1
00:00:22,875 --> 00:00:25,083
(country western music plays)
(engine idling)

2
00:00:25,083 --> 00:00:28,083
Hello. You ever hear
of this guy,

3
00:00:28,083 --> 00:00:29,542
Johnny Paycheck?

4
00:00:30,583 --> 00:00:32,417
No?

5
00:00:32,417 --> 00:00:34,625
You don't like
country music, do you?

6
00:00:34,625 --> 00:00:39,250
You think it's corny and twangy
and kind of stupid.

7
00:00:40,166 --> 00:00:41,625
Well, you could be right,

8
00:00:41,625 --> 00:00:43,917
but it's always good
to keep an open mind.

9
00:00:43,917 --> 00:00:47,458
You know, Johnny Paycheck here
sold over 10 million records.

10
00:00:47,458 --> 00:00:51,250
That's on par with people
like NWA and Gwen Stefani.

11
00:00:51,250 --> 00:00:53,500
In the early '90s once,
I was watching TV,

12
00:00:53,500 --> 00:00:56,208
and there was all this hubbub
on the news

13
00:00:56,208 --> 00:00:58,667
about NWA and gangsta rap

14
00:00:58,667 --> 00:01:00,458
and how it was
just too violent.

15
00:01:00,458 --> 00:01:01,625
I got tired of watching this,

16
00:01:01,625 --> 00:01:04,792
because I actually like NWA
and gangsta rap,

17
00:01:04,792 --> 00:01:06,959
so I switched over
to the Country Music Channel,

18
00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:09,625
where I saw Johnny Paycheck being
interviewed. (country music plays)

19
00:01:09,625 --> 00:01:12,000
And he had
just gotten out of jail

20
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,792
for shooting a guy,
like, he really shot a guy.

21
00:01:15,792 --> 00:01:19,667
And I thought, "Why isn't anybody
worried about Johnny Paycheck?

22
00:01:19,667 --> 00:01:22,291
Why isn't Connie Chung
picking on him?"

23
00:01:22,291 --> 00:01:24,000
♪ Hey, Sharon Rae ♪

24
00:01:25,834 --> 00:01:27,667
♪ You are my life ♪

25
00:01:29,834 --> 00:01:32,291
♪ Wish I was half the man ♪

26
00:01:33,166 --> 00:01:34,542
♪ That you been a wife ♪

27
00:01:34,542 --> 00:01:36,667
Mike Judge: Johnny Paycheck
was a dirt poor kid

28
00:01:36,667 --> 00:01:39,500
who pulled himself out
of poverty with his music,

29
00:01:39,500 --> 00:01:41,709
became a working-class hero,

30
00:01:41,709 --> 00:01:45,166
and almost killed himself
and one other person,

31
00:01:45,166 --> 00:01:47,750
that we know of,
in the process.

32
00:01:47,750 --> 00:01:50,750
And he looks a lot
like Charles Manson.

33
00:01:50,750 --> 00:01:53,667
(theme music playing)

34
00:02:05,750 --> 00:02:07,500
Mike: Greenfield, Ohio,

35
00:02:07,500 --> 00:02:10,166
birthplace of the detachable
horse collar,

36
00:02:10,166 --> 00:02:11,875
Johnny Paycheck,

37
00:02:11,875 --> 00:02:13,542
and these three guys,

38
00:02:13,542 --> 00:02:14,917
the Adams Brothers--

39
00:02:14,917 --> 00:02:17,500
Don, Gary, and Arnie--

40
00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:20,375
Paycheck's backup band
for nearly two decades.

41
00:02:20,375 --> 00:02:22,041
(country music playing)

42
00:02:22,041 --> 00:02:24,458
The first time I met
Johnny Paycheck,

43
00:02:24,458 --> 00:02:26,208
I was like four years old.

44
00:02:26,208 --> 00:02:28,083
One of my brothers
had him under a tree,

45
00:02:28,083 --> 00:02:29,542
kicking his butt.

46
00:02:29,542 --> 00:02:31,125
(guys laugh)

47
00:02:31,125 --> 00:02:32,542
We just hung out together,

48
00:02:32,542 --> 00:02:33,875
'cause we lived in the--

49
00:02:33,875 --> 00:02:36,083
the same neighborhood,
in the country.

50
00:02:36,083 --> 00:02:38,959
I remember one time
when he came to the house,

51
00:02:38,959 --> 00:02:40,291
he brought a guitar with him,

52
00:02:40,291 --> 00:02:44,500
and he sat in that kitchen
and sang and sang and sang.

53
00:02:44,500 --> 00:02:45,750
A couple years after that,

54
00:02:45,750 --> 00:02:47,875
me and Gary got in a talent show
in Greenfield,

55
00:02:47,875 --> 00:02:49,208
and we needed a guitar player,

56
00:02:49,208 --> 00:02:53,208
and so he played guitar
for us and, uh, and we lost.

57
00:02:53,208 --> 00:02:55,625
Gary: Lost to a woman
that pantomimed,

58
00:02:55,625 --> 00:02:58,083
so that was rough to take.

59
00:02:58,083 --> 00:03:00,291
(guys laugh)

60
00:03:00,291 --> 00:03:02,458
Of course at that time,
he was Donny Lytle.

61
00:03:02,458 --> 00:03:03,583
(chuckles) Donny Lytle.

62
00:03:03,583 --> 00:03:05,291
He had several
different nicknames

63
00:03:05,291 --> 00:03:07,250
that a lot of people
would call him.

64
00:03:07,250 --> 00:03:09,417
In his youth, uh,
a lot of people

65
00:03:09,417 --> 00:03:11,583
referred to him as Hubcap Donny.

66
00:03:11,583 --> 00:03:14,667
Gary: He was a hubcap thief.

67
00:03:14,667 --> 00:03:16,125
Him stealing hubcaps,

68
00:03:16,125 --> 00:03:18,375
they forgot to mention
it had the car with it.

69
00:03:18,375 --> 00:03:20,542
Arnie: Oh yeah. (guys laugh)

70
00:03:20,542 --> 00:03:23,625
He had a little, uh,
criminal element to him.

71
00:03:23,625 --> 00:03:25,792
When he was
in Greenfield one time, uh,

72
00:03:25,792 --> 00:03:27,917
he went downtown
and, uh, got drunk,

73
00:03:27,917 --> 00:03:29,959
and he went
and broke into a car lot.

74
00:03:29,959 --> 00:03:32,417
Arnie: He seen the car
out there on the lot

75
00:03:32,417 --> 00:03:34,625
that he liked, so he went in
and found a key for it,

76
00:03:34,625 --> 00:03:37,333
took it for a drive
and didn't like it,

77
00:03:37,333 --> 00:03:40,208
so he brought it back,
went in, got another one.

78
00:03:40,208 --> 00:03:42,125
This time, he got
the whole key board.

79
00:03:42,125 --> 00:03:43,500
Don:
Stole all the keys.

80
00:03:43,500 --> 00:03:45,959
Arnie: Got him another
car, took off again.

81
00:03:45,959 --> 00:03:47,417
(engine revs)

82
00:03:47,417 --> 00:03:49,041
Took it down
to Paint Creek...

