Jack Greene in the Southern Quote

He was born on January 7^th, 1930 in Maryville, Tennessee, picked up the guitar at eight, and made his singing debut on the radio as a high school freshman. Soon he was performing regularly on the Tennessee Barn Dance on WNOX out of Knoxville, Tennessee. Jack’s next move took him to Atlanta, where he put together a band called the Peach Street Boys. Almost a decade later he would get his first big break when asked to join Ernest Tubbs and the Texas Troubadours as a drummer and sometime guitarist and vocalist.

The humble Jack Greene became a fan favorite, dubbed the Jolly Greene giant for both his lanky build and his easy personality. He sang with the Troubadours for several years before Decca Records released his first single to Top 40 success. When his follow-up “There Goes My Everything” skyrocketed to Number One and stayed there for seven weeks, Jack Greene struck out on his own.

Jack Greene continued to pile up the hits. Years later, during the sensational career of a new singer named Garth Brooks, the Associated Press printed an article in which they referred to Jack Greene as “the Garth Brooks of his era.” Garth Brooks demanded a retraction, saying it would be more appropriate to call Garth “the Jack Greene of his era.

Jack Greene continued touring and appearing on the Opry until his retirement in 2011. Two years later, the beloved star with the rich quavering tenor passed away on March 14^th, 2013. In today’s Southern Quote we honor the star with a story of remarkable unselfishness. Back in the sixties, when “There Goes My Everything” hit it big, Ernest Tubbs nudged the younger singer to leave the group for the good of his own promising career.  Jack Greene always enjoyed repeating the legend’s unselfish words. Jack Greene said, “Ernest Tubbs told me, ‘Son, I believe it’s time to go, but if you can’t make it, you can always come back and be a Troubadour.’”

Hugs, Shellie