Riley, and Penny DeHaven also had hits on the Billboard country chart with South songs. South wrote more hits for Anderson, such as ' How Can I Unlove You' ( Billboard Country No. 1) and ' Fool Me' ( Billboard Country No. 3). Anderson won a Grammy Award for her vocals, and South earned two Grammy nominations for it, as Best Country Song and (general) Song of the Year. South's most commercially successful composition was Lynn Anderson's 1970–1971 country–pop monster hit song 'Rose Garden', which was a hit in 16 countries worldwide. South followed up with 'Birds of a Feather' (originally 'Bubbled Under' at No. 106 on February 10–17, 1968, more successful as a cover by The Raiders that peaked on the Hot 100 at No. 23 on October 23–30, 1971) and two other soul-searchers, the back-to-nature ' Don't It Make You Want to Go Home' (also covered eight months later by Brook Benton With The Dixie Flyers) and the socially provocative ' Walk a Mile in My Shoes' (also covered by Elvis Presley in a Las Vegas era version, Bryan Ferry, and Coldcut). 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. Responding to late 1960s issues, South's style changed radically, most evident in his biggest single, 1969's pungent, no-nonsense ' Games People Play' (purportedly inspired by Eric Berne's book of the same name), a hit on both sides of the Atlantic. South played electric guitar on Simon & Garfunkel's second album, Sounds of Silence, although Al Gorgoni and/or Vinnie Bell feature on the title track.īilly Joe Royal recorded five South songs: ' Down in the Boondocks' (also covered in 1969 by Penny DeHaven), ' I Knew You When' (later a hit for Donny Osmond, and Linda Ronstadt), ' Yo-Yo' (later a hit for The Osmonds), ' Hush' (later a hit for Deep Purple, 'Somebody's Image' with Russell Morris, and Kula Shaker), and ' Rose Garden', a country and pop hit for singer Lynn Anderson (see below). South was also a prominent sideman, playing guitar on Tommy Roe's 'Sheila', bass guitar on Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde album, and the classic tremolo guitar intro on Aretha Franklin's ' Chain of Fools'. 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). Thereafter South would concentrate mainly on songwriting. 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'. (Charlie Wayne Felts is the cousin of Rockabilly Hall of Fame Inductee and Grand Ole Opry Member, Narvel Felts.) He soon returned to Nashville with The Manrando Group and then on to Charlie Wayne Felts Promotions. South's earliest recordings have been re-released by NRC on CD. 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 had met and was encouraged by Bill Lowery, an Atlanta music publisher and radio personality.

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