83
00:03:49,041 --> 00:03:52,458
Don: And took all the keys and
throwed 'em in the creek.

84
00:03:52,458 --> 00:03:54,000
He got in a little trouble
over that.

85
00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,875
Once he got out of jail,
he was gone.

86
00:03:56,875 --> 00:03:58,542
He took off for Nashville.

87
00:03:58,542 --> 00:03:59,792
Mike:
Down in Music City,

88
00:03:59,792 --> 00:04:02,375
Paycheck scraped by
as a backup musician,

89
00:04:02,375 --> 00:04:05,625
playing with everyone from
Porter Wagoner to George Jones.

90
00:04:05,625 --> 00:04:08,291
Gary: He was kind of like
a country music Mozart.

91
00:04:08,291 --> 00:04:10,417
You know, he played
guitar, lead guitar,

92
00:04:10,417 --> 00:04:12,625
uh, steel, and, uh, drums.

93
00:04:12,625 --> 00:04:14,375
He was
an excellent bass player.

94
00:04:14,375 --> 00:04:17,208
Probably the best
in Nashville in his day.

95
00:04:17,208 --> 00:04:20,792
♪ Oh, this used to be ♪

96
00:04:20,792 --> 00:04:24,000
♪ Our favorite night spot ♪

97
00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:25,375
He was a great singer.

98
00:04:25,375 --> 00:04:30,000
♪ When she was here,
it was heaven ♪

99
00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:31,667
Gary: Next time I'd
seen him was, uh,

100
00:04:31,667 --> 00:04:34,834
he had come back, and he had
changed his name to Donny Young.

101
00:04:34,834 --> 00:04:38,125
Mike: Donny Young wasn't exactly
burning up the charts...

102
00:04:38,125 --> 00:04:39,333
♪ ♪

103
00:04:39,333 --> 00:04:41,917
...so he decided
he would change his act.

104
00:04:41,917 --> 00:04:45,333
Gary: Back in them days there
was a Johnny Dollar, and a...

105
00:04:45,333 --> 00:04:48,709
Arnie: Johnny Cash and,
uh, Johnny Western.

106
00:04:48,709 --> 00:04:52,625
Mike: Donny's manager, figuring
he'd cash in on the Johnny trend...

107
00:04:52,625 --> 00:04:54,959
(bell dings) ...recalled
an obscure Polish boxer,

108
00:04:54,959 --> 00:04:58,000
Johnny Paychek
with a "K."

109
00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,250
Gary: From that point on, I
mean, he totally believed

110
00:05:01,250 --> 00:05:02,667
he was Johnny Paycheck.

111
00:05:02,667 --> 00:05:05,166
You couldn't talk him out of it.
Saying, "Okay, Donny."

112
00:05:05,166 --> 00:05:07,834
Or every time you'd call him
Donny, he'd get mad at you.

113
00:05:07,834 --> 00:05:10,125
I think he had
an identity crisis.

114
00:05:10,125 --> 00:05:12,917
Mike: He legally changed his
name to Johnny Paycheck,

115
00:05:12,917 --> 00:05:14,375
and his career took off,

116
00:05:14,375 --> 00:05:18,000
but deep down inside,
he was still Hubcap Donny.

117
00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,834
Paycheck was, uh, playing
with Patsy Cline.

118
00:05:21,834 --> 00:05:23,792
Patsy:
♪ Crazy ♪

119
00:05:23,792 --> 00:05:27,041
Mike: Paycheck stole Patsy Cline's car.
♪ I'm crazy for feeling ♪

120
00:05:27,041 --> 00:05:29,583
I think that was-- that was
down in Texas someplace,

121
00:05:29,583 --> 00:05:33,000
a big country music park,
and he got to drinking.

122
00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:34,458
♪ ♪
(Arnie chuckles)

123
00:05:34,458 --> 00:05:36,875
He found her keys
and he just went out,

124
00:05:36,875 --> 00:05:39,041
got in her car,
and took off.

125
00:05:39,041 --> 00:05:40,583
(tires screech)

126
00:05:40,583 --> 00:05:42,125
And when he'd get
to the gate,

127
00:05:42,125 --> 00:05:45,166
they would shut
the gate on him.

128
00:05:45,166 --> 00:05:46,750
There was
only one entrance to it.

129
00:05:46,750 --> 00:05:48,417
They said, "Just let him go.
He can't get out."

130
00:05:48,417 --> 00:05:51,875
And he went past that gate
a half a dozen times,

131
00:05:51,875 --> 00:05:54,250
and he just drove
around and around...

132
00:05:54,250 --> 00:05:56,750
(guys laughing)
...and around inside the park.

133
00:05:56,750 --> 00:05:58,125
(engine sputters)

134
00:05:58,125 --> 00:06:00,417
Arnie: But eventually
it ran out of gas.

135
00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:05,667
He had a total disregard for
the law when he was drinking.

136
00:06:05,667 --> 00:06:08,583
Mike:
Old habits die hard,

137
00:06:08,583 --> 00:06:10,917
but somehow he managed
to pick up a new one.

138
00:06:10,917 --> 00:06:14,625
There was, like, a couple
of 24-hour pharmacists

139
00:06:14,625 --> 00:06:16,709
there in Nashville,
you know what I mean.

140
00:06:16,709 --> 00:06:19,709
The drug of choice back then
was them Old Yellers.

141
00:06:19,709 --> 00:06:21,542
We'd go to the jam sessions,

142
00:06:21,542 --> 00:06:23,875
and Paycheck was always
up there playing bass.

143
00:06:23,875 --> 00:06:25,625
Well, we'd stay up
for three or four days

144
00:06:25,625 --> 00:06:28,458
just to get in tune, and then
jam for three or four more.

145
00:06:28,458 --> 00:06:30,792
(horn honks) Mike:
Between the speed binges

146
00:06:30,792 --> 00:06:32,333
and stints in jail,

147
00:06:32,333 --> 00:06:36,000
Paycheck found himself
broke and homeless.

148
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:39,291
Then he met a man
named Swamp Dogg.

149
00:06:39,291 --> 00:06:42,083
(Swamp Dogg clears throat)
Umm...

150
00:06:43,792 --> 00:06:46,875
(burps) Excuse me.

151
00:06:46,875 --> 00:06:48,625
My song, I wrote,

152
00:06:48,625 --> 00:06:51,125
"Don't Take Her,
She's All I Got,"

153
00:06:51,125 --> 00:06:52,500
single-handedly

154
00:06:52,500 --> 00:06:55,583
put Johnny Paycheck
on the map,

155
00:06:55,583 --> 00:06:57,417
'cause he wasn't
nowhere near the map.

156
00:06:57,417 --> 00:07:00,959
♪ Let me tell you now, friend ♪

157
00:07:00,959 --> 00:07:03,709
♪ Don't take her,
she's all I've got ♪

158
00:07:05,333 --> 00:07:10,333
♪ Please don't take her love
away from me ♪

159
00:07:11,333 --> 00:07:13,375
♪ I'm begging you, friend ♪

160
00:07:13,375 --> 00:07:17,542
Swamp: That single did
a shitload of sales.

161
00:07:17,542 --> 00:07:19,500
People were buying
the hell out of it.

