RIP: Remembering NJ songwriter Greg Trooper

RIP: Greg Trooper at MPAC in 2011. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
RIP: Greg Trooper at MPAC in 2011. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
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Video: ‘They Call Me Hank’ by Greg Trooper at MPAC in 2011

Sad news from the music world: Little Silver native Greg Trooper, whose songs have been recorded by Vince Gill, Steve Earle and Roseanne Cash, among others, died on Sunday. He was two days past his 61st birthday.

Greg Trooper at MPAC in 2011. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Greg Trooper during WDHA interview at MPAC in 2011. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

We had the privilege of hearing Greg perform in 2011 at Morristown’s Mayo Performing Arts Center, where he did an interview show with WDHA.

The video above is from that program.

Greg’s 13th album, Live at the Rock Room, was released in 2015.  That summer he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

A year ago, he reflected on how continuing to write songs, and performing between treatments, kept him feeling “normal.”

“There’s an enormous amount of comfort in being able to play music because when things go upside down like that you think they’re never going to go the right way up again,” he told the Sunday Herald in Scotland.

On Twitter, Billy Bragg remembered Greg as “a powerful songwriter and performer.”

Here is Bragg singing Greg’s song, Everywhere:

Greg lived in Lawrence, KS; Austin, TX; and Nashville, TN, before settling in Brooklyn in 2008.

The Nashville Tennessean described him as a “whip-smart songwriter with a knack for composing vivid and compelling lyrics.”

Our thanks to Jersey Joe for alerting us to Greg’s passing.

RIP: Greg Trooper at MPAC in 2011. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
RIP: Greg Trooper at MPAC in 2011. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

1 COMMENT

  1. I had the privilege of booking Greg to play at the Famous Processed Pea Folk Club in Etton, East Yorkshire. We were treated to a fabulous evening full of energy, honesty and a clear love of his music> He was a most personable gentleman and it was an honour to host him at our club. Our condolences go to his family and many friends affected by his passing.

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