Sky Saxon(1937-2009)

Singer, bassist and songwriter Sky Saxon was certainly one of the most colorful and eccentric musicians to emerge from the groovy 60s psychedelic garage rock scene. He was born Richard Elvern Marsh on August 20, 1937 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Sky moved to Los Angeles, California after he graduated from high school. Saxon started his music career in the early 60s as a doo-wop performer. Sky formed the group the Electra-Fires in 1962 and eventually went on to form the band Sky Saxon & the Soul Rockers. In 1965 he and guitarist Jan Savage founded the seminal psychedelic flower-power garage rock outfit the Seeds. The Seeds scored a big hit with the ferociously punchy proto-punk anthem "Pushin' Too Hard" in the summer of 1967. The follow-up single "Can't Seem to Make You Mine" almost cracked the Top 40. The group appear as themselves in the nifty hippie cult classic "Psych-Out." The Seeds recorded several albums before breaking up in the early 70s. In the 70s Saxon became a member of the religious group the Source Family and moved to Hawaii. Sky returned to recording music in 1984. He released a bunch of albums under various names that include the Sky Saxon Blues Band, Sky Saxon & Firewall, Yahowha 13, the Starry Seeds Band, and King Arthur's Court. In 1989 the Seeds reunited for a "Summer of Love" concert tour, but then broke up again. In 2003 Sky formed a new incarnation of the Seeds with a different line-up; this version of the band toured both Europe and America. In 2008 Saxon released his final albums "King of Garage Rock" and "Back to the Garden." Sky plays bass on and appears in the music video for the song "Superchrist" by the Smashing Pumpkins. His songs are featured on the soundtracks to such films as "A Girl to Kill For," "976-Evil II," "Air America," "Cop Land," "Almost Famous," and "Secretary." Sky Saxon died at age 71 on June 25, 2009 at a hospital in Austin, Texas.