Birth name George Michael Green Role Musical Artist | Name George Green | |
Born January 28, 1952Seymour, Indiana, United States ( 1952-01-28 ) Genres Rock music, Heartland rock, Roots rock, Folk rock | ||
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)".
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“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."
Biography
Green was John Mellencamp's long-time writing partner; he was a classmate and childhood friend of Mellencamp's from Seymour, Indiana. In 1985, Green's wife appeared in the video for Mellencamp's Top 10 hit "Lonely Ol' Night". In addition to writing with Mellencamp, Green also wrote songs recorded by Barbra Streisand, Level 42, Hall & Oates, Jude Cole, Vanessa Williams, Percy Sledge, Gary Morris, and The Oak Ridge Boys among others. 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.
Credits
Green's songwriting credits with Mellencamp include:
Green's songwriting credits with Carla Olson include: