Jack Greene (historian)
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Jack Henry Greene (January 7, 1930 – March 14, 2013) was an American
country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
musician. Nicknamed the "Jolly Greene Giant" due to his height and deep voice, Greene was a long time member of the
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Greene is best known for his 1966 hit, " There Goes My Everything". The song dominated the country music charts for nearly two months in 1967 and earned Greene "Male Vocalist of the Year", "Single of the Year", "Album of the Year", and "Song of the Year" honors from the
Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...
. Greene had a total of five number-one country hits and three others that reached the top 10. ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' named Greene one of the top 100 "Most Played Artists".


Early life

Greene was born in
Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The Great Indian Warpath (which was used to build the route U.S. Route 411, US-411) was long ...
, and learned to play guitar when he was 10 years old. His first involvement with the music industry came when he was still a teenager, working as a disc jockey at radio station
WGAP WGAP (1400 AM, "Fun 105.9") is a commercial radio station licensed to Maryville, Tennessee, and serving the Knoxville metropolitan area. It broadcasts a classic hits format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. WG ...
in Maryville. By the age of 18, Greene was a regular on the ''Tennessee Barn Dance'' show on
WNOX WNOX (93.1 FM, "Classic Rock 93.1") is a commercial radio station licensed to the suburb of Karns, Tennessee, and serving the Knoxville metropolitan area. The station is owned by SummitMedia and airs a classic rock format. WNOX's studios ...
(
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
). In the early 1950s, he moved to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, where he formed his own band, the Peach Tree Boys. Greene was lead vocalist, drummer, and guitarist for the group for eight years. In 1959, he moved back to Tennessee and settled in
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
and formed another band, the Tennessee Mountain Boys. A major career break came Greene's way in 1961 when his band served as the opening act for
Ernest Tubb Ernest Dale Tubb (February 9, 1914 – September 6, 1984), nicknamed the Texas Troubadour, was an American singer and songwriter and one of the pioneers of country music. His biggest career hit song, "Walking the Floor Over You" (1941), marked ...
. Impressed, Tubb asked Greene to become a part of his backing band, the Texas Troubadors, in 1962.


Career


Success and "There Goes My Everything"

For the next few years, Jack Greene was a drummer, guitarist, vocalist, and master of ceremonies for the Troubadors' performances. He soon began serving as opening act on a regular basis for Tubb, as well as playing in the band. In 1964, Jack released his first solo record with ''The Last Letter''. The song originally appeared on one of Ernest Tubb's live albums, but drew enough attention that Tubb's record label,
Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...
, released it as a single. Another single, "Don't You Ever Get Tired (Of Hurting Me)", followed in 1965, but failed to make the country music charts, having the bad luck to come out at the same time as
Ray Price Noble Ray Price (January 12, 1926 – December 16, 2013) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone is regarded as among the best male voices of country music, and his innovations, such as prope ...
's version. Tubb encouraged Jack Greene to leave the Texas Troubadors and pursue a solo career. Said Greene in an interview, "Ernest told me, 'Son, I believe it's time to go.' But also said, 'If you can't make it, you can always come back and be a Troubador'." Greene's first top-40 hit came in early 1966 with "Ever Since My Baby Went Away", peaking at number 37. Later that year, Decca released what became his signature song, "There Goes My Everything". The song reached number one and stayed on top of the country charts for seven weeks, while becoming a crossover hit. His success continued into 1967 with another number one in "All the Time" (on top for five weeks) and a number-two hit with "What Locks the Door". In 1967, he received the prestigious awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year, and Album of the Year from the
Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) is an American trade association with the stated aim of promoting and developing country music throughout the world. Founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee, it originally consisted of 233 members and was the f ...
. In all, he recorded nine number-one country hits on various charts, including five number-one ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' hits. His success continued into 1968 with another number one with "
You Are My Treasure "You Are My Treasure" is a 1968 single by Jack Greene. "You Are My Treasure" was Jack Greene's third number one on the country chart. The single spent a single week at number one and a total of twelve weeks on the country chart. Chart performan ...
" and the top-five hit "Love Takes Care of Me". In 1969, he had two number-one hits with " Until My Dreams Come True" and " Statue of a Fool". He completed the year out with the top-five "Back in the Arms of Love". Also in 1967, Jack Greene became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He became an Opry mainstay, performing there frequently each year until his health failed.


Continued success

In 1970, Greene gained a duet and a touring partner in
Jeannie Seely Marilyn Jeanne Seely (born July 6, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and author. Primarily identified with country music, Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning song " Don't Touch Me" (1966). Her soul-ins ...
. Together, they had three country hits, including "Wish I Didn't Have to Miss You", which reached number two on the charts and became Greene's last top-10 hit. Jack and Jeannie's stage show became one of the biggest touring acts during the 1970s. Jack continued to have both solo hits and duets with Seely. Among the biggest of these hits during the 1970s were "Lord, Is That Me" (1970), "There's a Lot About a Woman a Man Don't Know" (1971), and two more duets with Jeannie with "Much Obliged" (1972) and "What in The World Has Gone Wrong with Our Love" (1972). Decca became
MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...
in the early 1970s, but Greene kept on having chart success with "Satisfaction" (1973), "I Need Somebody Bad" (1973), and "It's Time to Cross That Bridge" (1974). Afterwards, his chart success declined rapidly, as another song in 1974 and one song in 1975 were minor hits, and he was dropped by MCA Records in 1976.


Later career

Jack Greene enjoyed a brief comeback with the Frontline Records label in 1980 as the song "Yours for the Taking" peaked at numbwe 28 on the country charts. The song was Greene's last in the country top 40. He achieved several more minor hits, however, on Frontline and then on EMH and
Step One Records Step One Records was an independent American record label established in February 1984 in Nashville, Tennessee. The label was founded by singer-songwriter and producer Ray Pennington with Curtis Potter, the former of whom had produced for Waylon ...
. He continued to tour regularly and to appear on the'' Grand Ole Opry'' program; 2007 marked his 40th anniversary with the Opry.


Final years and death

Greene continued to record sporadically in the 2000s, including the duet "You Have Won My Heart" and "Stetson Cowboy" with Santana Maria, but neither charted. Greene recorded his final studio album ''Precious Memories, Treasured Friends'' in 2010. An album of duets, it featured fellow country stars
Lorrie Morgan Loretta Lynn Morgan (born June 27, 1959) is an American country music singer and actress. She is the daughter of George Morgan, widow of Keith Whitley, and ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country music singers. ...
and
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American Country music, country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for a long list of hit records, and is well known for his distinctive voice an ...
. In failing health, Greene retired from performing in 2011. He died on March 14, 2013, from complications of
Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...
at the age of 83 in Nashville.


Discography


References


External links


Profile
imdb.com; accessed March 31, 2015.
Profile
Grand Ole Opry; accessed March 31, 2015. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Jack 1930 births 2013 deaths American male singer-songwriters American country singer-songwriters People from Maryville, Tennessee Grand Ole Opry members Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee