Mel Green

MEL GREEN  grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa & emigrated to the USA in 1970. 

On the way, he sang for the Folk Song Society at Cecil Sharpe House in London. In New York City he hung out at hootenannys at Gerde's Folk City, and The Gaslight, in Greenwich Village, and had cabaret gigs in Pocono resorts. 

Settling in Boston in '72 he haunted Passim (formerly Club 47) in Harvard Square. Proprietors Bob & RaeAnn Donlin offered him opening gigs for Sandy Bull, and later for Rosalie Sorrels.

Since then he has been active on the Greater Boston folk scene,  as a singer-songwriter. 

In ’04 he appeared at The Loaded Dog Folk Club in Sydney, Australia … which means he has played on four continents! 

Re-visiting South Africa  in 2018, he played at a fundraiser for The Barleycorn Music Club in Cape Town, and headlined a gig at TJs Music Club in Johannesburg, where he performed a solo set to a delighted, entirely new audience.  

 Mel's singing has been complimented by music luminaries Phil Everly, Geula Gill, Paul Brady and others.  

   He started out singing at Art school at the time when the Beatles and the 60s Folk Revival coincided. After waiting tables, he became a regular singing at the Troubadour in Johannesburg, the Nite Beat in Hillbrow, and became a regular feature at the Minstrel Club in Pretoria.

  He has headlined at the Durban Folk Festival & Johannesburg Folk Festivals.

Mel is known for his enthusiastic harmony singing. Apart from the guitar, he also plays mandolin and harmonica.

Since the Pandemic, Mel has written a book about the South African Folk Scene (“No one else has, so I thought I should.”) He has also written a memoir “Mel, Julian & Me”. 

Now in his 80s, Mel still sings, composes and performs regularly.

"You have to hear Little Mel, his voice is like Glen Campbell and John Denver, combined!"  
–  a fan at The Troubadour on the late 60s

"Great listening to you again. The voice hasn't changed in forty years. Just as great as I remembered it. Lovely melodies... Don't ever stop writing." 
– Mel Miller, South Africa's Grandpa of Comedy and co-founder of Mel, Mel & Julian  

In 1964, Mel Green and Mel Miller started singing together at art school, and soon snagged a regular gig at The Troubadour, Johannesburg’s famous folk club as Mel & Mel. 

  After an offer they could not refuse, they went professional in '65.For their first LP, they needed a really good musician to play lead guitar on their first LP. 

Julian Laxton was perfect, and when a long-term gig was offered to Mel & Mel, they invited him to join them at The Edward Hotel in Durban.  As a unusual trio,  Mel, Mel & Julian became one of the most entertaining of South Africa's folk groups... 

  Mel Miller was the strong lead tenor-baritone (and comedian), Mel Green was the essential harmony voice and fingerpicker.  and Julian rounded out the trio as the exceptional lead guitarist. 

They recorded for CBS, eventually producing 3 innovative sold-out LP recordings.

  For 4 years, the band worked solidly, entertaining full houses at hotel residencies, and also headlining concerts in Durban, Cape Town, East London, Grahamstown and Johannesburg, as well as featuring at Folk Festivals in Johannesburg. 

  Notably, they performed on-board the aircraft carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt when it docked in Cape Town, to play before a multi-racial audience of   returning soldiers from the Vietnam war, during the Apartheid era.

  After the band broke up, Mel went solo and worked to establish himself on the Folk Scene, while working at a day job in advertising as an art director. 

Between jobs, in ’68/69 he was invited by Fiona Frazer and Bill Brewer, to act and sing. He was hired as 'tween-scene interlocuter and perform a few thematic songs in "What is Love" a literary review, which received very positive critiques in the press. 

The show ran successfully for 2 seasons in Johannesburg, at a theater, then at a hotel supper-club. PACT sponsored a 3rd season and the show toured all over the Transvaal for a month. 

ACCOLADES 

“I was there… Mel's instinctive ensemble skill brought class to the stage.  And then his solo set… beautiful, thoughtful songs, sensitive guitar playing, clean, crisp vocal delivery… he has it in abundance (as he always did.) It was a melodious set!”  
– Des Lindberg, 2018   

“Thanks for singing for us and making us welcome... You have a great voice."  
– Phil Everly, after visiting The Troubadour, Johannesburg, during the Everly Brothers Tour in 1966 

“A terrific musical sense, an evocative sound, and a classic folk voice!”
– Nick Noble, WICN-FM, Worcester, MA   

"Mel's album is a gem, with songs that reverberate long after the CD has finished spinning. We gave it 5 stars!"
– Maverick Digital Music Magazine, UK  

“Lots of hard work and effort has gone into this CD! Mel has a unique neoclassical-folk-baroque style. Variety in instrumentation and the people chosen to play really add to the overall sound. Mel's voice is clear and true... a beautiful end product! Nice work.”
– Mac McLanahan, Artistic Director, Rose Garden Coffeehouse, Mansfield, MA  

“His solo CD “I’m Taking My Time” was worth the wait! Mel leads us through his original, melodic, meaningful and expertly crafted songs. His deft guitar is the perfect platform for his haunting leads, harmonies and vocal virtuosity. Talk about breaking the mould! They don’t make them like this anymore!” 
– Ron Newman, Johannesburg, South Africa  

"We were lucky to hear Mel visiting from Boston, USA singing traditional and contemporary songs with his clever, melodic arrangements and his delicate guitar accompaniment ... we would love to have him back again." 
– The Cornstalk Review : Mel's Loaded Dog Folk Club appearance, Sydney, Australia '04

“…his voice is like fine, painted china. Mel’s life experiences illuminate his lyricism, as he sprinkles his narrative with humor and humility." 
– Angela Masciale, King Hooper Cafe, Marblehead, Massachusetts  

“Loved to listen to Mel, Mel & Julian at the Coral Lounge in the Grand Hotel in Cape Town, before I had the pleasure of knowing and working with them."  – Paul Zamek, Nashville