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John Raymond David Griff[1] (April 22, 1940 – March 9, 2016)[2][3] was a Canadian country music singer and songwriter, born in Vancouver and raised in Toronto. His songwriting credits reached over 2500 songs, many of which were recorded by Nashville's top recording artists.[4]
Ray Griff | |
|---|---|
 Griff in 1969 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Raymond David Griff |
| Born | April 22, 1940 Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Died | March 9, 2016 (aged 75) |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1964–2016 |
| Labels | Dot, Capitol, GRT |
| Formerly of | George Hamilton IV, Jerry Lee Lewis |
Early life and career
editGriff was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada [5] and raised in Winfield, Alberta.[4] He began songwriting in the early 1960s and had early cuts by Johnny Horton, Jim Reeves, and others.[5] Griff moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1964 to pursue his music career full-time. His first records as a singer were released in the late 1960s and Griff had his first hit, "Patches", a remake of the Clarence Carter soul hit in 1970 which peaked at No. 26 in Billboard. Griff recorded for the small country label Royal American and later moved on to Dot Records without much success. His stint at Capitol Records from 1975 to 1979 proved more successful,[5] racking up eight more country top 40 hits, the most successful being 1976's "If I Let Her Come In" which peaked at No. 11.[2]
Griff's success as a songwriter, however, always overshadowed his recording work with over 700 songs recorded, including the major hits "Canadian Pacific" for George Hamilton IV, "Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano" for Jerry Lee Lewis, and "Baby" for Wilma Burgess.[5] Others who had major hit records with Griff songs include Faron Young, Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton, Bob Luman, Gene Watson, and Johnny Duncan.
Griff returned to Canada in the late 1970s and remained active on the country music scene there as an artist, songwriter, and record producer. He lived a quiet life in Calgary, Alberta, occasionally performing at country venues with musicians from the area, most notably the Ranchman's Inn.
Later years
editIn 2008, Griff was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by SOCAN at the annual SOCAN Awards in Toronto.[6]
Griff had battled throat cancer in his recent years,[4] and he died on March 9, 2016, from pneumonia following surgery. He was 75.[1][7][8]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | A Ray of Sunshine | 42 | Dot |
| 1972 | The Entertainer | — | |
| Ray Griff Sings! | — | ||
| 1973 | Songs for Everyone | 22 | |
| 1974 | Expressions | 47 | ABC/Dot |
| 1976 | Ray Griff | 31 | Capitol |
| The Last of the Winfield Amateurs | 44 | ||
| 1977 | Raymond's Place | — | |
| 1978 | Ray's Bar and Grill | — | Boot-London |
| 1979 | Canada | — | |
| 1980 | Maple Leaf | — | |
| 1981 | Adam's Child | — | |
| 1982 | Greatest Hits | — | |
| 1983 | You Can Count on Me | — | RCA |
| 1984 | You | — | |
| 1985 | The Sky's the Limit | — | |
| 1987 | My Kind of Country | — | Bookshop |
| 1988 | Ray Griff & Friends: Honest to Goodness Amigos | — | Warner Music Canada |
| 1990 | There'll Always Be Christmas | — | ATI |
| 1993 | Ray Griff: Through the Years, Vol. 1 & 2 | — | Focus |
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country | CAN AC | US Country | |||
| 1965 | "Weeping Willow Tree"A | 6 | — | — | Non-album song |
| "Don't Lead Me On" | 10 | — | — | ||
| "Golden Years" | 2 | — | — | ||
