He was a tenor harmony singer with numerous hard country performers in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including Ray Price. He worked along with Willie Nelson in Price's band the Cherokee Cowboys. He was featured as a tenor singer on recordings by Roger Miller. He worked with George Jones and Tammy Wynette, writing some of their hits. His biggest songwriting hit being "Apartment No. 9", which served as Tammy Wynette's first chart hit in December 1966. In 1964, he changed his name legally to Johnny Paycheck, taking the name from Johnny Paychek, a top-ranked boxer from Chicago (and not directly as a humorous alternative to Johnny Cash, as is commonly believed). However, his most popular song, Take This Job and Shove It, was written by someone else – David Allen Coe.
Johnny Paycheck – I’m The Only Hell (My Mamma Ever Raised)
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