HELENA, Mont. -- Hoyt Axton, the folksy singer, songwriter and movie actor who penned Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World" and other pop and country hits, many of them showcasing his singular sense of humor, died early Tuesday. He was 61.
Axton suffered a severe heart attack two weeks ago and was struck by another while undergoing surgery in Missoula, said Jan Woods, a longtime friend in Nashville. He had never fully recovered from a 1996 stroke, using a wheelchair much of the time.Axton died peacefully at his ranch home in Victor, surrounded by family and friends. He moved to Montana's Bitterroot Valley after playing a sheriff in the movie "Disorganized Crime," filmed there in 1988.
"There was nobody that didn't like Hoyt," said Fran Boyd, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Academy of Country Music. "He was an entertainer's entertainer. It's a big loss for country music."
Axton wrote hits for Ringo Starr ("No Song"), Steppenwolf ("The Pusher") and an array of others. Performers who sang other songs he wrote included Elvis Presley, Joan Baez, Waylon Jennings, John Denver and Linda Ronstadt.
Axton's own singing hits include "Boney Fingers" ("Work your fingers to the bone, what do you get? Boney fingers, boney fingers") and "When the Morning Comes."
Three Dog Night's recording of his novelty "Joy to the World" ("Jeremiah was a bullfrog . . .") was No. 1 on the charts for six straight weeks in 1971.
Axton as an actor specialized in playing good ol' boys. He appeared in many movies and television shows, including "Gremlins" and "The Black Stallion."
Born in Duncan, Okla., he began singing folk songs in the clubs of San Francisco in 1958. A song he co-wrote, "Greenback Dollar," was a 1963 hit for The Kingston Trio.
Survivors include his wife and five adult sons and daughters.