Greg Ruban was a man of many talents, from East Camden. He was an electrician for his father and, later, his brother Ronald, Sr. He then went to work as an electrician for Camden County and retired from the NJ State Highway Department. Barry served in the NJ National Guard during the 1960’s and was called to action during the Newark Urban Crisis.
Barry was a professional volleyball player throughout South Jersey, where he was known in the arena as “Greg Schultz.” He toured Europe by motorcycle and was often traveling somewhere of interest in his own ways.
His legal name is Grigory Ruban Berlin and also has been known as Barry Lee Ruban.
Greg started writing music, from the notable local band Nickels & Dimes in 1967, but stopped in 1970 to pursue a professional sports career spanning over twenty years. Playing sports as Greg Shultz, he was the oldest East coast player to qualify for professional status in 1986. He retired from regular Employment and sports in 1996 with a disability pension due to severe hearing loss, leg injuries, and arthritis. His hearing loss was partially attributed to his military service as a 106 Recoilless Rifle gunner and as an expert marksman. His military service ended about the time he participated in the March on Washington in 1970. These experiences influenced his many peace ballads.
In 2002, Grigory decided to try to resume his musical career using amplified headphones with a goal to create a library of diversified themes before doing any pitching. He recently decided to begin this difficult process having been down that road thirty years ago. Only in the past five years have his early works (1967 – 1970) gained worldwide recognition in the collector’s market such as in “Details Magazine,” March, 2001 edition. Unpublished limited edition LP’s sold out in two weeks and continued to be sold as CD’s. Greg never felt that the music would amount to anything because of the limited time and resources available when he produced it.
Greg also gave permission for recent works to be performed at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and Christmas plays at local churches.
Greg Ruban Berlin later passed away in his studio in Marmora, NJ on January 18, 2007, likely due to complications a fall sustained earlier in the year. Greg formed his company, Berlin Arts and Music Corp, in 2001.
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