162
00:07:19,500 --> 00:07:22,041
We made a fortune
with that motherfucker.

163
00:07:22,041 --> 00:07:24,250
But, anyway, I digress.

164
00:07:24,250 --> 00:07:28,250
Paycheck had a way of destroying
hisself about every five years.

165
00:07:28,250 --> 00:07:30,041
I mean,
you could look for it.

166
00:07:30,041 --> 00:07:34,041
I mean any-- he'd get up, things
would be going pretty smooth,

167
00:07:34,041 --> 00:07:36,375
and then he would--
he would just totally--

168
00:07:36,375 --> 00:07:38,458
he was hellbent on self destruction.
Gary: Yeah, he did.

169
00:07:38,458 --> 00:07:40,166
He had a five-year cycle.

170
00:07:40,166 --> 00:07:41,834
Yeah, he had about four of those.
Gary: Yeah.

171
00:07:41,834 --> 00:07:44,208
Yeah, and was
clean-cut, you know,

172
00:07:44,208 --> 00:07:45,917
and then "Don't Take
Her, She's All I Got,"

173
00:07:45,917 --> 00:07:49,291
and he just as tame as-- doing
everything like a businessman,

174
00:07:49,291 --> 00:07:51,166
and then all of a sudden,
he put that hat on,

175
00:07:51,166 --> 00:07:54,709
and I thought, "Okay, the five years is up.
I'm going home."

176
00:07:54,709 --> 00:07:56,000
(laughs)

177
00:07:56,000 --> 00:07:58,250
(yelling) Gary:
We was in Canada,

178
00:07:58,250 --> 00:08:01,375
and Paycheck got drunk
and rowdy in the hotel there.

179
00:08:01,375 --> 00:08:02,625
(thuds)
(police sirens wail)

180
00:08:02,625 --> 00:08:05,041
So, the hotel people
called the police on him,

181
00:08:05,041 --> 00:08:07,834
and they come down
and they hauled him off.

182
00:08:07,834 --> 00:08:11,583
Anyhow, we went down to get him out the
next morning and had to pay the fine.

183
00:08:11,583 --> 00:08:13,458
Paycheck didn't
even have a shirt on,

184
00:08:13,458 --> 00:08:15,083
had to go to court
without a shirt.

185
00:08:15,083 --> 00:08:17,709
♪ God save... ♪ I mean,
it was in Canada...

186
00:08:17,709 --> 00:08:20,917
♪ Our precious Queen ♪ ...and that
little deal there where they all get up

187
00:08:20,917 --> 00:08:22,750
and all hail the queen,
something like that.

188
00:08:22,750 --> 00:08:25,458
Paycheck went,
"Fuck the queen."

189
00:08:25,458 --> 00:08:27,917
(guys laugh)

190
00:08:27,917 --> 00:08:30,250
I think Johnny Paycheck
was the real deal

191
00:08:30,250 --> 00:08:33,500
when it came down
to being a gangster,

192
00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:36,041
to being a thug,
and he could've...

193
00:08:36,041 --> 00:08:40,125
he could've been a Crip...
(laughs) very easily.

194
00:08:40,125 --> 00:08:42,875
We just did things
the way we wanted to,

195
00:08:42,875 --> 00:08:44,792
and, uh,
somebody didn't like it,

196
00:08:44,792 --> 00:08:46,333
we'd tell 'em
where to kiss it.

197
00:08:46,333 --> 00:08:48,834
Johnny...
didn't take no shit.

198
00:08:48,834 --> 00:08:51,083
Mike:
In October of 1976,

199
00:08:51,083 --> 00:08:53,041
Johnny released
what many considered to be

200
00:08:53,041 --> 00:08:55,542
the quintessential
outlaw country record,

201
00:08:55,542 --> 00:08:57,917
11 Months and 29 Days.

202
00:08:57,917 --> 00:08:59,542
This was a reference
to the length

203
00:08:59,542 --> 00:09:02,500
of his latest stint in prison
for check fraud.

204
00:09:02,500 --> 00:09:05,166
This charge earned him
a new nickname:

205
00:09:05,166 --> 00:09:07,041
Johnny Bad Check.

206
00:09:07,041 --> 00:09:08,959
A psychiatrist might
be able to figure out

207
00:09:08,959 --> 00:09:11,041
what caused
all Paycheck's troubles,

208
00:09:11,041 --> 00:09:12,917
but his friends have
their own theory.

209
00:09:12,917 --> 00:09:15,166
Paycheck was
a little feller.

210
00:09:15,166 --> 00:09:18,834
He was intimidated
by anybody over four feet tall.

211
00:09:18,834 --> 00:09:20,917
He had that little man complex.

212
00:09:20,917 --> 00:09:24,041
I guess he would have
a Napoleon complex,

213
00:09:24,041 --> 00:09:26,625
'cause he was short.
Hadn't been for that hat,

214
00:09:26,625 --> 00:09:28,667
he really would
have been short.

215
00:09:28,667 --> 00:09:31,583
Mike: Paycheck's longtime
manager, Ernie Stepp,

216
00:09:31,583 --> 00:09:34,291
had to stick up for Johnny
on more than one occasion.

217
00:09:34,291 --> 00:09:37,625
If I'm working for you,
and if it's any way possible

218
00:09:37,625 --> 00:09:39,417
without killing somebody...

219
00:09:41,083 --> 00:09:42,792
I'll do it.

220
00:09:42,792 --> 00:09:45,083
One time, we was coming
out of California,

221
00:09:45,083 --> 00:09:48,166
and, uh, John wanted
a-- a Big Mac.

222
00:09:48,166 --> 00:09:49,333
That's what he was wanting.

223
00:09:49,333 --> 00:09:51,750
He was coming down off
of drinking a little bit.

224
00:09:51,750 --> 00:09:53,375
I told the bus driver--

225
00:09:53,375 --> 00:09:55,583
I said, "John wants
a double-decker hamburger."

226
00:09:55,583 --> 00:09:58,208
Anyway, he stopped
at a truck stop,

227
00:09:58,208 --> 00:10:00,375
and that's where
we were gonna eat.

228
00:10:00,375 --> 00:10:02,500
I said, "No, uh,
John wants a--

229
00:10:02,500 --> 00:10:05,583
a different kind of sandwich,
a double triple hamburger."

230
00:10:05,583 --> 00:10:08,041
He said, no,
he's driving the fucking bus,

231
00:10:08,041 --> 00:10:10,000
we'll stop where he wants.

232
00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:14,667
John, he didn't come out of the back
of the bus for food, cops, or nobody.

233
00:10:14,667 --> 00:10:17,500
Anyway, I shot
the bus driver in the ear.

234
00:10:17,500 --> 00:10:18,667
(gunshot)

235
00:10:18,667 --> 00:10:20,166
First I hit him
upside the head.

236
00:10:20,166 --> 00:10:23,667
I got him down on the--
on that front seat.

237
00:10:23,667 --> 00:10:26,083
Yes, they're easier to shoot
when you get 'em down.

238
00:10:26,083 --> 00:10:28,500
(laughs) Yeah, if you--
if you don't get

239
00:10:28,500 --> 00:10:31,041
the right kind of sandwich
for me, I'll shoot you.

