[5] Saxon was raised in a Mormon household[6] on Salt Lake City's west side, spending much of his childhood in Glendale and Rose Park.

[8] Several of these early songs were collected on a 1983 album on AIP called New Fruit from Old Seeds / The Rare Sky Saxon, Volume One.

In 1965, Saxon founded the psychedelic flower power band The Seeds with Jan Savage (guitar), Rick Andridge (drums), and Darryl Hooper (keyboards).

[13][15] In 1998, Saxon orchestrated the release of a 13-CD set of the psychedelic tribal music recorded by the commune's band Ya Ho Wha 13 during the 1970s.

[16] In subsequent years, Saxon released a number of albums under various band names including The Starry Seeds Band, Sky Saxon & Firewall, The Hour, Wolf Pack, Fast Planet, Back to the Garden, King Arthur's Court, and Shapes Have Fangs.

On June 25, 2009, at age 71, Saxon died unexpectedly in an Austin, Texas, hospital of heart and renal failure due to a simple untreated infection that had spread throughout his organs.

[23] On July 24, 2009, members of The Smashing Pumpkins, Love, and The Electric Prunes performed a tribute concert at the Echoplex in Los Angeles in Saxon's memory.