Greene Countrie Towne Festival Johnny Paycheck Tribute moved to McClain High School auditorium

The Highland County Press

Due to the inclement weather, the Saturday evening tribute to country music star and Greenfield native Johnny Paycheck has been moved from the main outdoor stage to the McClain High School auditorium.

Greenfield City Manager and Rotary Club member Ron Coffey told The Highland County Press that Superintendent Terry Fouch was gracious to offer the use of the auditorium, after a strong thunderstorm passed through the area Saturday afternoon.

Scheduled performers include Bobby Mackey joining in on vocals along with Richard Martin, Eric Huff and Rhett Sims, along with Chubby Howard on the steel guitar.

The show will pay tribute to the music and times of Johnny Paycheck and his contemporaries such as George Jones, Merle Haggard and others who sometimes stopped in Greenfield when they were in the vicinity during their tours around the country.

Country music legend Johnny Paycheck passed away in 2003 following a long and successful – and sometimes controversial – career that brought him national recognition.
 
Ten years later, Paycheck's legend lives on and classic country radio stations still play "Take This Job and Shove It," "She's All I Got," "I'm the Only Hell (Momma Ever Raised)," "Old Violin" and other classics recorded by the Greenfield native.

Once again the Greenfield Rotary Club reached out to Stephen Lake, who helped organize a very successful Paycheck tribute in 2003, and he is putting together a show paying tribute to the music and times of Johnny Paycheck that will feature four singers and a five-piece band, plus stories and recollections about the man who started as a singer of country and honky tonk music and later embraced the "outlaw" movement over a career that spanned half a century.

The show is scheduled from 8-10:30 p.m. Saturday, July 20 at the MHS auditorium.