Ex-Singer for Sha Na Na Teaching Law

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Dennis Greene, former singer with the '50s revival group Sha Na Na, has a new gig: He's teaching entertainment law at the University of Dayton this year.

He'll also teach courses on intellectual property in the digital economy as well as mass media and race.

Greene is a tenured associate professor at the University of Oregon's law school. He has served as a visiting professor at Ohio State University, Seton Hall University and University of Connecticut law schools.
"I still am asked for autographs, but these days it seems it's always for their mother,'' the 52-year-old Greene said with a smile. ``When you're asked to sign autographs only for somebody's mother, that's when you know you're knock-knock-knocking on heaven's door.''

Greene was one of the founding members of Sha Na Na, known for its harmonies and flashy gold stage suits. He sang lead on such songs as ``Tears on My Pillow,'' ``Duke of Earl,'' ``Up on the Roof'' and ``Under the Boardwalk.''

The band had its roots in an a cappella singing group at Columbia University. The group played at Woodstock in 1969, the three-day music festival held on a farm in upstate New York that launched the careers of many musicians.

Of Greene's former bandmates, two became doctors, two became lawyers, one became a business entrepreneur and four entered academia. "I never expected to be in it for as long as I was,'' said Greene, who left the group after its TV variety show ended in 1981. "Sha Na Na was part of my life, but it was never `my life.' I didn't hang out in the rock 'n' roll world when I was away from the group.''

Greene earned a master's degree from Harvard University in 1984 and a law degree from Yale University in 1987.