Rex Griffin

Alsie " Rex" Griffin ( * August 12, 1912 near Gadsden, Alabama; † October 7, 1958 in New Orleans) was an American old-time and country musician. Griffin is regarded as one of the first singer-songwriter in the Country / Old-time music. He is the brother of the Country musician Buddy Griffin.

2.1 Singles
2.2 albums

Life

Childhood and youth

Rex Griffin was born one of seven children of farmers Marion Oliver and Selma Griffin. Griffin spent his childhood without significant education on his parents' farm near Sand Valley. In the 1920s, Griffin and his father in nearby Gadsden worked in a factory. Music was indeed considered in the family as a good employment after a hard day's work, but not taken as seriously as that his livelihood would have to earn it. First he learned harmonica, but later switched to guitar. His biggest influence at this time was Jimmie Rodgers, whose music was still clear also be found again later in Griffins 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 in Gadsden theater and moved shortly thereafter to Birmingham, where he hoped to have greater chances of a career in music. He joined the Smokey Mountaineers, with whom he moved from radio station to radio station. During this time he also got his nickname as a moderator Alsie could not pronounce his first name and therefore simply called him " Rex".

Griffin played one of his first recordings in 1935 for the new label Decca Records. Its first session was held in Chicago and extended from the 25th to the 26th of March. All ten songs which were recorded in these two days, were self-written pieces, which was unusual for that time. Most rural musicians still relied on traditional title and cover, but rather less material of their own. Griffin, accompanied only by his guitar playing and Johnny Motlow on banjo, adapted still Jimmie Rodgers ' style and yodel. Many songs were heavily influenced by the blues and are now counted in the traditional Old- Time Music.

His Decca records sold well, and an additional session for Griffin was a year later arranged in New Orleans. Among the twelve songs there was his most famous piece, Everybody's Tryin 'to Be My Baby, that was recorded in 1956 by rockabilly musician Carl Perkins, and later of The Beatles. However, Perkins claimed the composition as his own, so Griffin of fame - was denied - at least as a composer. In Griffin's New Orleans session he accompanied himself largely self on the guitar; only on two other songs he was accompanied by an electrically amplified steel guitar. Again, many titles were influenced by 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, however, only two songs have been recorded, including his biggest hit The Last Letter. The song was a hit in the southern states and was also used by Ernest Tubb, who became a good friend Griffins. End of the 1930s they covered also other stars Griffins titles, 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 from the South.

Griffins last Decca session he held in September 1939, where he was accompanied this time by Ted Brooks ( guitar) and Smitty Smith ( bass). His style leaned more this time of honky tonk to what was seen alone by the very inclusion of the Lovesick Blues. This title should Hank Williams make a breakthrough ten years later.

More career

Despite the good sales of the big breakthrough for Griffin would not come, so prolonged Decca not the contract. In 1940 he joined Billie Walker and her Texas Cowboys in New Orleans, with whom he had already played the mid- 1930s for some time together. After Griffin moved but returned to Alabama, where he was caring for his sick mother and only locally occurred.

After his mother 's death in 1941 Griffin moved to Dallas, where he was a member of the Texas Round - Ups on KRLD. He quickly took over the show and would probably have thus finally made the national breakthrough, the show would not have been discontinued due to the war.

1944 Griffin lived in Chicago, where he recorded a total of 16 tracks for radio transcription that were not intended for the commercial market. On these plates, he was influenced by a band that may even have Red Foley as a member. Griffin screwed here be Blue Yodeling Rodgers and other influences to a minimum and took over more and more influences of more modern country music styles.

In 1946 Griffin together with the duo Homer and Jethro (guitar / mandolin ) his last records for King Records of Cincinnati, but was unable to repeat his successes age.

Death

Griffin's last years were marked especially by his poor health. Although he continued to write titles for his friend Ernest Tubb and his nephew Douglas Glenn Tubb, was his career a disaster more and more. His diabetes was exacerbated by his excessive drinking and he had to be admitted to the hospital several times. In 1955 he was able to record with Just Call Me Lonesome a recent commercial success; in the versions of Eddy Arnold and Jim Reeves the title became a hit.

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