I did it more or less to keep going, and to tap into inspiration. I equated the chemicals with the inspiration." South's drug use resulted in a surly attitude toward audiences, and he left Capitol after two unsuccessful albums. South lived for a time in the 1970s on the Hawaiian island of Maui. He said, "I really kicked myself around for years … one of the main hang-ups was I just refused to forgive myself," he told Duncan. "You know, you can go through drug treatment centers, and it's not a permanent healing until it's a spiritual healing." No information is available about South's first marriage, divorce or his first wife. In 1987, South made Jan Tant his second wife. South said this marriage helped turn things around, and Tant's inspiration helped him return to writing songs and occasional appearances in public. South fathered one child, son Craig South, who is a voice-over artist in Southern California. South won two Grammy Awards, for Song of the Year and Best Contemporary Song, for the single "Games People Play," in 1969. South was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1979 and became a member of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1981. South was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019. In 1988, a Dutch DJ, Jan Donkers, interviewed South for VPRO-radio. The radio show that aired the interview also played four new songs by South, but a new record was not released. On September 13, 2003, South performed during the Georgia Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony and played with Buddy Buie, James B. Cobb, Jr., and Chips Moman. South's final recording, "Oprah Cried", was made in 2009 and released as a bonus track on the re-release of the albums "So the Seeds are Growing" and "A Look Inside" on one CD. South died at his home in Buford, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta, on September 5, 2012, of heart failure. He was 72. South and second wife Jan Tant, who died in 1999, are buried in Mount Harmony Memorial Gardens Cemetery, in Mableton (Cobb County), Georgia. With Aretha Franklin  With Simon & Garfunkel