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Sky SaxonAmerican ron'n'roll musician, singer and composer
Date of Birth: 20.08.1937
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Sky Saxon
Sky "Sunlight" Saxon, born Richard Elvern Marsh on August 20, 1937, in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, was an American rock and roll musician, singer, and composer. He is best known as the leader and performer of the Los Angeles psychedelic rock group 'The Seeds' in the 1960s. However, there are sources that claim he was born in 1945 or 1946. Sky Saxon's widow stated that his birthday was on August 20th, but she did not disclose the year of his birth, believing that age doesn't matter.
Early Career
Sunlight began his career in the early 1960s in the subgenres of rhythm and blues and doo-wop under the name Little Richie Marsh. When the musician settled on the pseudonym Sky Saxon, he formed the group 'Electra-Fires' in 1962 and the collective 'Sky Saxon & the Soul Rockers'. In 1965, Sky formed the psychedelic band 'The Seeds', which originally included guitarist Jan Savage, drummer Rick Andridge, and keyboardist Daryl Hooper. The group's hits included 'Can't Seem to Make You Mine', 'Mr. Farmer', and 'Pushin' Too Hard', which made it to the Top 40 charts in 1967.
Musical Style and Projects
Sky Saxon's vocal abilities were compared to an American imitation of Mick Jagger's voice by critic Lester Bangs, while others considered his vocals a more complex synthesis of Jagger, Eddie Cochran, and rock and roller Buddy Holly. The albums 'The Seeds' in 1966 and 'A Web of Sound' were characterized as 'strange psychedelic blues with an emphasis on Sky's vocal notations'. Saxon's spin-off project, the 'The Sky Saxon Blues Band', released only one album - 'A Full Spoon of Seedy Blues'. The band included members of Muddy Waters' group.
While working with 'The Seeds', Saxon participated in the recording of albums such as 'Future' and 'Raw and Alive - Merlin's Magic Music Box'. In the 1970s, Sky continued to work in the music scene, releasing several independent albums, and his mini-album in 1977 was particularly noteworthy. In 1973, the musician became a member of the religious group 'Source Family', led by Father Yod, James Edward Baker, who gave Saxon a new name - Sunlight or Early.
In the following years, Sky released several albums under different group names, including 'The Starry Seeds Band', 'Sky Saxon & Firewall', 'King Arthur's Court', and 'Shapes Have Fangs'. During this time, Saxon reformed 'The Seeds' several times, including different musicians in the lineup.
Later Years and Death
In 2008, Sky and his psychedelic group recorded several new songs and collaborated with rock musician Billy Corgan, the leader of 'The Smashing Pumpkins'. Saxon later appeared in the band's music video for the song 'Superchrist'. 'The Seeds' song titled 'Can't Seem to Make You Mine' was featured in a television advertisement for Lynx deodorant in the UK in 2009.
Sky Saxon passed away on June 25, 2009, in Austin, Texas, in a hospital. Shortly before his death, the musician had planned to begin a tour of the United States and Canada, which was part of the 'California '66' tour, dedicated to the changes in American rock bands 'The Seeds', 'The Electric Prunes', and 'Love'. Sky was hospitalized with suspected internal organ infection, but the official cause of his death has not been disclosed. Initially, it was reported that at the time of his death, Sky was 63 years old, while other sources mentioned an age of 71.
In late 2009, it was announced that several albums featuring previously unreleased recordings of Saxon from different time periods and in collaboration with various musicians would be released soon. There were also plans to reissue some albums, including 'Atlantic Rising', with new bonus tracks.
