Joe Greene is an American

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

singer and songwriter. A male soprano, he was especially active in the late 1960s and the 1970s as a backing vocalist for

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

artists seeking to achieve a more polished vocal performance on their recordings. As a songwriter during that time, he frequently collaborated with Billy Preston, co-writing the latter's Grammy-winning 1972 hit " Outa-Space" and other songs. Among the many artists whose recordings Greene appeared on are

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr and

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...

. According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, together with singers such as Vanetta Field and

Clydie King Clydie Mae King (August 21, 1943 – January 7, 2019) was an American singer, best known for her session work as a backing vocalist. King also recorded solo under her name. In the 1970s, she recorded as Brown Sugar, and her single "Loneliness ( ...

, Greene was "on the 'A' list" of studio backing vocalists in the U.S. He was also one of the singers in "The Soul Choir" that accompanied George Harrison, Starr, Preston and Leon Russell at

the Concert for Bangladesh The Concert for Bangladesh (or Bangla Desh, as the country's name was originally spelt)Harry, p. 135. was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were he ...

in August 1971. Greene co-wrote the song "Let the Music Play" on Preston's 1970 album for

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Ma ...

, '' Encouraging Words''. In June 1971, he signed a songwriting deal with Preston's publishing company, WEP Music, whereby he would receive 35 per cent of the company's net profits. Two years later, Greene sued Preston and WEP for $500,000, claiming he had been paid nothing for hits such as "Outa-Space". He continued to work with Preston, including co-writing the title track to the artist's 1979 album '' Late at Night'' and singing on the album. In the ensuing decades, Greene withdrew from rock music and focused on gospel and choral projects.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Joe American male singers American gospel singers American male songwriters African-American songwriters Place of birth missing Year of birth missing