George Green (songwriter)
| George Green | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | George Michael Green |
| Born |
January 28, 1952 Seymour, Indiana, United States |
| Died |
August 28, 2011 (aged 59) Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States |
| Genres | Rock, heartland rock, roots rock, folk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Songwriter |
| Associated acts | John Mellencamp |
George Michael Green (January 28, 1952 – August 28, 2011) was an American songwriter who is perhaps best known for his collaborations with childhood friend, John Mellencamp. His compositions included the Top 10 Billboard hits "Crumblin' Down" and "Hurts So Good" (the latter of which was an RPM No. 1 hit in Canada), as well as another Canadian No. 1 hit in "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)".
“George Green was a superb lyricist who played an important role in moving John Mellencamp along the road to seriousness as a songwriter,” Anthony DeCurtis, a longtime music writer and contributing editor to Rolling Stone magazine, told the Bloomington Herald-Times. “His plain-spoken, poetic touch lifted many of John’s songs, and, I believe, helped teach John what was possible for him to achieve as a writer. John eventually internalized those gifts himself, and George provided a close-at-hand model for how that could happen."[1]
Biography
Green was John Mellencamp's long-time writing partner; he was a classmate and childhood friend of Mellencamp's from Seymour, Indiana.[2] In 1985, Green's wife appeared in the video for Mellencamp's Top 10 hit "Lonely Ol' Night".[2] In addition to writing with Mellencamp, Green also wrote songs recorded by Barbra Streisand, Hall & Oates, Jude Cole, Vanessa Williams, Percy Sledge, and The Oak Ridge Boys among others.[1] Green died on August 28, 2011 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the age of 59 after suffering from a rapid-forming small cell lung cancer.[1]
Credits
Green's songwriting credits with Mellencamp include:
- "Dream Killing Town" and "Sad Lady" from Chestnut Street Incident (1976)[3]
- "Hurts So Good" (#2 Billboard hit)[4] and "Thundering Hearts" from American Fool (1982)[5]
- "Crumblin' Down" (#9 Billboard hit)[4] and "Warmer Place to Sleep" from Uh-Huh (1983)[6]
- "Rain on the Scarecrow" (#21 Billboard hit)[4] and "Minutes to Memories" from Scarecrow (1985)[7]
- "Empty Hands" from The Lonesome Jubilee (1987)[8]
- "Human Wheels" from Human Wheels (1993)
- "Key West Intermezzo (I Saw You First)" (#14 Billboard hit)[4] from Mr. Happy Go Lucky (1996)[9]
- "Your Life Is Now" from John Mellencamp (1998)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Leonard, Mike (August 30, 2011). "Songwriter George Green dies at age 59". Bloomington Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana). Archived from the original on August 30, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Johnson, Heather (November 1, 2007). Born In A Small Town. Omnibus Press. pp. 147, 12, 77. ISBN 978-0-8256-7336-8.
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "John Cougar: Chestnut Street Incident". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (8th Edition). Billboard Books. pp. 418–419. ISBN 0-8230-7499-4.
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "John Cougar: American Fool". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "John Mellencamp: Uh-Huh". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "John Mellencamp: Scarecrow". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "John Mellencamp: The Lonesome Jubilee". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "John Mellencamp: Mr. Happy Go Lucky". AllMusic. Retrieved September 4, 2011.