Ken Green used to joke with his father that he and his sister were the reason the elder Mr. Green did not have to serve in World War II.
“Back then, they weren’t taking men who had two children,” Ken Green said about the local draft-board rules. “I used to tell him that I saved his life, so I ought to be his favorite.”
Green was born in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1944. The family later moved to California, where Green attended school. Though his parents insisted he take piano lessons, his father thought pursuing a career in music was a frivolous idea. Green ultimately became a teacher.
“I taught school for a couple of years, and decided I was way too young to be a teacher,” Green said. “I kept looking at the freeway outside the window and thought, ‘I need to get out there somewhere.’”
Green got into the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. He worked his way up, got promoted and moved to Connecticut, where he became vice president of a couple of companies.
“Life went on; I moved back to California, and everything was good,” Green said. “But music has always been the center portion of my life. Without it, I don’t know who, what or where I’d be.”
Green started playing music in the early 1960s, when he was a self-described hippie who was going to help save the world.
“I was in Los Angeles. It was a time when everybody worked; there was always a place to play music,” he said. “I got a lot of experience and started a group called the Ken Kenny Singers. We were a relatively well-known folk group. Back then, it was mostly folk and folk-rock. I can’t keep track of all the genres of music these days.”
Green is a traditionalist who plays a nylon-string classical guitar. “I just won’t change. I love the sound of it,” he said.
Green retired from the corporate world in 1999.
“My mom and dad had lived in Palm Springs for years. My dad died and my mom got sick, so I decided to relocate here. And because I’m a brilliant businessman,” he said—with more than a touch of sarcasm—“I decided to semi-retire and buy a small retail store in Palm Springs. It was a mail store, similar to Mail Boxes Etc. It was on the market for sale almost as soon as I bought it.”
“I found that no matter what kind of classroom management issue I had, if I could incorporate music, it got resolved. The kids loved it, so I used music in lesson plans for history, social studies and especially for science.”
Ken Green, on his experience as an elementary school teacher
Green’s wife at the time said to him, “You do three things: You write; you play music; and you’re a former teacher who still has his credential. You should be a teacher.”
Green took her advice and taught elementary school in Thermal for eight years. He took music with him into the classroom, because music seemed to do something special in the brain—it helped the kids slow down and focus.
“I found that no matter what kind of classroom management issue I had, if I could incorporate music, it got resolved,” Green said. “The kids loved it, so I used music in lesson plans for history, social studies and especially for science. I had a terrific experience.”
Green then turned to music full-time, and played all over the valley.
“Bars, restaurants, anyone with a checkbook,” he said. “I don’t do that anymore. First of all, I developed my show, which is called ‘I Believe in Music.’ It’s not for a bar, where people want to eat and drink, and the music is secondary. … I have a show, which is an hour long, You’re going to listen to me. I love the back stories to these songs. Sometimes they’re poignant; sometimes they’re funny; sometimes (they’re) just interesting. So people come to my shows, and they often learn something new.”
There’s other reason that Green said he no longer plays at bars: He’s had enough of people throwing up on him.
These days, Green mainly plays at country clubs and facilities for folks aged 55 and up. One of those facilities told Green they would not hire him unless he did memory care. At first, Green said, he was hesitant; now he loves working in memory care. He said the patients are a phenomenal audience.
“If I can see somebody’s foot tap or their head come up for the first time in half an hour, it gives me ‘naches’ (a Yiddish word meaning to feel good or swell with pride),” he said.
Word of mouth today brings Green plenty of gigs, including concerts at Jewish Family Service. His repertoire includes tunes like “Everyday Housewives,” “Lollipops and Roses,” “Sixteen Tons,” “That’s Amore,” “Rainbow Connection” and “Brown-Eyed Girl.” He always ends the show with “What a Wonderful World.”
Green said the purpose of his music back when he first started was very different than it is now.
“Back in my 20s, I woke up every morning astounded that I had not yet become a star. I thought, ‘What it wrong with this world?’” he said. “Then it was all about money and chasing stardom. My joy now comes from looking out at an audience, whether they are Alzheimer’s patients or not, and seeing how happy the music makes them. I have a very well-developed ego, but the happiness I can bring people with music is the reason I do it.”
Green has two adult sons who are not particularly musical. The youngest makes movies in Bulgaria, and the older son works in wealth management. As for Green and his wife, they love to travel—especially on luxury cruises.
“If you’re going to do it, why not go first class?” he said.
Now 82, Green is in good health and playing his music, bringing others joy.
“I’m the luckiest guy in the world,” he said.
Bonnie Gilgallon has written theater reviews for the Independent since 2013. She hosts a digital interview show, The Desert Scene, which can be heard on www.thedesertscene.com and viewed on Mutual Broadcasting’s YouTube channel. Learn more at bonnie-g.com.
