really didn't make any effort to
try to clean himself up for the trial.
495
00:23:22,419 --> 00:23:24,386
His clothes didn't look good.
496
00:23:24,387 --> 00:23:25,721
His hair was long,
497
00:23:25,722 --> 00:23:28,591
and I would describe it as
scraggly. He had a beard.
498
00:23:28,592 --> 00:23:32,595
And it was much, much too
large. It wasn't trimmed.
499
00:23:32,596 --> 00:23:35,931
He looked dangerous
or close to psychotic.
500
00:23:35,932 --> 00:23:39,901
He had a curious resemblance
almost to Charles Manson.
501
00:23:39,902 --> 00:23:41,537
I went to court with him,
502
00:23:41,538 --> 00:23:43,605
and, uh, you know, they went through...
503
00:23:43,606 --> 00:23:46,074
The prosecution went through
their little thing there.
504
00:23:46,075 --> 00:23:48,543
And then we had... we took
off like an hour for lunch.
505
00:23:48,544 --> 00:23:51,479
Well, me and him just went
across the street there...
506
00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,515
...at a bar and set there
and got about half drunk.
507
00:23:54,516 --> 00:23:58,319
Come back in, and he said, "You
wait till my attorney gets him."
508
00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:00,455
He literally believed
509
00:24:00,456 --> 00:24:02,590
that there was gonna
be 3,000 Hells Angels
510
00:24:02,591 --> 00:24:04,993
come riding over the hill and rescue him.
511
00:24:04,994 --> 00:24:07,428
They was gonna bust him
out of the trial there
512
00:24:07,429 --> 00:24:10,732
on their motorcycles and ride
off into the sunset with him.
513
00:24:12,015 --> 00:24:15,303
So, Ralph Buss calls Johnny
to testify at his own trial.
514
00:24:15,304 --> 00:24:17,538
He felt that this would
be one of those cases
515
00:24:17,539 --> 00:24:20,541
where testifying was a
good move. It was not.
516
00:24:20,542 --> 00:24:21,509
He was so high.
517
00:24:21,510 --> 00:24:23,478
Well, during the cross-examination,
518
00:24:23,479 --> 00:24:27,682
he was trying to portray himself
as a peaceful, nonviolent person,
519
00:24:27,683 --> 00:24:30,951
and yet he had an album and a song called
520
00:24:30,952 --> 00:24:33,154
Armed and Crazy.
521
00:24:33,155 --> 00:24:36,324
This fact, combined with
Johnny's unusual behavior
522
00:24:36,325 --> 00:24:37,759
and appearance in the courtroom
523
00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:40,227
had a not-so-surprising
effect on the jury.
524
00:24:40,228 --> 00:24:42,730
Things got progressively worse.
525
00:24:42,731 --> 00:24:45,166
Johnny's on the witness stand,
526
00:24:45,167 --> 00:24:49,504
and for some reason he
picks up this large gun
527
00:24:49,505 --> 00:24:52,639
that's laying there, and
he raises it above his head.
528
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,274
And he does this whirling
thing with the gun.
529
00:24:56,411 --> 00:24:59,680
When that happened, Ralph just went pale.
530
00:24:59,681 --> 00:25:01,915
It was all over. The end.
531
00:25:03,651 --> 00:25:06,486
My heart sank, and I visualized him
532
00:25:06,487 --> 00:25:10,689
already wearing the handcuffs,
schlepping down the hall.
533
00:25:11,559 --> 00:25:14,027
About, um, two and a half hours later,
534
00:25:14,028 --> 00:25:16,029
Johnny Paycheck's found guilty,
535
00:25:16,030 --> 00:25:19,999
and he is sentenced to seven to nine
and a half years in Ohio State Prison.
536
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:23,002
So the judge said, "Okay,
That'll be seven years"
537
00:25:23,003 --> 00:25:25,137
or whatever it was, and as
they're leading John off,
538
00:25:25,138 --> 00:25:27,239
and he said, "I'll be out in two weeks!"
539
00:25:29,409 --> 00:25:32,845
And he went directly from
the courtroom to jail.