240
00:10:31,041 --> 00:10:32,500
(laughs)

241
00:10:32,500 --> 00:10:34,041
Mike:
Ernie not only made sure

242
00:10:34,041 --> 00:10:36,375
Paycheck got
his double triple hamburgers

243
00:10:36,375 --> 00:10:38,875
and kept his
bus driver in line,

244
00:10:38,875 --> 00:10:42,041
he also guided him to the
biggest moment of his career.

245
00:10:42,041 --> 00:10:43,709
Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome, please,

246
00:10:43,709 --> 00:10:45,875
the fabulous
Johnny Paycheck!

247
00:10:45,875 --> 00:10:48,500
♪ Take this job and shove it ♪

248
00:10:48,500 --> 00:10:52,583
♪ I ain't working here
no more ♪

249
00:10:52,583 --> 00:10:55,750
That was a classic.
That's his signature song.

250
00:10:55,750 --> 00:10:59,542
It went to number one, and the
unemployment rate skyrocketed.

251
00:10:59,542 --> 00:11:03,250
♪ You better not try to stand
in my way as I'm walking ♪

252
00:11:03,250 --> 00:11:05,125
It was-- All of a sudden,
that's all you heard.

253
00:11:05,125 --> 00:11:06,875
It was like "Jingle Bells."

254
00:11:06,875 --> 00:11:09,417
♪ Take this job and shove it ♪

255
00:11:12,166 --> 00:11:13,667
(cheers, applause)

256
00:11:13,667 --> 00:11:16,750
It was the battle cry
of all the working people.

257
00:11:16,750 --> 00:11:19,208
John become
the working-class hero

258
00:11:19,208 --> 00:11:21,041
because that was
their slogan.

259
00:11:21,041 --> 00:11:23,375
The governor of West Virginia
decided to bring

260
00:11:23,375 --> 00:11:27,583
Johnny Paycheck in
to support the miners.

261
00:11:27,583 --> 00:11:29,917
Tom Brokaw: It is blood that
has made Harlan County famous,

262
00:11:29,917 --> 00:11:33,917
blood spilled in some of the most violent
labor disputes in this country's history.

263
00:11:33,917 --> 00:11:35,792
Newswoman: People in these
mountains have guns,

264
00:11:35,792 --> 00:11:38,667
and violence on a picket line
is not unusual.

265
00:11:38,667 --> 00:11:41,125
As the strike dragged on
for more than a year,

266
00:11:41,125 --> 00:11:43,750
two miners were shot,
one man was killed.

267
00:11:43,750 --> 00:11:45,208
So they brought in, basically,

268
00:11:45,208 --> 00:11:46,583
an army of state troopers,

269
00:11:46,583 --> 00:11:49,000
and the state troopers lined up
and put a wall between 'em.

270
00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:50,583
And they said,
"If you come across the line,

271
00:11:50,583 --> 00:11:52,625
"we're arresting all of you,
and you're all going to jail,

272
00:11:52,625 --> 00:11:55,208
or we'll shoot it out with you."
And it was really tense.

273
00:11:55,208 --> 00:11:57,834
And all of a sudden, right out
in the middle of the road,

274
00:11:57,834 --> 00:12:00,375
Paycheck walking out there
with a guitar, and he goes...

275
00:12:00,375 --> 00:12:02,417
♪ Take this job and shove it ♪

276
00:12:02,417 --> 00:12:05,125
(cheering) Dub: And this
crowd just explode--

277
00:12:05,125 --> 00:12:07,625
I mean, the coal miners
just go insane.

278
00:12:09,792 --> 00:12:11,667
He was their hero.

279
00:12:11,667 --> 00:12:14,291
John spoke what
they couldn't speak.

280
00:12:14,291 --> 00:12:17,333
He was the reason why
they got the contract signed

281
00:12:17,333 --> 00:12:19,125
and the scabbers went home.

282
00:12:19,125 --> 00:12:22,792
That was the only time
I ever seen Paycheck cry.

283
00:12:22,792 --> 00:12:25,291
(cries)

284
00:12:25,291 --> 00:12:26,792
Damn.

285
00:12:26,792 --> 00:12:28,333
(chuckles)

286
00:12:29,792 --> 00:12:31,333
Mike:
For Johnny, the success

287
00:12:31,333 --> 00:12:33,000
of "Take This Job
and Shove It"

288
00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,000
had its highs...
and its highs.

289
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:40,667
And the next thing I knew,
he was just a total cokehead.

290
00:12:40,667 --> 00:12:43,875
He was sucking a lot
of powder, a lot of it.

291
00:12:43,875 --> 00:12:47,375
We were driving down
the road in-- in the bus,

292
00:12:47,375 --> 00:12:50,083
and he'd run out
of cocaine.

293
00:12:50,083 --> 00:12:51,917
So he gets on the radio.

294
00:12:51,917 --> 00:12:55,500
He said, "Hey, out there,
breaker, breaker."  (laughs)

295
00:12:55,500 --> 00:12:58,000
He says,
"This is Johnny Paycheck.

296
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:01,417
I want some cocaine
and don't care what it costs."

297
00:13:01,417 --> 00:13:03,583
(laughs)
(truck honks)

298
00:13:03,583 --> 00:13:06,667
So, here are
a couple of truckers,

299
00:13:06,667 --> 00:13:08,333
we're going down
the roads a way,

300
00:13:08,333 --> 00:13:11,041
and they were going
into a rest area.

301
00:13:11,041 --> 00:13:13,542
Gary: These guys brought it
back and handed it to him,

302
00:13:13,542 --> 00:13:15,125
and they said,
"Here's your cocaine, man."

303
00:13:15,125 --> 00:13:17,959
The cocaine they had,
I wouldn't give it to a dog.

304
00:13:17,959 --> 00:13:19,333
Gary: He said... (sniffs)

305
00:13:19,333 --> 00:13:20,583
..."Boy, that's
some good stuff."

306
00:13:20,583 --> 00:13:22,458
(guys laugh)

307
00:13:22,458 --> 00:13:25,542
And he spent--
I know for a fact--

308
00:13:25,542 --> 00:13:29,041
$16 million up his nose.

309
00:13:29,041 --> 00:13:31,625
(sniffing)
He'd just set there.

310
00:13:31,625 --> 00:13:33,625
There's nothing worse
than a hillbilly

311
00:13:33,625 --> 00:13:36,875
with a hit record.
(guys laugh)

312
00:13:36,875 --> 00:13:39,041
I was with him
one time when he said,

313
00:13:39,041 --> 00:13:41,542
"Don, let's rent a Learjet."
(engine shrieks)

314
00:13:41,542 --> 00:13:45,959
Don: And we flew 80 mile on the other
side of the job we was going to

315
00:13:45,959 --> 00:13:48,375
and had to catch cabs back
to where we was going.

316
00:13:48,375 --> 00:13:50,375
(guys laugh)

317
00:13:50,375 --> 00:13:54,166
He couldn't handle success, if
you really wanna know the truth.

