Early Career
Greene was born on January 7, 1930, in Maryville, Tennessee. In the early 1950s, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he formed his own band, The Peach Tree Boys as a lead vocalist, drummer, and guitarist. In 1959, he moved back to Tennessee and settled in Nashville and formed his own band, The Tennessee Mountain Boys. One day in 1961, the band opened for Ernest Tubb, and Ernest noticed Jack's talents and asked him to join his band, which he did. For the next few years, he was a drummer, guitarist, vocalist, and M.C. in Ernest Tubb's band, The Texas Troubadors. He soon was starting to open shows for Ernest playing guitar and singing and in 1964, Jack released his first solo record with "The Last Letter" which first appeared on one of Tubb's live albums. The song got attention from Ernest's record label Decca Records who released it as a single. Another single followed in 1965 with "Don't You Ever Get Tired Of Hurtin' Me" but this didn't chart as it came out at the same time as Ray Price's version. Tubb encouraged him to pursue a solo career, and Greene achieved great success right away. His first Top 40 hit came in early 1966 with "Ever Since My Baby Went Away". Later that year, he released a song that put him on top. The song was "There Goes My Everything" and it was a monster hit, staying on top of the Country charts for 7 weeks, and even becoming a crossover hit, the album stayed No. 1 for an entire year. The success continued into 1967 as well with another number 1 smash 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. In all, he has recorded nine number one country hits on various charts including 5 number one Billboard hits. His success continued into 1968 with another number 1 with "You Are My Treasure" and the top 5 hit "Love Takes Care Of Me". In 1969, he had 2 number 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".
Read more about this topic: Jack Greene
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or career:
“We have been told over and over about the importance of bonding to our children. Rarely do we hear about the skill of letting go, or, as one parent said, “that we raise our children to leave us.” Early childhood, as our kids gain skills and eagerly want some distance from us, is a time to build a kind of adult-child balance which permits both of us room.”
—Joan Sheingold Ditzion (20th century)
“John Brown’s career for the last six weeks of his life was meteor-like, flashing through the darkness in which we live. I know of nothing so miraculous in our history.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)