Garland Green

Garland Green (born Garfield Green Jr., June 14, 1942 in Dunleith, Mississippi) is an American soul singer and pianist.

He was the tenth child of eleven born in his family, and lived in Mississippi until 1958 when he moved to Chicago. While working and attending Englewood High there, he sang on weekends, and one day while singing in a pool room, he was overheard by Argia B. Collins, a local owner of a bar-b-que chain. Collins agreed to bankroll Green's attendance at the Chicago Conservatory of Music, where Green studied voice and piano, and played in local bars and clubs.

In 1967, Green won a local talent show at a club called the Trocadero. His prize was a gig opening for Lou Rawls and Earl Hines at the prestigious Sutherland Lounge. In the audience was Mel Collins, and his wife Joshie Jo Armstead, who was a songwriter who had written tunes with Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson prior to the couple joining Motown. The couple arranged for Green to do a recording session in Detroit and released the result as a single on their label, Gamma Records, a terrific song called "Girl I Need You." The song sold well locally and was picked up by MCA Records subsidiary, Revue Records for national distribution. Revue released three further singles from Green who then moved to MCA's main label, Uni Records.

In 1969, "Jealous Kind of Fella" became a major national success, reaching the pop Top 20, #5 in the Billboard R&B chart and #2 in the Cashbox soul chart. Uni released a full-length LP from Green, but the follow-up single did not sell well and Green eventually left MCA, also parting company with Armstead. He then signed with Atlantic Records subsidiary, Cotillion Records, which released five singles from Garland, but only one proved a real success, "Plain and Simple Girl". Produced and arranged by Donny Hathaway, this also reached the R&B Top 20, but no album was forthcoming. Fellow Chicago singer Syl Johnson is listed as producer, but in reality he was the executive producer, his role being that he placed the record with Cotillion and got Garland a contract.

Moving on to Spring Records in 1973, Green recorded five more singles, some of which charted modestly, notably "Let the Good Times Roll" (not the Shirley and Lee song) and "Bumpin' and Stompin'." Arguably his finest recording on the label, "Just What The Doctor Ordered", remained unissued (until 1990 when it was included on a compilation of his Spring singles on UK label, Ace/Kent). A move then to RCA Records resulted in three singles and an LP, produced by Los Angeles producer/singer Leon Haywood. Although a solid effort with good vocals from Green, there was no notable chart action.

In 1979, Green moved to California, and eventually signed with a small independent label, Ocean-Front Records for an album produced by Lamont Dozier and Arleen Schesel, Ocean Front's A&R rep (who Green would later marry). The album featured a re-worked version of a major hit for Dozier 10 years earlier, "Trying To Hold On To My Woman". When the label closed, Green continued to record and self-release.

Charting singles

*"Jealous Kind of Fella" (1969) US Pop Singles #20, Black Singles #5
*"Don't Think that I'm a Violent Guy" (1970) Black Singles #42
*"Plain and Simple Girl" (1971) Black Singles #17
*"He Didn't Know" (1974) Black Singles #67
*"Let the Good Times Roll" (1974) Black Singles #65
*"Tryin' To Hold On" (1983) Black Singles #63

Further reading

Pruter, Robert. "Chicago Soul". Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1991, ISBN 978-025206259-9

References

* [http://wm05.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3zfixqu5ldte~T1 Garland Green] at Allmusic.com

* [http://www.baltic-soul.de Garland Green] Live in Europe