The Johnny PayCheck Story - page 2
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We had another session booked for the next day. It was to start at two o'clock in the afternoon. I left Charlie and went home early to get ready for the next session. Doyle Grisham, the studio engineer, called me and said that Randy Travis was recording tomorrow also and had contacted him to see if he could play steel guitar on the session.

Doyle wanted to know if he could get out of his commitment to engineer for us so he could do the guitar gig for Travis. He told me that he knew a guy who subbed for him before as an engineer and that he was really good. I called Charlie to discuss the matter and we agreed that if Doyle said the guy could handle the gig then he would work. I called Doyle back and told him to book the other engineer.

Charlie called me the next morning and asked me to go by the bank and pick up a couple thousand dollars to give to Paycheck as part of our recording agreement commitment. I picked up the money and by the time I got to the studio it was two twenty in the afternoon.

As I walked through the door I heard Johnny say "Could someone move this mic stand out of here for me" I could see Johnny through the glass in the studio. He was in the vocal booth. In the control room I could see the engineer standing behind the console talking to a couple of people. I didn't know any of them. I heard Johnny again say, "Could someone move this boom out of here? It's in my face and I can't move." When I arrived, I had noticed that Charlie was on the phone with someone, upstairs over the studio. Johnny and the band were in the studio getting ready to record. I could see Johnny's dilemma. He was in this small vocal booth and there was this big mic boom in front of him. It was pushed inside the booth so far that Johnny was too cramped to be comfortable to sing his vocal part.

I walked up to the front of the recording console and told the engineer to move the mic stand for Johnny. He turned from the people he was talking to and said "He can move it himself! Who the hell are you"? I replied with "I'm the mother fucker who is going to give you a lesson in insubordination". When I said that, he started making his way from behind the console to get to me. As he came closer to me, I noticed that the big boy with the small brain began to lift his pullover sweater up over his head to remove it. I saw my chance and I took full advantage of what would hopefully be his last mistake. I began to pound the insubordinate bastard as hard and fast as I could in his sweater covered face. I pounded him through the control room and out the door into the musician's break room. I could hear a cry for renegotiation from the newly unemployed engineer as I put the boot leather to him. I guided him out of the break room into another room at the back of the building. He was now in the corner between a coke machine and the wall. Charlie Ammerman had thrown his arms around me and was pulling me backward saying "He has had enough, Hoss".

About that time Johnny came running into the room and slid up to the wounded figure lying in the corner. Pointing a finger into his face he said, "I seen everything and you started it". Johnny grabbed me and gave me a big hug and said, "You'll break him of that". I told Johnny that I was sorry about what happened but I couldn't handle the guy's disrespect for him. Johnny said "Don't worry about it Billy, we can record anytime. Hey, why don't you board the bus and go with us to Alabama. We got a show tonight in Huntsville". I went with Johnny and the band. I felt like I was now a legitimate part of the Paycheck organization and it felt good. Charlie called him Check, the band called him Dad, and I called him Johnny.

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I thank Billy Don for allowing me to list the first two pages of this article here for all of Johnny PayChecks fans.

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