Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer.

[2] South played electric guitar on Simon & Garfunkel's second album, Sounds of Silence, although Al Gorgoni and/or Vinnie Bell feature on the title track.

Responding to late 1960s issues, South's style changed radically, most evident in his biggest single, 1969's pungent, no-nonsense "Games People Play" (purportedly inspired by Eric Berne's book of the same name), a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.

23 on October 23–30, 1971) and two other soul-searchers, the back-to-nature "Don't It Make You Want to Go Home" (also covered eight months later by Brook Benton With The Dixie Flyers) and the socially provocative "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" (also covered by Elvis Presley in a Las Vegas era version, Jerry Lee Lewis, Bryan Ferry, and Coldcut).

Freddy Weller, Jeannie C. Riley, and Penny DeHaven also had hits on the Billboard country chart with South songs.

In addition, other artists who have recorded South-penned songs include Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, Carol Burnett, Andy Williams, Kitty Wells, Dottie West, Jim Nabors, Arlen Roth, Liz Anderson, The Georgia Satellites, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Ike & Tina Turner, Hank Williams Jr., James Taylor, the Tams, and k. d. lang, although most covered versions of South's best known songs.

[4] Tommy South had been the drummer in Joe's backing band and accompanied Joe not only in live performances but also on recording sessions when he produced hits for other artists, including Royal, Sandy Posey, and Friend and Lover, including their number 10 Billboard hit song "Reach Out of the Darkness".

On September 13, 2003, South performed during the Georgia Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony and played with Buddy Buie, James B. Cobb Jr., and Chips Moman.

[8] South and second wife Jan Tant, who died in 1999, are buried in Mount Harmony Memorial Gardens Cemetery, in Mableton (Cobb County), Georgia.