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". Greene is credited with introducing the

chop Chop, CHOP, Chops, or CHOPS may refer to: Art *Embouchure, in music, a synonym for chops (and later, more broadly, musical skill or ability) *CHOPS, an Asian-American hip hop producer, rapper and member of rap group Mountain Brothers * ''Chops'' ...

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".How A Sore Wrist And A Fondness For 'Noise' Forever Changed The Way The Violin Is Played
/ref> He featured the technique in his performances with Seatrain.

Biography

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 Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

by high school. After entering the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, he joined the Coast Mountain Ramblers and later the Dry City Scat Band, led by guitarist David Lindley. 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''. After playing briefly with

the Blues Project The Blues Project is a band from the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City that was formed in 1965 and originally split up in 1967. Their songs drew from a wide array of musical styles. They are most remembered as one of the most artfu ...

, Greene joined Blues Project founder

Andy Kulberg Andy Kulberg (April 30, 1944 – January 28, 2002) was an American musician notable for his bass playing with the groups Blues Project and Seatrain. He was born in Buffalo, New York, and grew up in Amherst, New York. In 1965, he became a f ...

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 The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the "Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

and included the hit song "13 Questions". By then,

Earth Opera Earth Opera was an American psychedelic rock group, active between 1967 and 1969 and featuring Peter Rowan and David Grisman. History Both Rowan and Grisman were virtuoso folk and bluegrass performers in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, cl ...

guitarist

Peter Rowan Peter Rowan (born July 4, 1942) is an American bluegrass musician and composer. Rowan plays guitar and mandolin, yodels and sings. Biography Rowan was born in Wayland, Massachusetts to a musical family. From an early age, he had an interes ...

had joined the band, which played a mix of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, bluegrass, folk, and blues. Other bands Greene has been with, usually as a leader or co-leader, include: * Blue Velvet Band with Bill Keith,

Eric Weissberg Eric Weissberg (August 16, 1939 – March 22, 2020) was an American singer, banjo player, and multi-instrumentalist, whose most commercially successful recording was his banjo solo in "Dueling Banjos," featured as the theme of the film ''Deliver ...

, and Jim Rooney (1969) *

Muleskinner A muleskinner or mule skinner is a muleteer or mule-driver. The word may also refer to: * Muleskinner, the mascot of St. John's Military School, Kansas, U.S. * ''Muleskinner'', an alternate title for the album '' Jack Takes the Floor'' by Ramblin' ...

with Rowan, Keith, and Clarence White (1973) * The Great American Music Band initially with

David Grisman David Grisman (born March 23, 1945) is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic mu ...

and

Vassar Clements Vassar Carlton Clements (April 25, 1928 – August 16, 2005) 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 ...

and later performances that included

John Carlini John Carlini is an American jazz guitarist and arranger who performs bluegrass and jazz. He has performed with David Grisman, mandolin player Don Stiernberg, singer Bill Robinson, Bucky Pizzarelli, Rio Clemente, flatpicking guitarist Tony R ...

Todd Phillips Todd Phillips (né Bunzl, born December 20, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip (film), Road Trip'', ''Old School (film), Old School'', ...

, Darol Anger, and

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

(c. 1974-75) * The Greene String Quartet (c. 1988-91) * The Grass Is Greener which released recordings that included David Grier, Keith, Kenny Blackwell, Tim Emmons, Chris Thile,

Butch Baldassari Jerome Henry "Butch" Baldassari (December 11, 1952 – January 10, 2009) was an American mandolinist, recording artist, composer, and music teacher. Biography Early life Baldassari played guitar in rock bands as a teen with his brother Buster, b ...

Buell Neidlinger Buell Neidlinger (March 2, 1936 – March 16, 2018) was an American cellist and double bassist. He has worked with a variety of pop and jazz performers, prominently with iconoclastic pianist Cecil Taylor in the 1950s and '60s. Biography Neidling ...

, and

Tony Trischka Anthony Cattell Trischka (born January 16, 1949) is an American five-string banjo player. Sandra Brennan wrote of him in 2021: "One of the most influential modern banjoists, both in several forms of bluegrass music and occasionally in jazz and ...

(1992–94) * Richard Greene & the Brothers Barton (2006) * Hands Across the Pond - Duets with Beryl Marriiot recorded in her home in England Greene also has recorded or performed with

Red Allen Henry James "Red" Allen, Jr. (January 7, 1908 – April 17, 1967) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose playing has been claimed by Joachim-Ernst Berendt and others as the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstr ...

, Bill Monroe,

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

, Greenbriar Boys,

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

Tony Rice David Anthony Rice (June 8, 1951 – December 25, 2020), known professionally as Tony Rice, was an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and a ...

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, including ...

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

Old & In the Way Old & In the Way was a bluegrass group formed in 1973. It was composed of Peter Rowan (guitar, vocals), Vassar Clements (fiddle), Jerry Garcia (banjo, vocals), David Grisman (mandolin, vocals), and John Kahn (string bass). When the group was fo ...

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...

Eddie Adcock Eddie Adcock (born June 21, 1938) is an American banjoist and guitarist. His professional career as a 5-string banjoist began in 1953 when he joined Smokey Graves & His Blue Star Boys, who had a regular show at a radio station in Crewe, Virginia ...

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

Loggins and Messina Loggins and Messina was an American rock- pop duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, who achieved their success in the early to mid-1970s. Among their well-known songs are "Danny's Song", "House at Pooh Corner", and "Your Mama Don't D ...

Crosby, Stills & Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) were a folk rock supergroup made up of American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and English singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young as a fourth member, ...

Deana Carter Deana Kay Carter (born January 4, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter who broke through in 1996 with the release of her debut album ''Did I Shave My Legs for This?'', which was certified 5× Multi-Platinum in the United States ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

Lacy J. Dalton Lacy J. Dalton (born Jill Lynne Byrem; October 13, 1946) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for her gritty, powerful vocals, which ''People Magazine'' likened to a country equivalent of Bonnie Raitt. Dalton had a ...

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American musician, songwriter, arranger, and record producer who has composed various film and television soundtracks. He is best known for his 1967 album ''Song Cycle (album), Song Cycle'' and for his ...

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Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

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, Richard Thompson,

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, and the Wagner Ensemble (Jeannine Wagner). 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.

Awards and honors

* Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Performance of the Year (1997) * Grammy Nomination for Best Bluegrass Recording of the Year (1998) *

International Bluegrass Music Association The International Bluegrass Music Association, or IBMA, is a trade association to promote bluegrass music. Formed in 1985, IBMA established its first headquarters in Owensboro, Kentucky. In 1988 they announced plans to create the International ...

Award: Recorded Event of the Year * International Bluegrass Music Association Nomination: Instrumental Band of the Year * Honorary

Kentucky Colonel Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and is the most well-known of a number of honorary colonelcies conferred by United States governors. A Kentucky Colonel Commission (the certificate) is ...

Discography

References

External links

* *
Discography: Richard Green's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Richard American fiddlers 1942 births Living people American bluegrass musicians Musicians from Los Angeles Country musicians from California 21st-century violinists Old & In the Way members The Blues Project members Muleskinner (band) members Seatrain (band) members Blue Grass Boys members