The Legend Dies On: Gary Green and His “Outlaw Folk Music” by GARY GREEN

HE WROTE SONGS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO GET HIM KILLED – AND THEY ALMOST DID!
EPIC TALES & ADVENTURES: finally revealed for the first time
These are the true life and often over-the-top adventures of poet-singer-songwriter Gary Green, whose legendary albums are part of the Smithsonian Institution’s Folkways Collection.
Best known as “the outlaw folksinger” Gary is an inductee into the California Music Hall of Fame and Museum. His music served as a rallying cry for social change, inspiring a generation of socially-conscious writers to utilize music as a tool for organizing and activism.
Gary’s “outlaw” persona was initially forged through his incisive and often provocative lyrics, which he fearlessly showcased at appearances for civil rights, labor, anti-war, LGBTQ+ rights, and progressive causes.

But for Gary, “outlaw” was not merely a musical gen-re; it was a way of life wrapped in “songs powerful enough to get you killed” — quite literally! Targeted by the remnants of the COINTELPRO policy of spying on and disrupting the lives of U.S. citizens, he was driven “underground” for a decade where he continued to taunt authority and was defended (and eventually cleared) by renowned super-attorney William Kunstler with a cadre of celebrity supporters.
The late Pete Seeger aptly captured Green’s significance when he said, “Hell, there should be a Ballad of Gary Green”.
Paradoxically, his personal friendships with Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and other country music “outlaws” was contrary to his radical hippie image.
Performing at rallies for The American Indian Movement, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Black Panther Party, and dozens of labor unions, his southern hillbilly roots music stood out among the usual fare.

From producing the most infamous Bob Dylan album, to creating the impetus for a Paul Newman movie, to his early mentoring of young musicians like Tupac Shakur; Gary Green’s influence and reach is irrefutable.