Joe South Information
Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter, 28 February 1940, in Atlanta, Georgia) is a multi-talented American singer-songwriter and guitarist.
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Career
South opened his pop career in July 1958 with the novelty hit "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor". Thereafter South's music grew increasingly serious.
In 1959, South wrote two songs which were recorded by Gene Vincent: "I Might Have Known", which was on the album Sounds Like Gene Vincent (Capitol Records, 1959) and "Gone Gone Gone" which was included on the album The Crazy Beat of Gene Vincent (Capitol Records, 1963).
He had met and was encouraged by Bill Lowery, an Atlanta music publisher and radio personality. He began his recording career in Atlanta with National Recording Corporation, where he served as staff guitarist along with other NRC artists Ray Stevens and Jerry Reed. South's earliest recordings have been re-released by NRC on CD.
South was also a prominent sideman, playing guitar on Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools",[1] Tommy Roe's "Sheila", Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde album, and the electric guitar part that was added to Simon & Garfunkel's first hit, "The Sound of Silence".
Responding to late 1960s issues, South's style changed radically, most evident in his biggest single, 1969's pungent, no-nonsense "Games People Play"[1] (purportedly inspired by Dr. Eric Berne's book), a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Accompanied by a lush string sound, an organ, and brass, the production won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Song and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year. South followed up with "Birds Of A Feather" (originally "Bubbled Under" at #106 on 10-17 February 1968, more successful as a cover by The Raiders that peaked on the Hot 100 at #23 on 23-30 October 1971) and two other soul-searchers, "Don't It Make You Want To Go Home" (also covered eight months later by Brook Benton With The Dixie Flyers) and the provocative "Walk A Mile In My Shoes" (also covered by Elvis Presley in a Las-Vegas era version, Bryan Ferry, and Coldcut).
South's compositions have been recorded by many other artists as well, including Billy Joe Royal's hits "Down in the Boondocks" and "Hush" (later a hit for Deep Purple and Kula Shaker) and the Osmonds' hit "Yo-Yo". South's most commercially successful composition is Lynn Anderson's 1971 country/pop monster hit "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden", which was a hit in 16 countries worldwide and translated into many languages. Anderson won a Grammy Award for her vocals, and South won a Grammy Award for writing the song. South would go on to write more hits for Anderson, such as "How Can I Unlove You" (Billboard Country #1) and "Fool Me" (Billboard Country #3).
The 1971 suicide of his brother, Tommy, drove South into a deep depression[2]. Tommy had been his backing band's drummer and accompanied South not only in live performances but also on recording sessions when South produced hits for other artists, including Billy Joe Royal, Sandy Posey, and Friend and Lover.
South was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1979.
In 1988 Dutch DJ Jan Donkers interviewed South for VPRO-radio. The radio show [3] that aired the interview also played four new songs by South, but a new record was not released.
On 13 September 2003 South was inducted into Georgia Music Hall of Fame and played together with Buddy Buie, James B. Cobb, Jr. and Chips Moman at the induction ceremony.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions | Label | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Country | CAN | |||
| 1969 | Introspect | 117 | — | — | Capitol |
| Games People Play | — | — | — | ||
| 1970 | Don't It Make You Want to Go Home? | 60 | 39 | 36 | |
| Greatest Hits | 125 | — | 88 | ||
| 1971 | Joe South | 207 | — | — | |
| Joe South Story | — | — | — | MGM | |
| So the Seeds Are Growing | — | — | — | Capitol | |
| 1972 | A Look Inside | — | — | — | |
| 1975 | Midnight Rainbows | — | — | — | Island |
| 1976 | You're the Reason | — | — | — | Gusto |
| 1990 | The Best of Joe South | — | — | — | Rhino |
| 1999 | Retrospect: The Best of Joe South | — | — | — | Koch |
| 2001 | Anthology: A Mirror of His Mind | — | — | — | Raven |
| 2002 | Classic Masters | — | — | — | Capitol |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album(s) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Country | US AC | CAN | CAN Country | CAN AC | |||
| 1958 | "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor" | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | singles only |
| 1961 | "You're the Reason" | 87 | 16 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1969 | "Games People Play" | 12 | — | — | 7 | — | — | Introspect, Games People Play |
| "Birds of a Feather" | 96 | — | — | — | — | — | Introspect | |
| "Leaning on You" | — | — | — | 69 | — | — | single only | |
| "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home" (with The Believers) | 41 | 27 | — | 42 | 11 | 18 | Don't It Make You Want to Go Home? | |
| 1970 | "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" (with The Believers) | 12 | 56 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 2 | |
| "Children" | 51 | — | — | 33 | — | 31 | ||
| "Why Does a Man Do What He Has to Do" | — | — | — | 47 | — | — | singles only | |
| 1971 | "Fool Me" | 78 | — | — | — | — | — | |
External links
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Notes
- ^ a b Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 52 - The Soul Reformation: Phase three, soul music at the summit. [Part 8] : UNT Digital Library" (audio). Pop Chronicles. Digital.library.unt.edu. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19834/m1/.
- ^ Wall, Jeff (March-April 2007). "Joe South: Down in the Boondocks". American Songwriter Magazine, the craft of music, heritage series. http://www.joesouth.com. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
- ^ http://www.vpro.nl/programma/deavonden/artikelen/27236449/
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| Name | South, Joe |
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| Date of birth | 28 February 1940 |
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Categories:
- 1940 births
- Living people
- American country guitarists
- American country singer-songwriters
- American male singers
- American pop singers
- American record producers
- American rock guitarists
- American rock singer-songwriters
- Grammy Award winners
- People from Atlanta, Georgia
- National Recording Corporation artists
- Capitol Records artists
- American session musicians
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