Singer/songwriter Hoyt Axton, who penned Three Dog Night's smash hit "Joy To The World," died today in Victor, Mo. He was 61. Axton, who was largely confined to a wheelchair after a 1996 stroke, had suffered a pair of heart attacks in recent weeks; the cause of death was due to complications from those attacks.
The son of Mae Axton, who wrote Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel," Hoyt Axton was born on March 25, 1938, in Duncan, Okla. He recorded much of his own folk material during the '60s, as well as penned such tracks as the Kingston Trio's "Greenback Dollar," Steppenwolf's "The Pusher," and Ringo Starr's "No No Song."
"Joy To The World," which Axton wrote for Three Dog Night, spent six weeks atop the Billboard pop singles chart in 1971.
In the '80s and '90s, Axton appeared as a character actor in such films as "The Black Stallion," "Heart Like A Wheel," and "Gremlins." He moved to Victor after portraying the local sheriff in the 1988 film "Disorganized Crime," which was filmed there.
Axton is survived by his wife, Deborah, and five adult children.
<P align=right><i>-- Chris Morris, L.A.
The son of Mae Axton, who wrote Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel," Hoyt Axton was born on March 25, 1938, in Duncan, Okla. He recorded much of his own folk material during the '60s, as well as penned such tracks as the Kingston Trio's "Greenback Dollar," Steppenwolf's "The Pusher," and Ringo Starr's "No No Song."
"Joy To The World," which Axton wrote for Three Dog Night, spent six weeks atop the Billboard pop singles chart in 1971.
In the '80s and '90s, Axton appeared as a character actor in such films as "The Black Stallion," "Heart Like A Wheel," and "Gremlins." He moved to Victor after portraying the local sheriff in the 1988 film "Disorganized Crime," which was filmed there.
Axton is survived by his wife, Deborah, and five adult children.
<P align=right><i>-- Chris Morris, L.A.
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