Joseph Alfred Souter (born February 28, 1940, in Atlanta, Georgia) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter with a distinctive guitar sound.
Joe South had several mega hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s with songs such as "Don't It Make You Wanna Go Home" and "Walk a Mile in My Shoes". His biggest and most-remembered single was "Games People Play" (1969), a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic, which won the "Grammy Award for B
est Contemporary Song" and the prestigious "Grammy Award for Song of the Year", and which bears a striking resemblance to the children's gospel song, "I Don't Want to Be a Pharisee". It was featured on his first album, Introspect.
He had met and was encouraged by Bill Lowery, an Atlanta music publi
sher 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.
Joe South songs have been recorded by
other artists. They include Lynn Anderson's 1971 hit "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden", Billy Joe Royal's hit "Down in the Boondocks," Deep Purple's "Hush" (a British hit many years later for Kula Shaker), the Osmonds' hit "Yo-Yo," and Elvis Presley's Las Vegas-era version of "Walk a Mile in M
y Shoes", also recorded by Bryan Ferry and Coldcut.
South was also a prominent sideman, recording the memorable guitar part on Aretha Franklin's Chain of Fools, Tommy Roe's Sheila as well as appearing on Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde. He also played the electric guitar part that was added to Simon & Garfunkel's first hit, "The Sound of Silence".
The suicide of his brother Tommy drove South into a deep depression. Tommy had been his band's drummer and accompanied Joe not only in live performances but also on recording sessions of South-produced hits for other artists including Billy Joe Royal, Sandy Posey, and Friend & Lover.
Joe South was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1979 and is a member of the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame.
In 1988 dutch DJ Jan Donkers interviewed Joe South for VPRO-radio. The radio show where they aired the interview also included four new songs but a new record didn't came
out.
In 1994 Joe played in England.
On september 13, 2003 Joe was inducted into Georgia Music Hall of Fame and played together with Buddy Buie, J.R. Cobb, Chips Moman at the induction ceremony.
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heard this song in L.A...left the "party" got on my Harley and only stopped for gas until I got home to Union City, Ga.!
Fwiw, if you want to hear another great song along the same lines (i.e. similiar theme) find a way to give a listen to "Canned Goods" by a guy named Greg Brown.
My best to all you aging-gracefully old hippies out there...!
I hope someone will post FOOL ME.