Sky Saxon

Sky "Sunlight" Saxon (born Richard Elvern Marsh; August 20, 1937 – June 25, 2009) was an American rock and roll musician best known as the leader and singer of the 1960s Los Angeles psychedelic garage rock band The Seeds.

Saxon was born Richard Elvern Marsh in Salt Lake City, Utah, on August 20, 1937. Different sources suggest a birth year of either 1937 or 1945. His widow has said that his birthday was August 20, but would not confirm the year because he believed age was irrelevant. However, 1940 census records indicate he was born in Utah in 1937. Saxon was raised in a Mormon household on Salt Lake City's west side, spending much of his childhood in Glendale and Rose Park. He later attended West High School.

Saxon began his career performing doo-wop pop tunes in the early 1960s under the name Little Richie Marsh. After changing his name to Sky Saxon, he formed the Electra-Fires in 1962 and then Sky Saxon & the Soul Rockers. Several of these early songs were collected on a 1983 album on AIP called New Fruit from Old Seeds / The Rare Sky Saxon, Volume One.

In 1965, Saxon founded the psychedelic flower power band The Seeds with Jan Savage (guitar), Rick Andridge (drums), and Darryl Hooper (keyboards). Hit songs for Saxon and the Seeds included "Can't Seem to Make You Mine", "Mr. Farmer", and "Pushin' Too Hard," which was a Top 40 hit in 1967. Saxon's singing performance was dismissed by critic Lester Bangs as an American imitation of Mick Jagger, while Michael Hicks considered it a more complicated synthesis of Jagger, Eddie Cochran, and Buddy Holly. The music on the Seeds 1966 albums The Seeds (GNP Crescendo 2023) and A Web of Sound (GNP Crescendo 2033) have been described as "weird psychotic blues highlighting Sky's demented, vocal sermonizing."

A spinoff project, The Sky Saxon Blues Band, recorded one album, A Full Spoon of Seedy Blues, (GNP Crescendo 2040) with members of Muddy Waters' band. At the same time, Saxon continued The Seeds, recording Future (GNP Crescendo 2038) and Raw & Alive: The Seeds in Concert at Merlin's Music Box (GNP Crescendo 2043). Later, in 1977 producer Neil Norman compiled and released Fallin' Off the Edge (GNP Crescendo 2107), an album containing rare "B" sides and unissued material.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.