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Johnny Green & the Greenmen -
New Sound, New CD, and Tales of Legend
By Robert E. Martin
The life of Johnny Green is the stuff that epic movies are made of.
With a career that spans four decades, the musicians and artists that
Johnny has worked with forms a 'Who's Who' of popular music. Johnny taught
Gene Simmons from Kiss to breathe fire, toured with Bob Hope in Vietnam,
and played at the 25th anniversary of Woodstock.
It all started back in the early 1960s, when the inexperienced Green
decided to make a name for himself in the music business and assembled a
group which he called 'The Greenmen'. Johnny's drive & self-confidence led
him to making a decision that all members of the Greenmen should dye their
hair green. Shortly thereafter they won a contract on the Playboy Club
circuit, and in 1964 began to receive national recognition when they
performed at the New York World's Fair and their appearance was covered by
Life Magazine.
Things really exploded in 1964 when Johnny signed a contract with 20th
Century Fox to appear on the television series Batman. In addition to
acting on the show, Johnny scored a major hit record with the 'Batman
Theme' which he recorded with the Billy May Orchestra. From there the
frenzy escalated. When the British invasion hit, bands like The Rolling
Stones would open for Johnny (he has a photo of Stones' drummer Charlie
Watts playing on a drum kit with 'Johnny Green & the Greenmen written on
the bass drum).
His group toured & appeared with The Beatles, Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix,
and The Beach Boys, and the band have made special appearances for King
Constantine of Greece and the Shah of Iran.
Now, Johnny Green & the Greenmen have a new CD of original material on the
market entitled She's From Tennessee. Produced by the legendary Dick
Wagner, the album showcases the breathtaking vocal talents of the band's
singer, Rhonda Marie, a lithe & powerful vocal dynamo not from Tennessee,
but hailing from Frankenmuth, Michigan. The group is scheduled to appear
at Mancino's of Frankenmuth from August 15 - 18th.
After all these years of exploring popular music, why did the group opt to
release a country/crossover CD?
"Nowadays, it is next to impossible to get pop material played on the
radio," explains Johnny. "All the stations want to know if you're on the
charts, and obviously you aren't because you're trying to build the
project. The country crossover stations are more like stations were in the
'60s. They'll actually listen to the recording and play a cut if they like
it."
"The CD is released on Embassy, which is affiliated with Liberace's old
company, so we have it released in England, Canada, and the U.S. We began
with 10,000 units and are moving into our second pressing, but we're also
working on a follow-up CD that is more pop oriented because I don't want to
label the group as a country cross-over, not that we can't do it. We can
play any time of music. Recently we played Branson and won a Rockabilly
award for our achievements in Nashville and another award from Midwest for
Pop/Country."
Lately the Greenmen have been doing a lot of casino work with national
acts, opening for such artists as Mitch Ryder. Does Johnny feel the music
climate is fertile right now for a resurgence?
"This particular CD opened a lot of doors," relates Johnny. "Of all the
songs, She's From Tennessee is getting a lot of play and strong reception.
We're heading to the Sturgis Rally and performing with people like Sheryl
Crow and are working a solid week. Of the five acts that worked last year
at Sturgis, four were not re-hired but we were. Last year they had 850,000
bikers attend."
In terms of songwriting, Johnny is drawing upon his contacts and working
with many different writers. For his next release he'll be working with
Bob House who wrote Could I Have This Dance, and owns House Music
Publishing out of Nashville.
"Dick Wagner has shown interest in the group and is going to give me a half
dozen songs he wrote the next time we hook-up," notes Johnny. "Our
association has grown friendly through the years and he likes Rhonda and
wants to help me out, so I'm going to take him up on it. I still write,
but I'm not trying to push my stuff off. I'm fortunate to have a lot of
friends in the industry that are submitting things. Razzy Bailey has given
me about 50 songs. He's a Blues & Country writer that has enjoyed many,
many hits and has some great albums out."
As one that has enjoyed the frontlines spanning four decades of popular
music, does Johnny still derive the same level of enjoyment from his
profession?
"I've always said the moment it isn't any fun to get onstage I'll quit,"
replies Johnny. "In Nashville when Bobby Vee and Dave Dudley, who wrote Six
Days on the Road, gave me my award, they said I'm probably one of the
longest running acts in show business. I never quit. I started the Greenmen
in 1960 and prior to that cut the original I Fought the Law with the Royal
Lancers. Then Bobby Fuller came out with the hit version. I won the
Rockabilly Award for that and the Country Rock achievement award for the
Greenmen."
"It's funny," laughs Johnny, "because one of the guys in our Cleveland
office is on the Board of Directors for the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. He
said they're trying to find a category where I might fit in, because I've
never had a number one record, other than recording the Batman theme with
Billy May."
"Conrad Twitty and I used to live in Oklahoma City when he was experiencing
his second downfall back when rock kinda died in the late 50s. We lived in
a place that cost 32 bucks per week. It was a motel and the room was like a
hutch, but it was a cute place because every morning little rabbits would
be outside the door. We were talking about how we remember those days and
not the days like today when we're living in suites. But honestly, it is a
little rougher now. The music industry has changed a lot. Back in the early
days you could find 20 to 25 groups like Bill Haley and Chuck Berry
touring, and now I can't count that many doing regular tours on my one
hand."
Johnny is quick to admit, however, that through their constant touring and
the 'semi-name' they have developed, their popularity is on a constant
rebound. "People remember the green hair and it's easier for me to walk
into radio stations now because I know most of the owners. With this
project I want to get Rhonda Marie off the ground, but our next CD will
definitely be more pop oriented."
"Last Saturday I did the old Larry King Live radio show," smiles Johnny.
"It was supposed to be a 15-minute segment and the show went on for an hour
and 50 minutes. Joe Mazza was the host and 16-million people heard me
across the United States. The phone calls kept coming in and that really
amazed me. It was extremely gratifying."
One thing is for certain. Johnny Green & the Greenmen is a group that has
honed its performance skills down to a fine art, without ever losing touch
of the levity that makes performing a dynamic experience.
Be sure to check their performance at Mancino's of Frankenmuth on Aug.
15-18th, and be sure to tune into their new CD. Copies can be found
locally at The Turntable in Midland and also purchased over the Johnny
Green website.
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