Garland Green obit

“Jealous Kind of Fella” singer Garland Green dies at 83

 He was not on the list.

(February 9, 2026) In 1969,Garland Green dominated radio for a period with his lush, soulful ballad “Jealous Kind of Fella.” It became an instant classic that introduced the world to the impassioned voice of a talented singer. We’re sad to report the passing of Mr. Green at age 83

Born in Mississippi and raised in Chicago, Green came up singing in church, and that gospel grounding never left his delivery. His vocals an unfiltered emotional honesty that felt lived-in rather than rehearsed. Like many singers of his era, he transitioned naturally into secular music, bringing church-bred passion into stories of romantic turmoil.

Green broke through in 1969 with “Jealous Kind of Fella,” a record that has since become a cornerstone of deep soul. The song’s slow, pleading groove and Green’s determined vocals struck a powerful chord, earning strong R&B chart success and enduring admiration decades later. The accompanying album, Jealous Kind of Fella, confirmed that the hit was no fluke, presenting Green as a singer capable of sustaining intensity across an entire set of emotionally charged material.

Green charted several times over the next decade with mid-level hits like “Don’t Think That I’m A Violent Guy,” “Plain and Simple Girl,” and “Let The Good Times Roll.” Toward the end of his recording career, he teamed with Motown legend Lamont Dozier, remaking the Dozier hit “Trying To Hold On To My Woman.”

In 2011, Green returned to the studio after nearly three decades to record I Should’ve Been The One, an unexpected album that showed him to still be in fine voice.

Garland Green left behind a small but powerful body of work that captures soul music at its most exposed—where every crack in the voice tells the story just as clearly as the lyrics. He will be missed.

Born in Dunleith, Mississippi, United States, Green was the tenth child of eleven in his family. He lived in Mississippi until 1958 when he moved to Chicago. While working and attending Englewood High, 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 barbeque 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 concert opening for Lou Rawls and Earl Hines at the 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 song called "Girl I Love You", written by Shelley Fisher. It sold well locally and was picked up by MCA 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 No. 5 in the Billboard R&B chart and No. 2 in the Cashbox soul chart. Written by Green, R. Browner, M. Dollinson and Jo Armstead, the record was released in the U.S. in August 1969. It sold a million copies by March 1971. Uni released an album 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 reached the R&B Top 20.

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'." His recording for the label, "Just What The Doctor Ordered", remained unissued until 1990, when it was included on a compilation album of his Spring singles on the UK label, Ace/Kent. A move then to RCA Records resulted in three singles and an album, produced by the Los Angeles, California producer/singer Leon Haywood.