Why Haven't I Heard of Joe South?

I heard "Brandy, You're A Fine Girl" approximately 4,786 times before I heard "Games People Play" just several weeks ago on an oldies station. I've been fortunate enough to hear it from the same station a couple of times since. What's odd is that I never heard it before, though it won a Grammy for Best Song in 1970. I also never heard of the singer/songwriter, Joe South, until today. According to Wikipedia, he wrote songs for Gene Vincent while still a teenager in the late 50's, and wrote the hits "Rose Garden" for Lynn Anderson and "Hush" by Deep Purple. Also was a sideman for Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel. He died in 2012. Helluva career.

It's odd the games that "oldies" station programmers play. Maybe I did hear this song earlier, at some point, somewhere, and maybe then it just didn't make an impression. But it obviously wasn't played a lot, otherwise I'd have known the song.

I'm not saying it's a great song. It's kind of dated, a product of its time, but it's definitely good. And it brings in the brass and strings, which most great records from the late 60's to the late 70's tend to do. I like that lush sound a lot.