| 1967 | "Your Lily White Hands" | — | — | 49 | A Ray of Sunshine |
| 1968 | "A Ray of Sunshine" | — | — | — | |
| "The Sugar from My Candy" | 14 | — | 50 | ||
| 1969 | "Wanderin' Through the Valley" | 18 | — | — | The Entertainer |
| "The Entertainer" | 6 | — | — | ||
| 1970 | "Patches" | 13 | 30 | 26 | Ray Griff Sings! |
| "Ain't Nowhere to Go" | 42 | 18 | — | Non-album song | |
| 1971 | "Wait a Little Longer" | — | — | — | Ray Griff Sings! |
| "The Morning After Baby Let Me Down" | 12 | — | 14 | ||
| 1972 | "It Rains Just the Same in Missouri" | 19 | — | 62 | Songs for Everyone |
| 1973 | "A Song for Everyone" | 38 | 78 | 66 | |
| "What Got to You (Before It Got to Me)" | 5 | — | 46 | ||
| "Darlin'" | 26 | — | 42 | ||
| 1974 | "That Doesn't Mean (I Don't Love My God)" | 12 | — | 65 | Expressions |
| "The Hill" | 18 | — | 91 | ||
| 1975 | "If That's What It Takes" | — | — | 65 | Non-album song |
| "You Ring My Bell" | 40 | — | 16 | Ray Griff | |
| 1976 | "If I Let Her Come In" | 1 | — | 11 | |
| "I Love the Way That You Love Me" | 36 | — | 40 | ||
| "That's What I Get (For Doin' My Own Thinkin')" | 9 | — | 24 | The Last of the Winfield Amateurs | |
| "The Last of the Winfield Amateurs" | 11 | — | 27 | ||
| 1977 | "You Put the Bounce Back into My Step" | — | — | flip | |
| "A Passing Thing" | 20 | — | 28 | ||
| "A Cold Day in July" | 33 | — | 69 | Raymond's Place | |
| "Raymond's Place" | 41 | — | 52 | ||
| 1978 | "Canada" | 22 | — | — | Canada |
| 1979 | "Betty Mitchell" | 43 | — | — | |
| "Friends and Neighbours" | 55 | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "Jimmy, Luke and Me" | 48 | — | — | Maple Leaf |
| "Draw Me a Line" | 24 | — | 87 | You Can Count on Me | |
| 1982 | "Things That Songs Are Made Of" | 30 | — | 95 | |
| 1983 | "If Tomorrow Never Comes" | 8 | — | 86 | |
| "You Can Count on Me" | 33 | — | — | ||
| 1984 | "So Close" | 30 | — | — | You |
| "You" | — | — | — | ||
| "Diamond in the Rough" | 52 | — | — | You Can Count on Me | |
| 1985 | "A Light in the Window" | 48 | — | — | The Sky's the Limit |
| "I Did" | 51 | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "What My Woman Does to Me" | 50 | — | 71 | |
| "I Can't See Me" | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "That Old Montana Moon" | 40 | — | — | My Kind of Country |
| 1988 | "Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don't" | — | — | — | |
| "Light as a Feather" (with Glory-Anne Carriere) | 37 | — | — | Ray Griff & Friends: Honest to Goodness Amigos | |
| "Honest to Goodness Amigos" (with Ronnie Prophet) | 86 | — | — | ||
| 1989 | "Flames" | 78 | — | — | Non-album song |
| 1990 | "Daybreak" | 47 | — | — | |
- A"Weeping Willow Tree" also peaked at number 39 on the Canadian RPM Top 40 chart.
References
edit- ^ a b "John Griff obituary". Calgary Herald. March 19, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
- ^ a b Demalon, Tom. "Ray Griff biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ "John GRIFF Obituary - Parksville". 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-04-27. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ a b c Delaney, Larry (March 11, 2016). "RIP: Canadian Country Star Ray Griff". FYI Music News. Retrieved October 17, 2016.
- ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 167. ISBN 0-85112-726-6.
- ^ "2008 SOCAN AWARDS | SOCAN". 10 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-08-10. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
- ^ ""Ray Griff, dead at age 75"". Rodeocountryradi.com. March 10, 2016.
- ^ Bell, Mike (March 11, 2016). "Legendary Calgary 'country gentleman' Ray Griff dies at the age of 75". Calgary Herald. Retrieved June 10, 2016.