Rex Griffin

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Alsie "Rex" Griffin (born August 12, 1912 near Gadsden , Alabama , † October 7, 1958 in New Orleans ) was an American old-time and country musician . Griffin is considered to be one of the earliest singer-songwriters in country / old-time music. He is the brother of country musician Buddy Griffin .

Life

Childhood and youth

Rex Griffin was born as one of seven children to farmers Marion Oliver and Selma Griffin. Griffin spent his childhood without any significant schooling on his parents' farm near Sand Valley. In the 1920s, Griffin and his father worked in a factory in nearby Gadsden. Music was seen in the family as a good thing to do after a hard day's work, but not taken so seriously as to provide a living. First he learned the harmonica , but later switched to the guitar . His greatest influence during this time was Jimmie Rodgers , whose music was later clearly to be found in Griffin's material.

Career

Decca years

Griffin made his first small appearances in Gadsden at private parties and barn dances . In 1930 he made his first professional appearance at the Gadsden Theater and shortly thereafter moved to Birmingham , where he hoped to have better chances of a musical career. He joined the Smokey Mountaineers, with whom he moved from radio station to radio station. It was during this time that he got his nickname because a moderator couldn't pronounce his first name Alsie and therefore simply called him "Rex".

Griffin played his first recordings in 1935 for the new Decca Records label . Its first session was held in Chicago and ran from March 25th to March 26th. All ten songs that were recorded in these two days were self-written pieces, which was unusual for the time. Most rural musicians still relied on traditional titles and covers, but less so on their own material. Griffin, with only his guitar playing and Johnny Motlow on the banjo , was still adapting Jimmie Rodgers' style and yodelling. Many songs were heavily influenced by the blues and are now considered traditional old-time music.

His Decca records were selling well, so another session for Griffin was arranged in New Orleans a year later . Among the twelve songs was his most famous piece, Everybody's Tryin 'to Be My Baby , which was recorded in 1956 by rockabilly musician Carl Perkins and later by the Beatles . However, Perkins claimed the composition as his own, so Griffin's fame - at least as a composer - was denied. In Griffin's New Orleans session, he mostly accompanied himself on guitar; He was accompanied by an electrically amplified steel guitar on only two other songs . Again, many titles were influenced by the blues, such as I'm Ready to Reform .

The moderate sales of his records led Decca to another session, this time in May 1937 in New York City , where only two songs were recorded, including his biggest hit The Last Letter . The song became a hit within the southern states and was also recorded by Ernest Tubb , who became a good friend of Griffin's. In the late 1930s, other stars covered Griffin's tracks, including Jimmie Davis , Gene Sullivan , Roy Newman and Bob Crosby . Griffin's own career was at its peak - with concerts and regular radio appearances, he was one of the most popular old-time artists in the southern states.

Griffin's last Decca session he held in September 1939, this time with Ted Brooks (guitar) and Smitty Smith ( bass ). This time his style leaned more towards Honky Tonk , which was already evident from the inclusion of the Lovesick Blues . This title would help Hank Williams break through ten years later.

Further career

Despite the good sales, the big break for Griffin didn't want to come, so Decca did not renew the contract. In 1940 he joined Billie Walker and their Texas Cowboys in New Orleans , with whom he had played for some time in the mid-1930s. Then Griffin moved back to Alabama, where he cared for his sick mother and only appeared locally.

After his mother's death in 1941, Griffin moved to Dallas , where he became a member of the Texas Round-Up on KRLD. He quickly took over the show and might have finally achieved the national breakthrough if the show had not been canceled due to the war.

In 1944 Griffin lived in Chicago, where he recorded a total of 16 tracks for radio transcriptions that were not intended for the commercial market. On these records he was influenced by an entire band, which Red Foley may also have as a member. Griffin reduced his Blue Yodeling and other Rodgers influences to a minimum and took on more and more influences from more modern country music styles.

In 1946 Griffin recorded his last records for King Records from Cincinnati with the duo Homer and Jethro (guitar / mandolin) , but could not build on his old successes.

death

Griffin's last few years were largely shaped by his poor health. Although he continued to write titles for his friend Ernest Tubb and his nephew Douglas Glenn Tubb, his career became more and more a disaster. His diabetes was made worse from excessive alcohol consumption and he had to be hospitalized a number of times. In 1955 he was able to record one last commercial success with Just Call Me Lonesome ; in the versions of Eddy Arnold and Jim Reeves , the title became a hit.

In 1958, Rex Griffin died in a New Orleans hospital at the age of only 46. Griffin was completely forgotten for the next 40 years and is still relatively unknown today, even in contrast to his contemporaries. In 1970 he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in recognition of his achievements as a songwriter . His tracks have only been re-released once, in 1996 by Bear Family Records .

Discography

Singles

year title # Remarks
Decca Records
1935 Love Call Yodel / Trail to Home Sweet Home 5088
1935 I Don't Love Anybody But You / Blue Eyes Lullaby 5089
1935 Why Should I Care If You're Lonely / Mean Woman Blues 5118
1935 Just For Old Times Sake / Let Me Call You Sweetheart Again 5147
1936 I'm Just Passing Through / Setting on the Old Settee 5202
1936 Walking Blues / Would You Leave Me Alone 5227
1936 I Love You Nellie / If You Call That Gone Good 5250
1936 Old Faded Photograph / Last Love Call Yodel 5269
1936 Everybody's Tryin 'to Be My Baby / I'm Ready to Reform 5294
1937 Last Letter / Over the River 5383
1937 Yodeling Cowboy's Last Song / Sweet Mama Hurry Home 5395
1939 Answer to Last Letter / Just Partners 5745
1939 An Old Rose and a Curl / Beyond the Last Mile 5764
1939 Lovesick Blues / My Hill Billy Mama 5770
1940 I'll Never Tell You / Nobody Wants to Be My Baby 5886
1940 You Got to Go to Work / Maybe You Think 'Bout Me 5798
1940 I Think I'll Give Up / I Love You As Before 5814
King Records
1947 How Can I Be Sure / I'm Free As the Breeze 584
1947 I Don't Mean to Be Mean / I Lost Again 594
1951 Don't You Know Me Anymore / Heart to Heart 100009 released on Federal Records
I'm Crying Inside / A Thousand Times or More 5061 released on DeLuxe Records

Albums

  • 1996: Last Letter (Bear Family)

Web links