03/13/2024
POSTAR.COM
Keeping Smokey's name alive through songs and scholarships.
Smokey Greene was a local icon in the country music and bluegrass scene for eight decades before he passed away last year at 93.
And thanks to an effort by his sons, friends and the Strand Theater, his legacy will be living on in the form of music scholarships through Schuylerville Central School for students pursuing music as a career.
On April 7 The Strand is hosting a fund-raiser concert to fuel the scholarships featuring Greene’s his sons The Greene Brothers, The Gibson Brothers, Kevin McKrell and Friends, Stony Creek Band, Al and Kathy Bain and the Seth Sawyer Band.
“Before my dad passed away, I was hired to do a bunch of shows and he said to me ‘keep my name going,’” son Scott Greene, from Glens Falls, said in a recent interview, adding that the scholarship is a great way to honor that request.
The effort was jump-started by Scott Greene’s longtime musician friend Matt Donnelly, who wrote a $500 check to Schuylerville Central School in Smokey Greene’s name to start a scholarship effort.
Smokey Green worked for years at the school as a custodian and his sons went to school there.
Donnelly said he has known the Greene family for decades and taught Scott in English at Schuylerville, while his dad was custodian. He said in recent years, when friends pass, he sometimes donates money to scholarships instead of flowers.
“And this is for a student who is interested in performing live music,” he said. “Scott got wind of it and is going to make something substantially bigger.”
Donnelly said Smokey Green was certainly known nationally, but really popular locally in the country and bluegrass genres.
He talked about seeing him play with sons Scott and Arlin and how Smokey was very regimented, wanting everything just right, including how the boys looked and played.
“He was a task master, an old-school musician,” he said. “And he was really popular around here.”
Scott Greene said his dad was also pretty well-known in Nashville circles because he would book well-known artists at local festivals or in local pubs he owned, like Smokey’s in Schuylerville.
He booked stars like Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard when they were touring through the area, Scott Greene said.
“I remember him saying the first time he booked Willie Nelson, he paid him $500,” Greene said. “He kept them fed when they came up here.”
Asked how he’ll feel performing on the Strand stage for a scholarship in his dad’s name, Greene paused, and then said he’s not sure. “A little emotional probably. But my dad taught me a long time ago to separate emotion,” he said.
Greene said he sometimes finds himself singing like his dad these days, though not intentionally. And he remembered how his dad later in life would often end shows with “God Bless America.” He talked about his dad’s message about feeling songs that you sing.
“If you believe a song, he’d say, it should hit you,” Greene said.
As for the scholarship effort in general, Greene seemed reflective about its purpose. “We thought this concert and the scholarship was a great way to keep his name going and help out some musicians at the same time,” he said.
Smokey Green’s grandson, Tyler, who teaches math at Schuylerville, talked about how he always loved to see his grandfather play and how much it meant to him to learn about the scholarship being created in his name. “One of my grandfather’s favorite sayings was to ‘keep country in country music’ and he worked tirelessly to promote the music scene in the northeast,” Tyler wrote in an email exchange. “This scholarship helps continue his legacy of creating opportunities for musicians in the area.”
Jonathan Newell, executive director of the Strand, said he never got to meet Smokey Greene, but knows how huge he was locally. He said he’s excited to have the Strand host the event.
“I think it’s a great thing. This is the kind of music I’d love to have more of here, but I unfortunately don’t know the market well,” he said. “It’s great for us to have these folks come in and bring their audience with them.”
Newell said he had booked Smokey Greene to play with his sons in the lobby, but he passed before it could happen.
“I’m grateful that his spirit is going to be in this place on that day and hopefully they keep coming back,” he said.
For tickets ($30 for individual or $20 for seniors and military) or to learn more about the show visit smokeygreenescholarshipconcert.com (http://smokeygreenescholarshipconcert.com