540
00:25:34,881 --> 00:25:37,383
When he was in the
Chillicothe prison down there,
541
00:25:37,384 --> 00:25:39,885
he somehow or another got Merle Haggard
542
00:25:39,886 --> 00:25:42,655
to promise to come up and do a concert.
543
00:25:42,656 --> 00:25:44,423
They've asked me to come
out here and introduce
544
00:25:44,424 --> 00:25:47,259
this gentleman I've
known for about 25 years.
545
00:25:47,260 --> 00:25:50,730
I've been doing time
with him on the streets.
546
00:25:54,868 --> 00:25:57,403
He said going to prison
was the best thing
547
00:25:57,404 --> 00:25:59,838
that ever happened to him.
He said, "That saved my life."
548
00:25:59,839 --> 00:26:02,206
♪ Well, I can't sell my mama's short ♪
549
00:26:02,207 --> 00:26:04,308
♪ On loving me ♪
550
00:26:04,309 --> 00:26:06,110
And it literally did.
551
00:26:06,111 --> 00:26:08,112
♪ So far ♪
552
00:26:08,113 --> 00:26:10,515
And it gave him, I think,
553
00:26:10,516 --> 00:26:13,752
the inspiration to do the best
song that he had ever written
554
00:26:13,753 --> 00:26:16,053
as far as I'm concerned...
555
00:26:16,054 --> 00:26:17,455
...was "The Old Violin."
556
00:26:17,456 --> 00:26:19,623
♪ I can't recall ♪
557
00:26:22,060 --> 00:26:24,495
♪ One time in my life ♪
558
00:26:27,533 --> 00:26:29,633
♪ I've felt as lonely ♪
559
00:26:31,771 --> 00:26:34,338
♪ As I do tonight ♪
560
00:26:34,339 --> 00:26:37,608
Yeah, it's really kinda... kinda hard
561
00:26:37,609 --> 00:26:40,643
when you set there and
write your own funeral song.
562
00:26:41,713 --> 00:26:44,280
♪ Tonight I feel ♪
563
00:26:46,118 --> 00:26:49,186
♪ Like an old violin ♪
564
00:26:49,187 --> 00:26:51,855
Yeah, yeah. All right.
565
00:26:51,856 --> 00:26:54,824
♪ Soon to be put away ♪
566
00:26:55,961 --> 00:26:59,630
♪ Never played again ♪
567
00:26:59,631 --> 00:27:02,266
It makes me cry also, just like they are,
568
00:27:02,267 --> 00:27:05,202
because you can't help but love the guy.
569
00:27:05,203 --> 00:27:06,404
He was such a genius.
570
00:27:06,405 --> 00:27:07,939
♪ I can't say ♪
571
00:27:07,940 --> 00:27:11,507
I talked to him a few times on
the telephone before he passed,
572
00:27:11,508 --> 00:27:13,509
and I said, "Man, I got some great songs.
573
00:27:13,510 --> 00:27:17,480
I'd like to come to
Nashville and... and do 'em."
574
00:27:17,481 --> 00:27:20,482
♪ Well, I guess it's 'cause the truth ♪
575
00:27:21,352 --> 00:27:24,487
♪ Is the hardest thing I ever faced ♪
576
00:27:24,488 --> 00:27:29,792
You know, Johnny Paycheck was a
pretty rough scoundrel and outlaw.
577
00:27:29,793 --> 00:27:32,329
He had good points and he had bad points,
578
00:27:32,330 --> 00:27:36,132
but in the end, his good
points outweighed the bad.
579
00:27:36,133 --> 00:27:38,467
♪ And just like that, it hit me ♪
580
00:27:41,272 --> 00:27:44,473
♪ Well, that old violin
and I were just alike ♪
581
00:27:47,478 --> 00:27:50,645
♪ We'd give our all
to music, and soon ♪
582
00:27:52,082 --> 00:27:54,116
♪ We'll give our life ♪
583
00:27:56,453 --> 00:27:59,054
The last thing he said to me was,
584
00:27:59,055 --> 00:28:00,923
"Hey, Gary, I owe you one."
585
00:28:00,924 --> 00:28:03,257
I said, "You don't owe me nothing."
586
00:28:07,664 --> 00:28:09,431
- Whoo!
- All right!
587
00:28:14,632 --> 00:28:22,232
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