Dennis Greene Passed Away!

The doo wop group The Sha Na Na's have been a dominant force in the late 1960s to now.

A member of the group who has ties to my community passed away over the weekend. World News Today send our condolences to the family of Dennis Greene.

Born as Frederick Greene, he was an American singer who was a member of Sha Na Na who were formed in 1969 at Columbia University in New York as the Columbia Kingsmen. The name change to Sha Na Na occurred because of another group with a similar name, which was known for the song Louie Louie.

The Sha Na Na

The television show Sha Na Na aired from 1978 to 1981. Greene choreographed most of the moves for the show, on which he was known simply as Denny. Denny was portrayed in the series as the most intelligent member of Sha Na Na. He sang lead in the song "Tears on My Pillow" when he appeared with Sha Na Na in the movie Grease, in 1978.


He was born in New York City and took up studies in legal affairs. On the sidelines he was the principle member of the group.

Greene graduated from Yale Law School, he worked as Vice President of Production and Features at Columbia Pictures. Following that, he was President at Lenox/Greene films. He has taught at Florida A&M University and the University of Oregon, as well as being a visiting professor at several other universities including Ohio State University, Seton Hall University, and the University of Connecticut.

Greene also served on the board of directors for the Society of American Law Teachers and is listed in Who's Who Among African-Americans.

From December 2007 until his death, Greene was a Professor of Law at the University of Dayton School of Law, teaching classes such as Torts, Entertainment Law, and Constitutional Law.

Greene died in Columbus, Ohio on September 5, 2015.