Joe South

Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1970 for "Games People Play" and was again nominated for the award in 1972 for "Rose Garden".

South had met and was encouraged by Bill Lowery, an Atlanta music publisher and radio personality. He began his recording career in Atlanta with the 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. He soon returned to Nashville with The Manrando Group and then on to Charlie Wayne Felts Promotions. (Charlie Wayne Felts is the cousin of Rockabilly Hall of Fame Inductee and Grand Ole Opry Member, Narvel Felts.)

South had his first top 50 hit in July 1958 with a cover version of the b-side of The Big Bopper's hit single "Chantilly Lace", a novelty song called "The Purple People Eater Meets the Witch Doctor". Thereafter South would concentrate mainly on songwriting.

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).

Joe South and the Believers were a group that included Joe South, his brother Tommy South and sister-in-law Barbara South.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.