Joseph Greene, Composer With Stan Kenton’s Orchestra, Dies
Joseph Perkins Greene, a composer and lyricist whose best-known works came through his collaboration with Stan Kenton during that bandleader’s glory years of the 1940s and ‘50s, has died in a Pasadena hospital.
The writer of “Across the Alley From the Alamo,” “And Her Tears Flowed Like Wine” and “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” popularized by Kenton vocalists June Christy and Chris Connor, was 71 and died of kidney failure.
Greene, who died June 16, was a singer and actor, who with Kenton and arranger Pete Rugolo made the Kenton band one of the most popular in the country. The Kenton music became the genesis of what came to be known as West Coast jazz.
His other songs included “All About Ronnie,” “Chicken Road,” “Annabelle” and “Make Me a Present of You.”
Most recently, he scored for films and television shows.
His survivors include his wife, Marthella; two sons; a daughter, and four grandchildren.
The biggest entertainment stories
Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