318
00:13:54,166 --> 00:13:55,834
Every time he was ready
to make it big,

319
00:13:55,834 --> 00:14:00,166
he would screw up. He walked
into, uh, a meeting in LA

320
00:14:00,166 --> 00:14:02,417
with the-- the heads
of Epic Records,

321
00:14:02,417 --> 00:14:05,208
and, uh,
I guess Paycheck got upset

322
00:14:05,208 --> 00:14:07,166
because they wasn't putting
enough money behind him

323
00:14:07,166 --> 00:14:08,792
or something
like that, but he--

324
00:14:08,792 --> 00:14:10,458
he just busted
in the door.

325
00:14:10,458 --> 00:14:12,333
"I'm a star.
I'm a giant star."

326
00:14:12,333 --> 00:14:15,500
"Bigger than Elvis." "I'm bigger
than country music itself."

327
00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:17,709
Mike: Johnny's friends
are quick to note

328
00:14:17,709 --> 00:14:22,041
that some parts of Paycheck were
not bigger than country music.

329
00:14:22,041 --> 00:14:24,208
He did like--
like to be naked,

330
00:14:24,208 --> 00:14:27,000
and why-- if you'd see
him, you'd wonder why.

331
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:30,208
So small, he should have
been ashamed of hisself.

332
00:14:30,208 --> 00:14:33,875
I never heard anything about his...
teeny-weeny peenie,

333
00:14:33,875 --> 00:14:37,166
because I don't want 'em talking
about my teeny-weeny peenie,

334
00:14:37,166 --> 00:14:40,125
(laughs)
so I said shit. Uh...

335
00:14:40,125 --> 00:14:44,417
Mike: Clearly, Paycheck needed
something to make him feel like a man.

336
00:14:44,417 --> 00:14:47,291
He grew ten feet
when he was, uh...

337
00:14:47,291 --> 00:14:48,709
riding with the Hells Angels.

338
00:14:48,709 --> 00:14:51,083
(motorcycles revving) Ernie:
Hell, the Hells Angels

339
00:14:51,083 --> 00:14:54,125
took care of Johnny
like he was a baby.

340
00:14:54,125 --> 00:14:56,917
They made sure
he never got hurt,

341
00:14:56,917 --> 00:14:58,417
and they took care
of that boy.

342
00:14:58,417 --> 00:15:00,291
Uh, you know, he liked
to play the role,

343
00:15:00,291 --> 00:15:02,458
like ride a big,
bad motorcycle.

344
00:15:02,458 --> 00:15:05,959
He got to be the badass
that he dreamed that he was.

345
00:15:05,959 --> 00:15:08,792
We played at the Cow
Palace in San Francisco,

346
00:15:08,792 --> 00:15:11,208
and Willie was on the show, and the
Hells Angels was all up there,

347
00:15:11,208 --> 00:15:14,000
and he said, "Don, hey,

348
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:16,291
I think I'm gonna be a hitman
for the Hells Angels."

349
00:15:16,291 --> 00:15:20,041
I said, "You set your sights
pretty high, buddy."

350
00:15:20,041 --> 00:15:22,333
(guys laugh)

351
00:15:22,333 --> 00:15:25,000
And here's the story
that goes with that.

352
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,625
In Oakland, California,
federal and local police

353
00:15:27,625 --> 00:15:31,709
tried to round up members of the
Hells Angels motorcycle gang.

354
00:15:31,709 --> 00:15:33,333
Mike: Late in 1985,

355
00:15:33,333 --> 00:15:34,667
after wrapping up
a tour, (sniffs)

356
00:15:34,667 --> 00:15:36,500
Johnny Paycheck
kept the party going

357
00:15:36,500 --> 00:15:39,333
at a Hells Angels clubhouse
in Maryland.

358
00:15:39,333 --> 00:15:41,834
It happened to be
under FBI surveillance.

359
00:15:41,834 --> 00:15:45,583
Agents allegedly warned the
bikers about a credible threat

360
00:15:45,583 --> 00:15:48,333
by a rival gang
to blow the place up.

361
00:15:48,333 --> 00:15:52,208
Upon hearing the news, Paycheck
summoned all the courage he had,

362
00:15:52,208 --> 00:15:57,166
ran into the clubhouse and grabbed
a stash of Peruvian cocaine.

363
00:15:57,166 --> 00:15:59,542
He headed back home
to Greenfield,

364
00:15:59,542 --> 00:16:05,458
high out of his mind, with two suitcases
full of money and said cocaine.

365
00:16:05,458 --> 00:16:09,542
Gary: And he was looking for my
cousin Red Dog's daughter, Niecey,

366
00:16:09,542 --> 00:16:12,166
my niece,
who was 14 years old.

367
00:16:12,166 --> 00:16:13,792
And I said,
"They call her Niecey."

368
00:16:13,792 --> 00:16:16,709
I said, "Here in Greenfield,
we call that statutory rape."

369
00:16:16,709 --> 00:16:19,166
(guys laugh) Gary: For
some reason or other,

370
00:16:19,166 --> 00:16:21,709
he had thought that I'd
been sleeping with Niecey,

371
00:16:21,709 --> 00:16:23,917
who was just like
a daughter to me.

372
00:16:23,917 --> 00:16:26,208
I said,
"No, that's bullshit."

373
00:16:26,208 --> 00:16:28,667
Somebody told me he was
coming over to shoot me.

374
00:16:28,667 --> 00:16:33,041
Mike: Attorney Rocky Coss has a slightly
different version of the events.

375
00:16:33,041 --> 00:16:36,041
(clears throat) Johnny claimed
the purpose of the visit

376
00:16:36,041 --> 00:16:38,834
was to come see his mother
before Christmas.

377
00:16:38,834 --> 00:16:41,792
He then decided to come look
for a place to get a drink.

378
00:16:41,792 --> 00:16:45,291
And so he drove down 72
down into Hillsboro,

379
00:16:45,291 --> 00:16:48,583
and the first bar that
he came to that was open

380
00:16:48,583 --> 00:16:51,125
was the North High Lounge.

381
00:16:51,125 --> 00:16:53,125
So he come in there
and he was talking

382
00:16:53,125 --> 00:16:57,333
to a couple of old boys that--
we all used to grow up together.

383
00:16:57,333 --> 00:17:00,208
Rocky: Lloyd and Larry had both
been drinking that evening

384
00:17:00,208 --> 00:17:02,583
and had several beers,
maybe as many as eight.

385
00:17:03,917 --> 00:17:05,959
And you know,
they were certainly loose,

386
00:17:05,959 --> 00:17:08,583
you know, as many people
are that are drinking.

387
00:17:08,583 --> 00:17:10,792
Bowers wanted to meet him,
so he went up

388
00:17:10,792 --> 00:17:13,250
and initiated the contact
with Paycheck at the bar.

389
00:17:13,250 --> 00:17:16,041
Gary: "Hey, buddy, come here and let me
buy you a drink" and all that stuff.

390
00:17:16,041 --> 00:17:18,959
They was as friendly
as they could possibly be.

391
00:17:18,959 --> 00:17:21,291
Well, they didn't know
he was just totally...

392
00:17:21,291 --> 00:17:24,834
(sniffing) ...totally
gone on his cocaine.

