Psycho (Leon Payne) - James Power

PSYCHO Written by Leon Payne (1917-1969)

Leon Payne was a blind songwriter and singer based in San Antonio, Texas. He is probably best remembered for the classics "I Love You Because" and "Lost Highway." Payne wrote hundreds of songs during his 30+ year career, which included a stint with Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys in 1938, but he never wrote anything else like "Psycho."

There has been some dispute over whether the song was written as a response to the 1966 Charles Whitman shooting spree in Austin, Texas (when the architectural engineering major at the University of Texas in Austin, barricaded himself in the observation deck of the tower of the school's main building with a sniper rifle and various other weapons, and in a 96-minute shooting spree, killed 14 people and wounded over 30 more) or whether it was influenced by the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name.

There's also no evidence that Payne ever recorded "Psycho. It was first be recorded by country singer Eddie Noack on the K-ARK label in 1968.

Several artists have covered the song over the past 40 years, most notably by Elvis Costello in 1979 (but Eddie Noack's is hands-down the best I've heard)

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From Bob Dylan's Theme Time commentary originally broadcast January 24, 2007:

"Eddie Noack, a singer and a songwriter, originally from Houston, Texas, who recorded for the Starday record label. He wanted to be a journalist. But we have enough journalists, but not enough people who could sing and write like Eddie Noack.

Eddie recorded the song called "Psycho," written by Leon Payne, a song about a serial killer and, quite understandably, it never got a lot of airplay, but has become quite a bit of a cult favorite, as is Eddie Noack himself.

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Category:

Music

Tags:

• Psycho
• Hitchcock
• Leon
• Payne
• Eddie
• Noack
• Whitman
• Shooting
• Spree
• Elvis
• Costello
• San
• Antonio
• Austin
• Dylan
• James
• Power
• Mickey
• Manos
• Cat
• Cult
• Wacko
• Late
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• Humans

[jpeanrkode]

The cat makes this slightly disturbing. Great job on this song!!

[JamesKPower]

Thanks, Jake. You're damn good yourself!

Your New Year's Day version of I SAW THE LIGHT looks & sounds so much like Hank Williams it's as if you're his ghost! Fantastic performance!

Hope you'll play the Northeast some time

[CMLittleboot]

Great song and I like the way you performed it.

[Laynerzk]

Thats awesome, what are the chords for this?

[MaxDiecipezzi]

See? Singers DO get more pussy.

Seriously though, great cover! :D

[utkicker9]

ahhh man.....nothing better then an original Texas Country Song!...you know he didnt want anyone to record this song till he died?

[melodymaker396]

This video scares me!

[chatropolis]

YES YOU ARE