Johnny PayCheck’s Son John Gets Back Into Family Business

c/o John PayCheck

Pedigree is just too important of a demarcation for talent in the lineage of country music to ever overlook it. If someone’s carrying around a famous name, they deserve a little bit of extra consideration. Usually this comes in handy when you have a young and scrappy performer that comes down the pike showing the promise of being a chip off the old block.

With a wife and three daughters, and a life well lived already, Johnny PayCheck’s son Jonathan is not exactly looking for your adulation to help support a fledgling career as he couch surfs and cuts his teeth at open mics. Nonetheless, he’s here to leave his own mark on music, and to help carry on his father’s name.

John PayCheck is no stranger or newcomer to the music industry. When he was growing up, he would spend summers in service to his famous father on the road, working his way up from a roadie to road manager. He played in bands as well throughout young adulthood. But life took John in the direction of pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Computer Information Systems, and a Masters in Military Strategy and Diplomacy. Working for IBM and flying both helicopters and fixed winged aircraft ended up being young John PayCheck’s calling.

John PayCheck is also a combat veteran and a small business owner, but now that he has a little more free time and found a renewed passion, he’s gotten back in the music game, and just released a couple of new songs. With a name like PayCheck, you don’t have to worry about him straying too far from his country roots. In fact the first song he’s released called “Where Did Our Country Go” is all about renouncing the current direction of the genre his dad help build.

Where did our country go?
Turned our backs and she was gone
Pop stars n false troubadours is all they know
Stole it from our legends long ago


The other new song “Lone Stars” takes a much more upbeat outlook, and is a great traditional country honky tonk song. It showcases some great guitar and fiddle, and a confident delivery by the 2nd generation performer.

“I would like to give people what they feel they have been missing the past 15 years, more traditional country music based off the 90’s sound; with an updated return to a more country western feel that people can dance to,” John PayCheck says. “I believe my widely diverse and unique personal experiences allow me to reach out to many different people and understand them in some small way.”

Though Donald Eugene Lytle was Johnny PayCheck’s birth name, he legally changed it to Johnny PayCheck later, so Jonathan PayCheck is Johnny’s son’s real name. Along with releasing his own music, John has always done what he can to keep his father’s legacy alive. Now he’s re-entered the music game officially, and it will be interesting to see what he has in store.

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