Singer-songwriter Joe South, who performed hits in the late 1960s and early 1970s such as 'Games People Play' and 'Walk A Mile In My Shoes' and also penned songs including 'Down in the Boondocks' for other artists, died Wednesday, his music publisher said. South was 72.

South, whose real name was Joseph Souter, died at his home in Buford, Ga., northeast of Atlanta, according to Marion Merck of the Hall County Coroner's office. Merck said South died after having a heart attack.

'He's one of the greatest songwriters of all time,' said Butch Lowery, president of the Lowery Group, which published South's music. 'His songs have touched so many lives. He's such a wonderful guy and loved by many.'

South worked as a session guitar player on recordings of some of the biggest names of the 1960s — Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel, among others. But he had a string of hits of his own starting in the late 1960s that made his booming voice a familiar one on radio stations, with a style that some described as a mix of country and soul.

He is perhaps best known for the song 'Games People Play,' which reached No. 12 on the Billboard charts in 1969 and won him two Grammys for Best Contemporary Song and Song of the Year. The opening lines evoked the message songs of the era: 'Oh the games people play now, every night and every day n.