Hoyt Axton came out of the state of Oklahoma (by the way, his mother Mae Boren Axton co-wrote the Elvis classic 'Heartbreak Hotel!), served in the United States Navy and then pursued a career in music.

And what a career it was!

Do you remember 'Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog'? Well, the actual title of that song was 'Joy To The World' and it swept across the country and around the world and became a Pop music standard for Three Dog Night.  That was one of the many songs that came from the creative pen of Hoyt Axton.

Hoyt also wrote 'Never Been To Spain' for that group, as well as 'The Pusher' and 'Snow Blind Friend' for Rock and Roll's Steppenwolf and the 'The No-No Song' for Ringo Starr.

Country Music? Well, he was a major force there too, with his own hit's like 'When The Mornin' Comes', 'Boney Fingers' and the great hit you see and hear here, 'Della & The Dealer'.

And we haven't even mentioned his acting career, also very successful (Ever seen 'Gremlins'?).

So whatever happened to this great, creative talent?

Hoyt suffered a stroke in 1995, from which he never fully recovered. He passed away from a heart attack in 1999 in Montana.

But he did leave us that Bullfrog, along with a dog named Jake and a cat named Kalamazoo.

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