Leon Payne was my father and his song writing was his life. Blinded at the age of 6, he began writing songs at an early age. As his brothers, sisters and Mother picked cotton, he would sing and hum songs that would later become hits for him.
His first band that he called his own, was Leon Payne and His LoneStar Buddies.
I have completed the writing of the book about Daddy and it will be released soon. In my book, I try to talk about many of the songs Daddy wrote and the stories he told me while I drove him to his gigs. I hope ya'll enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it. I began writing this book because of the many stories I had heard that were not true and to show the diversity of his song writing. He definitely was not prejudice in his writing, he in my opinion was the FOREFATHER for alot music, whether it be hillbilly, country&western, rockabilly, and yes, even psychobilly.
LOST HIGHWAY - Lost Highway was written by Daddy while in California. He was trying to get back to Texas to see his sick Mother; and he couldn't hitch a ride to save his soul! While waiting for the Red Cross, who finally helped him get home, he wrote: LOST HIGHWAY!
PSYCHO - Psycho was written in 1968, after we went to an Alfred Hitchcock movie, HUSH HUSH SWEET CHARLOTTE. Of course, he and Mama being blind, parts had to be explained, especially if the parts scared the beejesus out of me. LOL We got home he called his friend Johnny Cash and was telling him about the movie, and when he got off the phone he wrote Psycho. The scene that got to him was when a head rolled down a staircase. I have read that Daddy wrote it after the University of Texas sniper Whitman, this is not true. I have also read that Daddy committed suicide after writing, this for sure is not true.
THE SELFISHNESS IN MAN - This song was written after Whitman, the sniper at UT. It is a beautiful song, that George Jones recorded shortly after Daddy's death.
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