Lloyd Green

Lloyd Green entered the world on October 4, 1937, in Leaf, Mississippi, yet relocated to Mobile during childhood and there commenced formal music instruction. After receiving his high-school diploma in 1955 he enrolled at the University of Southern Mississippi. Following graduation he settled in Nashville and quickly secured regular employment as a touring sideman alongside Ferlin Husky and Faron Young. He remained in Young’s ensemble for eighteen months before departing to join his recently married wife back in Mobile. In the course of that period he contributed to one George Jones recording, the 1957 release “Too Much Water Runs Under the Bridge.” While based in Mobile he performed at clubs throughout the area and accumulated sufficient funds to head once more to Nashville nine months afterward. Finding the touring routine, meager compensation, and inconsistent bookings unappealing, he abandoned music for a retail position. He reentered the industry after Fred Rose’s widow covered his union fees and arranged for him to serve as an accompanying musician at the Grand Ole Opry. In 1964 he accepted a part-time assistant role at the SESAC office under Roy Drusky; although compensation remained modest, the position offered stability and the chance to cut his own demonstration recordings. He held the SESAC post for three years, after which his session work began to generate substantial income. Green also collaborated with non-country artists such as Vera Lynn, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr, and he played on the Byrds’ landmark album Sweetheart of the Rodeo. His own chart appearances were few, consisting of instrumental renditions of the pop songs “I Can See Clearly Now” and “Here Comes the Sun” during the early 1970s, plus a vocal entry titled “You and Me.” An ear infection in the 1980s compelled him to withdraw from studio activity, yet he later resumed session duties and made sporadic stage appearances on dobro or steel guitar.