Greg was born in Galesburg, Illinois during the hard times of 1939. Greg’s father played the accordion and his mother accompanied him on bagpipes. Music was the only comfort the small family knew in those early years, and that wasn’t any comfort at all.
At the tender age of 7, Greg was orphaned (some reports say “abandonedâ€) and he had to learn how to fend for himself. Luckily, a warm-hearted kazoo maker took Greg in as an apprentice. There was something about humming into that metal apparatus and making the wax paper vibrate to the tune of Yankee Doodle that made Greg’s spirits soar. Greg would often refer to himself as a “Yankee Doodle Dandy†in those days. After being rightfully punched several times after making such statements, Greg wisely gave up the title.
In 1955, when Greg heard that rock n’ roll was the devil’s music, he was known to say, “The devil must not be nearly as interesting as I originally thought.†Greg immediately joined a church choir and referred to Satanists as “dullards.†With God and music on his side, Greg took off to explore the world.
I met Greg in 1969. I was doing a tour of basements when I caught his act for the first time. Greg would swallow fire for the first half of the show, and then play banjo songs to finish the set. I advised Greg to give up the banjo bit. He must not have heard me correctly as he kept the banjo and gave up the fire. Ironically, in 1972, Greg and I released two banjo-funk albums under the name of Henry C. Cobb Jr. and Banjo Joe. One of the albums, See You Tomorrow, sold 11 copies. I squandered my percentage of the profits on hog belly futures, but Greg wisely used his earnings to hitch his way to New York City.
By 1979 Greg was touring regularly with the internationally known The Scene Is Now. To this day Greg is an integral part of the group. Greg also continues to produce solo works that drench your soul like an ocean wave and leave you as lonesome as a patch of sunlight on a Sunday afternoon. A pity, really. He was the best damn fire-eater I had ever met.
Henry C. Cobb, Jr
October 25, 1991
