February 28

Joseph Souter was born in Atlanta on this day in 1940.

After meeting disc jockey Bill Lowery, he shortened his name to Joe South. He played in Lowery’s house band at National Recording Corporation in Atlanta. So did Ray Stevens and Jerry Reed. His first success came writing songs for other performers: “Untie Me” for the Tams in 1962; Billy Joe Royal’s “Down in the Boondocks”, Deep Purple’s first big hit, “Hush,” and Lynn Anderson’s 1971 monster, “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden.”

South also played on Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde” album and Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.” He started recording his own songs in 1968, including the Grammy-winning “Games People Play” song of the year, and his soulful classic, “Walk a Mile in my Shoes.”

This Atlanta native in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame was born on February 28, 1940, Today in Georgia History.