Richard Greene | |
---|---|
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | November 9, 1942
Genres | Classical, rock, bluegrass |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Violin |
Years active | 1964–present |
Website | www |
Richard Greene (born November 9, 1942) is an American violinist who has been described as "one of the most innovative and influential fiddle players of all time". [1] Greene is credited with introducing the chop to fiddle playing while working with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, the invention of which he attributes to pain in his wrist and arm and "laziness". [2] He featured the technique in his performances with Seatrain. [2]
Greene was born in Beverly Hills and grew up in Los Angeles. He began studying classical music at age 5 but turned to folk music by high school. After entering the University of California, Berkeley, he joined the Coast Mountain Ramblers and later the Dry City Scat Band, led by guitarist David Lindley. [3] [4] Greene first attained prominence with Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys in 1966 as one of Monroe's first "northern" band members. He then joined the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, recording with them on the 1967 album Garden of Joy. [3]
After playing briefly with the Blues Project, Greene joined Blues Project founder Andy Kulberg and Jim Roberts in forming the roots-fusion band Sea Train, which released its self-titled debut in 1969. The band's second self-titled album, released the next year under the newly-shortened name Seatrain, was produced by Beatles producer George Martin and included the hit song "13 Questions". [5] By then, Earth Opera guitarist Peter Rowan had joined the band, which played a mix of rock, bluegrass, folk, and blues. [6]
Other bands Greene has been with, usually as a leader or co-leader, include: [7] [8]
Greene also has recorded or performed with Red Allen, Bill Monroe, Gary Burton, Melissa Manchester, Greenbriar Boys, James Taylor, Tony Rice, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Bob Seger, Old & In the Way, Brian Wilson, Eddie Adcock, George Strait, Loggins and Messina, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Peter Rowan, Deana Carter, Rod Stewart, Lacy J. Dalton, Jerry Garcia, Van Dyke Parks, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Joss Stone, Richard Thompson, Kelly Clarkson, Mandy Moore, Tony Bennett, and the Wagner Ensemble (Jeannine Wagner). [8]
He has headlined major festivals, including Telluride, Sedona, and Live Oak. He teaches courses at the Mancini Institute, the RockyGrass Academy, the Festival of Fiddle Tunes, Mark O'Connor Fiddle Camp, the Rocky Mountain Fiddle Camp, the Swannanoa Gathering, and dozens of ad hoc workshops throughout the year.
William Smith "Bill" Monroe was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the "Father of Bluegrass".
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it largely developed out of old-time string music, though in contrast, bluegrass is traditionally played exclusively on acoustic instruments and also has roots in traditional English, Scottish, and Irish ballads and dance tunes as well as in blues and jazz. Bluegrass was further developed by musicians who played with Monroe, including 5-string banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt. Monroe characterized the genre as: "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's a part of Methodist, Holiness and Baptist traditions. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound."
The Stanley Brothers were an American bluegrass duo of singer-songwriters and musicians, made up of brothers Carter Stanley and Ralph Stanley. Ralph and Carter performed as The Stanley Brothers with their band, The Clinch Mountain Boys, from 1946 to 1966. Ralph kept the band name when he continued as a solo artist after Carter's death, from 1967 until his own death in 2016.
Muleskinner was an American bluegrass supergroup, active during the early 1970s.
Charles Samuel Bush is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Revival.
Anthony Cattell Trischka is an American five-string banjo player.
Delano Floyd McCoury is an American bluegrass musician. As leader of the Del McCoury Band, he plays guitar and sings lead vocals along with his two sons, Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury, who play mandolin and banjo respectively. In June 2010, he received a National Heritage Fellowship lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts and in 2011 he was elected into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame.
Peter Rowan is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings.
Vassar Carlton Clements was an American jazz, swing, and bluegrass fiddler. Clements has been dubbed the Father of Hillbilly Jazz, an improvisational style that blends and borrows from swing, hot jazz, and bluegrass along with roots also in country and other musical traditions.
Byron Douglas Berline was an American fiddle player who played many American music styles, including old time, ragtime, bluegrass, Cajun, country, and rock.
Kenneth Clayton Baker was an American fiddle player best known for his 25-year tenure with Bill Monroe and his group The Blue Grass Boys.
Seatrain was an American roots fusion band based initially in Marin County, California, and later in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Seatrain was formed in 1969, subsequently drawing some members from the Blues Project when it broke up. Seatrain recorded four albums and disbanded in 1973.
Roland Joseph White was an American bluegrass music artist, performing principally on the mandolin.
William Bradford "Bill" Keith was a five-string banjoist who made a significant contribution to the stylistic development of the instrument. In the 1960s he introduced a variation on the popular "Scruggs style" of banjo playing which would soon become known as melodic style, or "Keith style".
"Orange Blossom Special" is a fiddle tune about a luxury passenger train of the same name. The song was written by Ervin T. Rouse (1917–1981) in 1938 and was first recorded by Rouse and his brother Gordon in 1939. Often called simply "The Special" or "OBS", the song is commonly referred to as "the fiddle player's national anthem".
Mike Compton is an American bluegrass mandolin player and former protégé of the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe. He is considered a modern master of bluegrass mandolin.
Bluegrass fiddling is a distinctive style of American fiddle playing which is characterized by bold, bluesy improvisation, off-beat "chopping", and sophisticated use of both double-stops and old-time bowing patterns.
Jim Shumate was a fiddler that played with Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys from 1943–1945. Shumate's main influences were Fiddlin' Arthur Smith, Curly Fox, and his uncle who played the fiddle while he was growing up. Shumate joined the band after Bill Monroe heard him playing on the radio station WHKY from downtown Hickory, North Carolina, and asked him to join the Blue Grass Boys. Howdy Forrester, who was Bill Monroe's fiddle player at the time, gave his notice and was going into the Navy. At age 20, Shumate became the fiddler for the Blue Grass Boys, and he sang bass on gospel songs. During this time, the Blue Grass Boys were also a baseball team, so they would arrive early to towns they were playing at and challenge the local baseball team. Unfortunately, there were no recordings made while Shumate was in the Blue Grass Boys.
Live at the Boarding House: The Complete Shows is a four-CD live album by the bluegrass band Old & In the Way. It was recorded on October 1 and October 8, 1973, at the Boarding House in San Francisco, and contains the complete concerts from those dates. It was released by Acoustic Disc and Acoustic Oasis on October 1, 2013. The album includes 55 tracks, 14 of which were previously unreleased.
Richard Greene is an American violinist. In addition to his 11 solo albums and his recordings with Seatrain, Muleskinner, and the Greene String Quartet, he has been featured as a performer on many albums by other artists.