By Matt Robinson, Contributing Writer
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REGION – One of folk singer Greg Greenway’s most well-known songs is “Massachusetts,” an ode to driving in his adopted state, from his debut album, “A Road Worth Walking Down.” An audience favorite when he performs live, the lyrics tackle everything from rotaries to huge potholes and insults from other drivers with his tongue firmly in his cheek.
In the 40 years that have passed since the album was released, Greenway has driven and walked many miles from the rural routes of his native Virginia to the rotaries of Massachusetts to the taxi lanes in front of Carnegie Hall to the roundabouts of Europe and far beyond.
Music as a vehicle
Throughout his travels, he has maintained the proud tradition of not just folk, but gospel, rock, blues, jazz, and world music in ways that have engaged new listeners while encouraging older fans to stay on the road with him.
And while the modes of transportation may have ranged from feet to cars to planes, Greenway sees the music itself as the means by which he has traveled the world.
“Music has been my vehicle to see the world and to meet so many of the amazing people in it,” he maintained. Greenway gratefully recalled the many times he has been privileged to play with his musical and personal heroes and to meet new ones.
A musical family
The youngest of three boys, Greenway was introduced to music by his family early on.
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“He had a great voice,” Greenway recalled of his father who sang on the radio and in a gospel quartet. “Much better than mine…but it was my brother who played the saxophone in bands in high school who really got me started.”
Among the artists that Greenway’s brother introduced him to were Richie Havens and Eric Andersen.
“[They] can be heard in my guitar style even today,” Greenway explained, citing Havens’ famed percussive playing style and Andersen’s lyrical finger picking. “My whole life has been about combining those two styles.”
When his brothers had moved out, Greenway’s guitar “began to fill the space” and he eventually learned Bob Dylan’s debut album in its entirety by ear and began to perform in public.
“I played an Eric Andersen song in my senior year talent show,” he recalled.
During his college years, much of what was considered popular music consisted of works by singer-songwriters like Carol King, James Taylor, and Joni Mitchell.
“I soaked up every note,” he said. “I was hooked!”
Move to Boston
With music as his “vehicle,” Greenway started walking down a road that led him to the booming singer-songwriter scene in Boston.
“I had the absolute luck to have moved in the center of three major music schools,” the former resident of Boston’s Fenway neighborhood recalled, citing Berklee College of Music, the New England Conservatory, and the Boston Conservatory. “That played a huge role in my development as I got my [education in music theory] through osmosis.”
Debuting at the Nameless Coffeehouse in Harvard Square, Greenway quickly found himself across the street at Club Passim and was soon taking his music all over the region and the world.
He took inspiration from his father’s gospel, his brothers’ pop music and the music of the civil rights movement that surrounded his adolescence. Greenway has not only expanded his musical repertoire but also his instrumentation, often playing piano, ukulele, and melodica in addition to his open-tuned guitar.
“Eclectic is the word that comes up most often in describing my music,” he admitted. “I tell you my story in my songs and, because of my beginnings in the Jim Crow South [and] the incredible journey of understanding that has been my musical career, they hopefully touch everyone.”
Chart-topping albums
And apparently they do. Greenway’s most recent CD, “Between Hello and Goodbye,” was number one on the folk charts last April and he was also the top artist with three songs in the top ten. As part of the musical collective Brother Sun (which also featured Pat Wictor and Joe Jencks), Greenway produced two more chart-topping albums in 2013 and 2016. Most recently, he has reunited with longtime friend (they were born literally three days apart and have known each other for 30 years) Reggie Harris in a performance called “Deeper Than the Skin” that investigates the often-dissonant issues related to race in America.
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“What I hope to do with my songs is what my heroes did for me,” Greenway suggested. “They liberated me with a passion for life and joy.”
As for those who ask what a live performance is typically like, the multi-talented multi-instrumentalist said, “I hopefully take you on an emotional ride of laughter, understanding, and passion.”
“My greatest hope is to empower people,” he added. “Everything begins with an idea and the energy to bring it into existence. Someone will make the future. Why not us?”
So the next time you find yourself stuck on a rotary (or anywhere in life), do what Greg Greenway often does—roll down the window and sing your passion.
Greenway will perform at the Homegrown Coffeehouse in Needham (https://uuneedham.org/events/homegrown-coffeehouse/) on March 9 at 8:00 p.m.
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