The Charles Randolph Grean Sounde

Biography & Overview

Grean's first work was as a copyist in several big bands, including Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, and Charlie Spivak. He worked at RCA Victor Records under Steve Sholes,[1] producing country and Western recordings by such artists as Eddy Arnold, Pee Wee King, the Sons of the Pioneers, Texas Jim Robertson and Elton Britt.[2]

He was the arranger for the Nat King Cole recording of "The Christmas Song." In 1950, he wrote "The Thing," a popular song which reached number one on the charts in a version sung by Phil Harris. The same year he became the head of A&R at RCA Victor Records, passing over his previous superior, Sholes.