Hoyt Axton - The Jeremiah Records Collection (2018)

Few composers could list an array of artists as diverse as BB King, Steppenwolf, Elvis Presley, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, John Denver, Waylon Jennings, The Crusaders, The Kingston Trio and Ringo Starr who have covered their songs. Hoyt Axton’s best-known song ‘Joy To The World’, a # 1 hit for the American vocal band Three Dog Night in 1971, starts with the line “Jeremiah was a bullfrog, was a good friend of mine”. Hence, after many albums with the Vee-Jay, Capitol, A&M and MCA labels through the 60s and 70s, when Axton started his own record label in 1979 he named it Jeremiah Records. This 5 CD clamshell box set features all five Jeremiah Records albums in facsimile wallets, and along with a 32 page booklet featuring the lyrics, musician credits, and annotation. The first album “Rusty Old Halo” features ‘Della And The Dealer’, a hit in both the US and the UK, as well as three more US country hits. Follow-up album “Where Did The Money Go?” (1980) featured more hits, while 1981’s “Live” featured renditions of his songs made famous by others, like ‘No No Song’, ‘Lion In The Winter’, ‘Never Been To Spain’ and ‘Joy To The World’. Released in 1982 and 1990, “Pistol Packin’ Mama” and “Spin Of The Wheel” bookended Axton’s TV and film career in the 80s, most notably in “Gremlins”. Axton’s music al guests across the albums include Dr John, Stephen Stills, James Burton, Glenn D. Hardin, Jeff Baxter, Garth Hudson, Paul Butterfield, Bill Kirchen, and Byron Berline.