393
00:17:24,834 --> 00:17:26,875
Paycheck's version
of the events

394
00:17:26,875 --> 00:17:30,542
was that Larry and Lloyd
were basically crowding him

395
00:17:30,542 --> 00:17:33,542
and that Larry had
a bottle in his hand.

396
00:17:33,542 --> 00:17:36,375
He took that
as being a prelude

397
00:17:36,375 --> 00:17:39,792
to Wise attacking him
with the bottle.

398
00:17:39,792 --> 00:17:42,625
Mike: Attorney Ralph Buss,
lawyer for the Hells Angels,

399
00:17:42,625 --> 00:17:46,959
Johnny Paycheck, and owner and
operator of his own karate studio.

400
00:17:46,959 --> 00:17:48,709
Johnny was especially afraid

401
00:17:48,709 --> 00:17:50,458
of broken bottles.

402
00:17:50,458 --> 00:17:52,125
He had a tremendous acuity

403
00:17:52,125 --> 00:17:53,625
of imminent danger.

404
00:17:53,625 --> 00:17:57,542
Yeah, during that process is when
the hat exchange took place.

405
00:17:57,542 --> 00:18:00,500
Johnny was wearing
his Johnny Paycheck tour hat.

406
00:18:00,500 --> 00:18:02,917
Bowers had a--
I believe, a camouflage hat.

407
00:18:02,917 --> 00:18:05,667
Larry Wise is wearing
a Jack Daniel's hat.

408
00:18:05,667 --> 00:18:07,333
In Highland County,
I mean, people--

409
00:18:07,333 --> 00:18:09,041
lots and lots
of people wear hats.

410
00:18:09,041 --> 00:18:11,000
You know,
I wear hats quite often.

411
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,083
Lloyd indicated
that he liked Johnny's hat,

412
00:18:13,083 --> 00:18:17,291
talked to Johnny about it, and
ended up they exchanged hats.

413
00:18:17,291 --> 00:18:20,709
It appeared to be a fair
and clean exchange of hats.

414
00:18:20,709 --> 00:18:25,333
I remember the hat was a big, big
deal to him and definitely a threat.

415
00:18:25,333 --> 00:18:29,083
Then shortly after that-- Wise,
uh, was a part-time taxidermist,

416
00:18:29,083 --> 00:18:32,375
and he said he had
a great turtle soup recipe

417
00:18:32,375 --> 00:18:35,417
and you know, he suggested
that Johnny might,

418
00:18:35,417 --> 00:18:38,041
you know, enjoy having
a meal cooked by Larry.

419
00:18:38,041 --> 00:18:41,583
Well, it-- really, Paycheck
was kind of hungry and--

420
00:18:41,583 --> 00:18:45,834
and Lloyd had said, "We got some turtle
soup out in the-- out in the truck."

421
00:18:45,834 --> 00:18:50,083
I heard that they had a little
disagreement on how you make it.

422
00:18:51,041 --> 00:18:52,834
Not, uh, "Was it there?"

423
00:18:52,834 --> 00:18:54,667
Or "Who had it?"
That's what I heard.

424
00:18:54,667 --> 00:18:56,875
Rocky: Paycheck made the
comment that well, you know,

425
00:18:56,875 --> 00:18:59,667
made him sound like, "I-- they
thought I was some kind of a hick."

426
00:18:59,667 --> 00:19:01,500
Gary: That kind of
insulted Paycheck.

427
00:19:01,500 --> 00:19:05,041
Like, I don't know why that
would insult him, but it did.

428
00:19:05,041 --> 00:19:06,542
It was not intended
as an insult.

429
00:19:06,542 --> 00:19:08,083
It was intended
to be friendly

430
00:19:08,083 --> 00:19:10,166
and offer hospitality,
a unique dish.

431
00:19:10,166 --> 00:19:14,458
All right now, I gotta tell you, you
gotta go out and catch this turtle.

432
00:19:14,458 --> 00:19:16,333
And you cut him
out of the shell.

433
00:19:16,333 --> 00:19:18,166
Now, he must still be alive,

434
00:19:18,166 --> 00:19:21,625
but if he don't, you cut his
head off, take his guts out.

435
00:19:21,625 --> 00:19:23,583
He's still got skin
on his tail,

436
00:19:23,583 --> 00:19:26,834
because that's how they have sex.
A male turtle-- With their tail?

437
00:19:26,834 --> 00:19:28,542
Yeah.
I didn't know that.

438
00:19:28,542 --> 00:19:32,625
A male turtle has got
a dick in his tail,

439
00:19:32,625 --> 00:19:36,458
and the female turtle has got
a pussy in her tail.

440
00:19:36,458 --> 00:19:38,917
And he gets up-- Seem like you
know an awful lot about turtles.

441
00:19:38,917 --> 00:19:41,125
(both laugh) Oh listen,
I'm-- Here, I have fucked

442
00:19:41,125 --> 00:19:44,208
every kind of animal,
woman there is

443
00:19:44,208 --> 00:19:47,000
but a turtle, and I tried.

444
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,875
I never had turtle soup, but
Johnny apparently considers this

445
00:19:50,875 --> 00:19:53,542
to be the third and final
insult and erupts.

446
00:19:53,542 --> 00:19:55,417
(cocks)
Gun is fired.

447
00:19:55,417 --> 00:19:58,417
It hit Larry Wise
right in the forehead.

448
00:19:58,417 --> 00:20:00,417
Thankfully,
he was hardheaded

449
00:20:00,417 --> 00:20:03,083
and kind of went around it
and it came out the scalp,

450
00:20:03,083 --> 00:20:04,750
and it goes through the hat.

451
00:20:04,750 --> 00:20:06,917
The hat flips off
onto the floor,

452
00:20:06,917 --> 00:20:08,917
and he started bleeding.

453
00:20:08,917 --> 00:20:11,917
Gary: It just barely
went under his scalp,

454
00:20:11,917 --> 00:20:14,250
you know,
wasn't nothing serious.

455
00:20:14,250 --> 00:20:19,291
Wise, fearing for his life,
runs out the door.

456
00:20:19,291 --> 00:20:20,959
According to one
of the witnesses,

457
00:20:20,959 --> 00:20:23,166
he was booking it
down South High Street.

458
00:20:23,166 --> 00:20:26,458
Johnny, for reasons
that no one knows,

459
00:20:26,458 --> 00:20:29,041
scoops up Larry's hat,
the Jack Daniel's hat,

460
00:20:29,041 --> 00:20:32,417
runs out the door
with the gun, yells at Larry:

461
00:20:32,417 --> 00:20:35,125
"Come back, Larry!" Said, "I
won't shoot you no more."

462
00:20:35,125 --> 00:20:37,500
(guys laugh)

463
00:20:37,500 --> 00:20:40,458
Rocky: Johnny gets in
his car and takes off.

464
00:20:40,458 --> 00:20:41,500
♪ ♪

465
00:20:41,500 --> 00:20:43,125
During that time,
he looked over

466
00:20:43,125 --> 00:20:46,166
and he saw the gun,
he threw it out the window.

467
00:20:47,542 --> 00:20:49,417
Drives back
to Larry Adams' house.

468
00:20:49,417 --> 00:20:53,542
Well, the hat is found
when the police search his car

469
00:20:53,542 --> 00:20:55,500
with an incriminating
bullet hole in it...

