The Official Joe South Page

Bio:

Joe South, 28 February 1940, Atlanta, Georgia. South was obsessed with technology and, as a child, he developed his own radio station with a transmission area of a mile. A novelty song, "The Purple People Eater Meets The Witch Doctor", sold well in 1958, and he became a session guitarist in both Nashville and Muscle Shoals. South backed Eddy Arnold, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Marty Robbins and, in particular, Bob Dylan (Blonde On Blonde) and Simon And Garfunkel (most of The Sounds Of Silence). His 1962 single, "Masquerade", was released in the UK, but his first writing/producing successes came with the Tams' "Untie Me" and various Billy Joe Royal singles including "Down In The Boondocks" and "I Knew You When". His first solo success came with the 1969 single "Games People Play", which made number 12 in the US charts and number 6 in the UK. South also played guitar and sang harmony on Boots Randolph's cover version. The song's title was taken from Eric Berne's best selling book about the psychology of human relationships. Another song title, "(I Never Promised You A) Rose Garden" came from a novel by Hannah Green, and was a transatlantic hit for country singer, Lynn Anderson. "These Are Not My People" was a US country hit for Freddie Weller, "Birds Of A Feather" was made popular by Paul Revere And The Raiders, but, more significantly, "Hush" became Deep Purple's first US Top 10 hit in 1968.

South himself made number 12 in the US with "Walk A Mile In My Shoes", which was also featured by Elvis Presley in concert. South's songs reflect southern life. South was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1979.

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Member Since:

June 24, 2007

Record Label:

Unknown Major