- Born
- Died
- Birth nameRichard Elvern Marsh
- 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.- IMDb Mini Biography By: woodyanders
- SpousesSabrina Smith(July 7, 2007 - June 25, 2009) (his death)Marianna Dapello(April 12, 1998 - January 10, 2007) (divorced)
- Lead singer of 1960s rock group The Seeds ("Pushin' Too Hard").
- Influenced heavily by the Rolling Stones, Saxon founded the Seeds in 1965 in California. The next year, the psychedelic rockers released two albums, 'The Seeds' and 'A Web of Sound.' In 1967, the band released two more albums: 'Future,' a psychedelic rock album, and 'A Full Spoon of Seedy Blues,' which featured liner notes by the legendary Muddy Waters.
- In 1989, Saxon reformed the Seeds to tour with other Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Arthur Lee and Love. They toured again in 2003, and Saxon kept busy musically, recording with the The Smashing Pumpkins.
- Saxon dissolved the band in the early '70s and joined a California commune, the Source Family. He adopted the name Sunlight and occasionally performed with their trippy house band, the Ya Ho Wa 13.
- Well, I think you could retire when you die. I don't, however, believe in death, so I guess I will retire when I leave my body. But I plan to continue writing and performing in heaven.
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