470
00:20:55,500 --> 00:20:57,750
(dings)
...sitting there on the seat.

471
00:20:57,750 --> 00:21:00,583
Paycheck claimed he didn't
know how it got there.

472
00:21:00,583 --> 00:21:02,333
(police siren blares)
And the police went in...

473
00:21:02,333 --> 00:21:04,834
(handcuffs click)
...and made the arrest.

474
00:21:04,834 --> 00:21:07,583
Mike:
Paycheck needed money fast.

475
00:21:07,583 --> 00:21:09,458
Through his buddies
in the Hells Angels,

476
00:21:09,458 --> 00:21:13,500
he contacted Ralph Buss
to raise the $50,000 bail.

477
00:21:13,500 --> 00:21:16,041
I personally called
Johnny Cash...

478
00:21:16,041 --> 00:21:19,834
(rings) ...and he answered the
phone as "House of Cash."

479
00:21:19,834 --> 00:21:24,125
And I said, "Mr. Cash,
I represent Johnny Paycheck."

480
00:21:24,125 --> 00:21:27,041
He says, "'The House of
Cash' is a misnomer."

481
00:21:27,041 --> 00:21:28,125
(clangs)

482
00:21:28,125 --> 00:21:30,834
Then we contacted
Jerry Lee Lewis,

483
00:21:30,834 --> 00:21:35,041
who actually did
a fundraiser for Paycheck.

484
00:21:35,041 --> 00:21:40,291
We got a check ultimately
for $1,400. (laughs)

485
00:21:40,291 --> 00:21:42,208
Mike: Somehow between
Merle Haggard

486
00:21:42,208 --> 00:21:44,166
and some of his other
Nashville cronies,

487
00:21:44,166 --> 00:21:45,792
Paycheck made bail

488
00:21:45,792 --> 00:21:48,125
and was finally released from county jail.
(jail door clanks)

489
00:21:48,125 --> 00:21:50,458
On New Year's Eve,
there's a party going on

490
00:21:50,458 --> 00:21:54,041
at the Sunnyside Bar, which is about
five, six miles west of Hillsboro.

491
00:21:54,041 --> 00:21:56,667
(people chattering) There's
about 200 people in this bar.

492
00:21:56,667 --> 00:21:58,375
Paycheck shows up there.

493
00:21:58,375 --> 00:21:59,834
He walked in there,

494
00:21:59,834 --> 00:22:03,083
and he had a T-shirt on
that said "Kill 'Em All."

495
00:22:04,709 --> 00:22:08,041
Gary: As he's coming up on stage
there and putting the guitar on,

496
00:22:08,041 --> 00:22:10,083
some smart aleck
out there in the crowd

497
00:22:10,083 --> 00:22:13,041
went and busted one of the balloons.
(pops)

498
00:22:13,041 --> 00:22:14,667
(people scream)
(clattering)

499
00:22:14,667 --> 00:22:17,709
Gary: Two hundred people
dove under the tables.

500
00:22:17,709 --> 00:22:19,667
And somebody asked him,
said, "John,

501
00:22:19,667 --> 00:22:22,417
why did you shoot that guy
in Hillsboro last week?"

502
00:22:22,417 --> 00:22:25,125
He said, "'Cause the son of a
bitch had it coming! That's why!"

503
00:22:25,125 --> 00:22:27,875
(guys laugh)

504
00:22:27,875 --> 00:22:29,834
And every one of those
people that heard that

505
00:22:29,834 --> 00:22:32,250
showed up in court
and testified against him.

506
00:22:32,250 --> 00:22:33,750
The trial was like
a three-ring circus.

507
00:22:33,750 --> 00:22:37,500
There was a TV camera.
There was a photographer.

508
00:22:37,500 --> 00:22:38,959
(camera clicks)
There are reporters

509
00:22:38,959 --> 00:22:41,125
from newspapers
from all over Ohio.

510
00:22:41,125 --> 00:22:43,917
And amid all that there were
some groupies, you know,

511
00:22:43,917 --> 00:22:45,250
you wouldn't
describe 'em as hot

512
00:22:45,250 --> 00:22:47,583
except that the weather was warm.
(rimshot)

513
00:22:47,583 --> 00:22:49,792
The judge presiding
had one arm.

514
00:22:49,792 --> 00:22:52,875
He had lost his left arm
in a farm accident.

515
00:22:52,875 --> 00:22:54,667
(grinds)
(thuds)

516
00:22:54,667 --> 00:22:59,458
The judge also had a tendency sometimes to
get headaches. He was sensitive to light.

517
00:22:59,458 --> 00:23:04,625
Uh, he was very-- very concerned about
sunlight coming into the courtroom.

518
00:23:04,625 --> 00:23:08,667
So he would quite often
on the bench wear sunglasses.

519
00:23:08,667 --> 00:23:10,458
Two pairs of sunglasses.

520
00:23:10,458 --> 00:23:13,125
Rocky: Either prescription,
or he'd have a clip-on,

521
00:23:13,125 --> 00:23:15,500
and sometimes
he'd put on both of them.

522
00:23:15,500 --> 00:23:17,667
Well, Johnny Paycheck
walked into the courtroom.

523
00:23:17,667 --> 00:23:22,291
He really didn't make any effort to try
to clean himself up for the trial.

524
00:23:22,291 --> 00:23:24,291
Ralph:
His clothes didn't look good.

525
00:23:24,291 --> 00:23:25,625
His hair was long,

526
00:23:25,625 --> 00:23:28,458
and I would describe it as scraggly.
He had a beard.

527
00:23:28,458 --> 00:23:32,500
And it was much, much too large.
It wasn't trimmed.

528
00:23:32,500 --> 00:23:35,792
He looked dangerous
or close to psychotic.

529
00:23:35,792 --> 00:23:39,834
He had a curious resemblance
almost to Charles Manson.

530
00:23:39,834 --> 00:23:41,500
I went to court with him,

531
00:23:41,500 --> 00:23:43,500
and, uh, you know,
they went through--

532
00:23:43,500 --> 00:23:46,000
the prosecution went through
their little thing there.

533
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,500
And then we had-- we took
off like an hour for lunch.

534
00:23:48,500 --> 00:23:51,375
Well, me and him just went across
the street there... (barking)

535
00:23:51,375 --> 00:23:54,458
...at a bar and set there
and got about half drunk.

536
00:23:54,458 --> 00:23:58,208
Come back in, and he said, "You
wait till my attorney gets him."

537
00:23:58,208 --> 00:24:00,333
He literally believed

538
00:24:00,333 --> 00:24:02,500
that there was
gonna be 3,000 Hells Angels

539
00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:04,875
come riding over the hill
and rescue him.

540
00:24:04,875 --> 00:24:07,333
They was gonna bust him
out of the trial there

541
00:24:07,333 --> 00:24:10,667
on their motorcycles and ride
off into the sunset with him.

542
00:24:10,667 --> 00:24:15,166
(laughs) So, Ralph Buss calls
Johnny to testify at his own trial.

543
00:24:15,166 --> 00:24:17,417
He felt that this would be
one of those cases

544
00:24:17,417 --> 00:24:20,458
where testifying was
a good move. It was not.

