Jack Greene
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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. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
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 weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...
. 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) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...
. Greene had a total of five  1 country hits and three others that reached the top ten. ''
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 advertise ...
'' magazine 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, and is a suburb of Knoxville. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area and a short distance from popular tourist desti ...
, and learned to play guitar when he was ten 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, "Random Music Radio") is a radio station broadcasting a variety hits music format. Licensed to Maryville, Tennessee, United States, the station serves the Knoxville area. The station is currently owned by Loud Media LLC, and feat ...
in Maryville. By the age of 18, Greene was a regular on the ''Tennessee Barn Dance'' show on
WNOX WNOX (93.1 FM, "Awesome 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 hits format. WNOX's studios and o ...
(
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
). In the early 1950s he moved to
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, Georgia, 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 is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
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), m ...
. 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. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
, 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'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 No. 37. Later that year, Decca released what would become his signature song, "There Goes My Everything". The song reached No. 1 and stayed on top of the country charts for 7 weeks while becoming a crossover hit. His success continued into 1967 with another No. 1 in "All The Time" (on top for 5 weeks) and a number 2 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) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...
. In all, he recorded nine No. 1 country hits on various charts including five No. 1 ''
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 advertise ...
'' hits. His success continued into 1968 with another No. 1 with " You Are My Treasure" and the top 5 hit "Love Takes Care Of Me". In 1969, he had two No. 1 hits with " Until My Dreams Come True" and " Statue of a Fool". He completed the year out with the Top 5 "Back In The Arms Of Love". It was also in 1967 that 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 country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She also has several acting credits and published a book. Seely found success with the Grammy Award-winning hit " Don't Touch Me" (196 ...
. Together they had three Country hits including "Wish I Didn't Have To Miss You", which reached No. 2 on the charts and became Greene's last top-ten 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 included "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., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...
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 Frontline Records was a Christian rock record label, founded in 1986 by James Kempner in Santa Ana, California. The label focused primarily on modern rock, rap, dance-pop and hip-hop. The label closed in the early 1990s, and then resurfaced in ...
label in 1980 as the song "Yours For The Taking" peaked at No. 28 on the Country charts. The song would be Greene's last in the Country Top Forty. 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 appear on the Grand Ole Opry; 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. However, it failed to chart. Greene recorded his final studio album ''Precious Memories, Treasured Friends'' in 2010. An album of duets, it featured fellow Country stars like
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. Mo ...
and
George Jones George Glenn Jones (September 12, 1931 – April 26, 2013) was an American country musician, singer, and songwriter. He achieved international fame for his long list of hit records, including his best-known song "He Stopped Loving Her Today", ...
. 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 neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
at the age of 83 in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
.


Awards

* 1967 – Became a member of the
Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...
* 1967 —
Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...
– Male Vocalist of the Year * 1967 – Country Music Association – Single of the Year * 1967 – Country Music Association – Album of the Year


Discography

Selected studio albums * '' There Goes My Everything'' (1966)


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 Neurological disease deaths in Tennessee Singer-songwriters from Tennessee Country musicians from Tennessee