The Wrong Side of the Tracks

My An Arkie's Faith column from the August 23, 2023, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

In June 2022, an obituary was published in Bay City, Michigan. “Lonzo F. Green of Gladwin, Michigan passed away on June 17, 2022. He was born on August 14, 1928, to Frank and Melverta Green in Cherry Valley, Arkansas. He was a member of Good Shepherd Church and the Michigan Bluegrass Hall of Fame. He enjoyed attending church, Preaching, playing music, and spending time with family. He was active with Wilma Caraview, often attending church together, visiting friends, and playing music together.” 

At the end of his life, Lonzo wasn’t known outside his friends, family, and community, but that wasn’t the case when he was young. Frank and Melverta Green raised Lonzo in a Christian home and paired him with his younger brother, Forrest, to sing at churches and revivals throughout Arkansas. He worked in the fields with his family and was always close to the land and the rich musical heritage of his neighbors.

In 1951, Lonzo and his wife Maxine moved to Flint, Michigan, with other members of the Green family. Lonzo, Maxine, his brother Forrest, and Forrest’s wife Margie sang Gospel music throughout Michigan as The Green Family. They also had a one-hour radio program on WMRP in Flint, Michigan. At that time, Forrest met businessman Rudy Kotelas who believed in his music and sponsored his first record in Nashville, Tennessee. 

After getting their start in Nashville, Forrest recorded "Rain Must Be Teardrops" and "Day For Leaving" on Ranger Records, which made the national charts! At that time, these were Michigan’s #1 selling country records! The success of his records led Forrest to perform on the Grand Ole Opry and shows throughout the United States and Canada. When Forrest began touring nationally, Lonzo decided that life on the road wasn’t for him. Although Forrest Green spent his life performing and running a recording studio and record label, Lonzo faded into obscurity.

I heard about Lonzo on Paul Harvey’s radio broadcast, The Rest of the Story. While Lonzo was playing in the band with his brother, and the group had gained regional notoriety, he visited relatives in Tennessee. His nephew Jimmy was excited when his famous Uncle Lonzo stayed at their house.

Jimmy came to school the next day, telling all his friends about his Uncle Lonzo Green, who had recorded in Nashville. One friend wanted to meet Lonzo. Jimmy’s friend had gotten an old guitar and wanted to learn how to play but did not know how to tune it. He wanted to come to Jimmy’s house and have Lonzo tune his guitar and show him some chords. When Jimmy asked his parents if his friend could come to see Uncle Lonzo, they said, “No, he is white trash and not welcome in our home.”

When Uncle Lonzo found out, he told Jimmy he would meet his friend. Lonzo had grown up in poverty and felt compassion for the boy. To appease Jimmy’s parents, they would stay outside. When they met, it was evident to Lonzo that this quiet, dark-haired boy was embarrassed and felt out of place in this upper-class neighborhood. The boy’s guitar was old, cheap, and hung around his neck with just a piece of string. After Lonzo showed the shy teenager how to tune his guitar, he offered to teach him some songs. The boy was so surprised and happy that Lonzo would spend two hours playing and singing with him. 

When it was time for supper, Lonzo told the boy goodbye, never to see him again. The boy crossed the tracks back to his side of town. The young boy never got to go inside the upscale home and would never see Lonzo again, but he left with a beautiful memory.

Paul Harvey ended the story by saying, “It is a sad tale until you realize the boy went on to star in 33 motion pictures and sell millions of records. That boy would never be unwelcome again. His name was Elvis Presley. And now you know the rest of the story.” The white trash from the wrong side of the tracks, who wasn’t allowed in the upper-class home, became known as the King of Rock and Roll.

As I heard the story of Lonzo and Elvis, I thought about a passage found in James 2:1-4 (NLT) “My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, ‘You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor’—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?” 

John Wesley said, “We should be rigorous in judging ourselves and gracious in judging others.” Too much of today’s Christianity is focused on judging others. Many people seem to be looking for reasons to hate those different from them. But Jesus said, “Do to others as you would like them to do to you. If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much!” Luke 6:31-33 (NLT) 

And then Jesus made his teaching even more straightforward. “Love your enemies! Do good to them…Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.” Luke 6:35-37 (NLT)

Gentle Reader, no human being is entirely free of prejudice or discrimination. It’s part of our selfish nature to prefer those of our kind, whatever that represents to us. Discrimination wrongly judges a person based only on external factors or personal preference. “Remember that the Lord draws no distinction between Jew and non-Jew—He is Lord over all things, and He pours out His treasures on all who invoke His name.” Romans 10:12 (VOICE) Instead of judging others, ask God to give you the ability to love. “Do not owe people anything, except always owe love to each other, because the person who loves others has obeyed all the law.” Romans 13:8 (NCV)