545
00:24:20,458 --> 00:24:21,583
He was so high.

546
00:24:21,583 --> 00:24:23,417
Rocky: Well, during the
cross-examination,

547
00:24:23,417 --> 00:24:27,583
he was trying to portray himself
as a peaceful, nonviolent person,

548
00:24:27,583 --> 00:24:30,875
and yet he had an album
and a song called

549
00:24:30,875 --> 00:24:33,041
Armed and Crazy.

550
00:24:33,041 --> 00:24:36,208
Mike: This fact, combined with
Johnny's unusual behavior

551
00:24:36,208 --> 00:24:37,709
and appearance
in the courtroom

552
00:24:37,709 --> 00:24:40,166
had a not-so-surprising
effect on the jury.

553
00:24:40,166 --> 00:24:42,625
Things got progressively worse.

554
00:24:42,625 --> 00:24:45,041
Johnny's on the witness stand,

555
00:24:45,041 --> 00:24:49,375
and for some reason
he picks up this large gun

556
00:24:49,375 --> 00:24:52,542
that's laying there, and he
raises it above his head.

557
00:24:52,542 --> 00:24:55,000
Rocky: And he does this
whirling thing with the gun.

558
00:24:56,291 --> 00:24:59,583
When that happened,
Ralph just went pale.

559
00:24:59,583 --> 00:25:01,792
It was all over. The end.

560
00:25:01,792 --> 00:25:03,583
(jail door clangs shut)

561
00:25:03,583 --> 00:25:06,417
My heart sank,
and I visualized him

562
00:25:06,417 --> 00:25:10,417
already wearing the handcuffs,
schlepping down the hall.

563
00:25:11,458 --> 00:25:13,917
About, um,
two and a half hours later,

564
00:25:13,917 --> 00:25:15,917
Johnny Paycheck's
found guilty,

565
00:25:15,917 --> 00:25:19,917
and he is sentenced to seven to nine
and a half years in Ohio State Prison.

566
00:25:19,917 --> 00:25:22,875
Gary: So the judge said,
"Okay, that'll be seven years"

567
00:25:22,875 --> 00:25:25,041
or whatever it was,
and as they're leading John off,

568
00:25:25,041 --> 00:25:27,083
and he said, "I'll be out
in two weeks!"

569
00:25:27,083 --> 00:25:29,291
(guys laugh)

570
00:25:29,291 --> 00:25:32,709
And he went directly
from the courtroom to jail.

571
00:25:32,709 --> 00:25:34,750
(clangs)

572
00:25:34,750 --> 00:25:37,250
Gary: When he was in the
Chillicothe prison down there,

573
00:25:37,250 --> 00:25:39,750
he somehow or another
got Merle Haggard

574
00:25:39,750 --> 00:25:42,500
to promise to come up
and do a concert.

575
00:25:42,500 --> 00:25:44,291
They've asked me
to come out here and introduce

576
00:25:44,291 --> 00:25:47,166
this gentleman I've known
for about 25 years.

577
00:25:47,166 --> 00:25:50,625
I've been doing time
with him on the streets.

578
00:25:50,625 --> 00:25:52,917
(cheering)

579
00:25:54,792 --> 00:25:57,291
He said going to prison
was the best thing

580
00:25:57,291 --> 00:25:59,709
that ever happened to him.
He said, "That saved my life."

581
00:25:59,709 --> 00:26:02,083
♪ Well, I can't sell
my mama's short ♪

582
00:26:02,083 --> 00:26:04,166
♪ On loving me ♪

583
00:26:04,166 --> 00:26:05,959
And it literally did.

584
00:26:05,959 --> 00:26:07,959
♪ So far ♪

585
00:26:07,959 --> 00:26:10,375
Gary:
And it gave him, I think,

586
00:26:10,375 --> 00:26:13,625
the inspiration to do the best
song that he had ever written

587
00:26:13,625 --> 00:26:15,959
as far as I'm concerned...
(acoustic guitar plays)

588
00:26:15,959 --> 00:26:17,291
...was "The Old Violin."

589
00:26:17,291 --> 00:26:19,291
♪ I can't recall ♪

590
00:26:21,959 --> 00:26:24,166
♪ One time in my life ♪

591
00:26:27,417 --> 00:26:29,333
♪ I've felt as lonely ♪

592
00:26:31,667 --> 00:26:34,208
♪ As I do tonight ♪

593
00:26:34,208 --> 00:26:37,500
Yeah, it's really kinda--
kinda hard

594
00:26:37,500 --> 00:26:40,333
when you set there and write
your own funeral song.

595
00:26:41,583 --> 00:26:44,000
♪ Tonight I feel ♪

596
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,041
♪ Like an old violin ♪

597
00:26:49,041 --> 00:26:51,709
Man: Yeah, yeah. All right.

598
00:26:51,709 --> 00:26:54,500
♪ Soon to be put away ♪

599
00:26:55,834 --> 00:26:59,500
♪ Never played again ♪

600
00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:02,125
It makes me cry also,
just like they are,

601
00:27:02,125 --> 00:27:05,041
because you can't help
but love the guy.

602
00:27:05,041 --> 00:27:06,250
He was such a genius.

603
00:27:06,250 --> 00:27:08,041
Johnny:
♪ I can't say ♪

604
00:27:08,041 --> 00:27:11,375
Swamp: I talked to him a few times
on the telephone before he passed,

605
00:27:11,375 --> 00:27:13,375
and I said, "Man,
I got some great songs.

606
00:27:13,375 --> 00:27:17,375
I'd like to come to Nashville
and... and do 'em."

607
00:27:17,375 --> 00:27:20,208
♪ Well, I guess
it's 'cause the truth ♪

608
00:27:21,291 --> 00:27:24,375
♪ Is the hardest thing
I ever faced ♪

609
00:27:24,375 --> 00:27:29,667
Gary: You know, Johnny Paycheck was a
pretty rough scoundrel and outlaw.

610
00:27:29,667 --> 00:27:32,208
He had good points
and he had bad points,

611
00:27:32,208 --> 00:27:36,041
but in the end, his good
points outweighed the bad.

612
00:27:36,041 --> 00:27:38,166
♪ And just like that,
it hit me ♪

613
00:27:41,166 --> 00:27:44,166
♪ Well, that old violin
and I were just alike ♪

614
00:27:47,333 --> 00:27:50,375
♪ We'd give our all
to music, and soon ♪

615
00:27:51,959 --> 00:27:54,041
♪ We'll give our life ♪

616
00:27:54,041 --> 00:27:56,375
♪ ♪

617
00:27:56,375 --> 00:27:58,917
Gary: The last thing
he said to me was,

618
00:27:58,917 --> 00:28:00,792
"Hey, Gary,
I owe you one."

619
00:28:00,792 --> 00:28:02,959
I said,
"You don't owe me nothing."

620
00:28:07,542 --> 00:28:09,333
Man: Whoo!
Man 2: All right!

621
00:28:09,333 --> 00:28:12,000
(cheers, applause)

622
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,083
(theme music playing)

623
00:28:54,625 --> 00:28:57,083
(car engine revs)