DESCRIPTION:
In memory of my cousin - Jack Kittel. The story of "Psycho" and singer Jack Kittel begins in 1973 in Muskegon, Mi. It was there that Jack recorded the song written in the late '50s by Leon Payne, a blind San Antonio street singer whose more conventional works have been performed by the likes of Elvis and Johnny Cash.
At first, radio stations wouldn't play the newly pressed record , judging the lyrics too controversial. Then a Grand Rapids disc jockey gave it some air time on an "underground" show - and "Psycho" became an instant hit.
On Sept, 28 , 1996 , Jack, who was living with his family in New Era, Mi., died at the age of 49 when his Jeep was struck by another vehicle and less than two months later, his rendition of "Psycho" surfaced in the movie "Larger Than Life" starring Bill Murray who inherited an elephant.