Biography

Composer, author and teacher, Paul Green was educated at the University of North Carolina (BA, Litt. D.), Cornell University (Litt. D.), Davidson College, Western Reserve University, University of Louisville and Berea College. He was an associate professor of philosophy (1927) and a professor of dramatic art (1939-1944) at the University of North Carolina. During World War II, he served in the US Army Engineer Corps as a Second Lieutenant, and later wrote many books and plays. Since the inception of the National Folk Fest in 1934, he served as its president, and also as president of the National Theatre Conference (1940-1942), and as a member of the executive commission of the US National Commission for UNESCO, was a delegate to the UNESCO conference in Paris and a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1941. Joining ASCAP in 1940, his chief musical collaborators included Kurt Weill. His popular-song compositions include "Oh, Heart of Love", "On the Rio Grande", "Mon Ami, My Friend" and "Johnny's Song".