Folk/country singer Nanci Griffith passes away
Griffith enjoyed a longstanding solo career as well in the folk and country genres. She released 18 albums between 1978 and 2012. Among her best albums were "Once in a Very Blue Moon" in 1984, "The Last of the True Believers" in 1986 and "Lone Star State of Mind" in 1988.
Griffith won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1994 for her recording, "Other Voices, Other Rooms." Among those contributing to the disc were John Prine, Emmylou Harris and Bob Dylan, who blew harp on "Boots of Spanish Leather."
One of her best known songs was "From a Distance," which was penned by Julie Gold and became a bigger hit for Bette Midler. Griffith was the first singer to cut the song.
Kathy Mattea had a country music top five hit with a 1986 cover of Griffith's "Love at the Five and Dime" and Suzy Bogguss had a big hit with Griffith's and Tom Russell's "Outbound Plane.
Bogguss said on Facebook, "My heart is aching😔A beautiful soul that I love has left this earth. I feel blessed to have many memories of our times together along with most everything she ever recorded. I'm going to spend the day reveling in the articulate masterful legacy she's left us🌺Rest my dear friend Nanci Griffith💖"
Darius Rucker cited Griffith as an influence on him. "Today i am just sad man. I lost one of my idols. One of the reasons I am in Nashville.She blew my mind the first time I heard Marie and Omie. And singing with her was my favorite things to do. Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith dies."
Griffith was born in Seguin, Texas on July 6, 1953. She was married to fellow singer Eric Taylor from 1976-82.
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CD reviews for Nanci Griffith
Who is Nanci Griffith? On a basic level, of course, she's a folk-country artist who started out singing about love, life on the farm and surviving in the big city, then migrated to grander concerns. But where is her heart and, more vexingly, her talent? This return to the label of her early success will do little to resolve those questions. Her heart, surely, is with the big issues, and this CD of all new material weighs in on the death penalty, interracial marriage, G.W. Bush and B.H. ...
Nanci Griffith, once the darling of alt.-country, before it was called that, is back on Rounder, the label with which she began her career and is referred to in the press kit as a "folkabilly" artist. Rounder apparently didn't get the word that the years away had wrought some changes.
The evolution from the twangy, chirpy naif is now apparently complete - unless maybe she records Aida. Griffith herself refers to this in the booklet as a record of torch songs, though it contains ...
Nanci Griffith pays homage to some of her favorite songwriters by reworking tunes transcending time and genre. The guest list is impressive. Country fans will be most familiar with "Wings of a Dove," a moving duet with Lucinda Williams, and Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone," on which Griffith is joined by Rodney Crowell.
One of the highlights is Tom Russell's "Canadian Whiskey," with Ian Tyson sharing lead vocals. Russell returns the favor by performing with Griffith on Tyson's "Summer Wages. ...
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