Kenneth W. "Ken" Griffin (December 28, 1909 – March 11, 1956), was an American

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

Biography

Griffin was born in Columbia, Missouri. His biggest hit was "

You Can't Be True, Dear "You Can't Be True, Dear" is a popular German song. History It was originally written as a German language song, "Du Kannst Nicht Treu Sein," by composer Hans Otten and lyricist Gerhard Ebeler. English language lyrics and title were written by Ha ...

" (1948), which was first released as an

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

, and later that year re-released with a vocal by

Jerry Wayne Jerry may refer to: Animals * Jerry (Grand National winner), racehorse, winner of the 1840 Grand National * Jerry (St Leger winner), racehorse, winner of 1824 St Leger Stakes Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Jerry'' (film), a 2006 Indian fil ...

dubbed in. Both versions became popular, selling over 3.5 million copies. He also starred in a 1954-55 syndicated

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

, ''67 Melody Lane''. He recorded on a variety of recording labels, especially Columbia. It was in the 1940s in

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, that Griffin broke into the

nightclub circuit A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

, playing at the Rivoli Cafe nightly. The sessions at the Rivoli were broadcast on the

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

WMRO WMRO (1560 AM, "Magic 1560") was a radio station licensed to and serving Gallatin, Tennessee. The station was locally owned by Scott, Leslie, and Sandra Bailey of Classic Broadcasting, Inc. The station's studios and transmitter facilities were ...

, and the program became popular. Griffin died on March 11, 1956, in

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, at the age of 46, of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

, and was buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in

. Columbia had many hours of Griffin's unreleased recordings on tape, and continued to release "new" recordings of Griffin's music for a number of years after his death. His version of "

Ebb Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tabl ...

" was played in the fifth-season premiere of the TV drama ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...

''.

Partial discography

* ''Anniversary Songs'' Columbia 10-inch Lp CL 6177; 12" Lp CL-586/CS-8781* * ''Skating Time'' Columbia 12" Lp CL-610 (Also available on 10" Lp) * ''Lost In A Cloud'' Columbia 12" Lp CL-662 * ''The Music of Irving Berlin'' Columbia 10" Lp CL-6120 * ''Christmas Carols'' Columbia 10" Lp CL-6130 * ''Hawaiian Serenade'' Columbia 10" Lp CL-6206 * ''When Irish Eyes Are Smiling'' Columbia 10" Lp CL-6245 * ''Latin Americana'' Columbia 10" Lp CL-6263 * ''Cruising Down The River'' Columbia 12" Lp CL-761/CS-9042* * ''Hymns Of America'' Columbia 10" Lp CL-6298 * ''You Can't Be True, Dear'' Columbia 12" Lp CL-907/CS-8790* * ''Moonlight And Roses'' Columbia 12" Lp CL-1207/CS-8848* * ''The Organ Plays At Christmas'' Columbia 12" Lp CL-692 * ''67 Melody Lane'' Columbia 12" Lp CL-724 * ''Greatest Hits'' Columbia 12" Lp CL-2717/CS-9517* * ''Sentimental Serenade'' Harmony (Columbia) 12" Lp HL-7384/HS-11184* * ''Ken Griffin at the Wurlitzer Organ'' Philips 10" Lp B 07755 R* * ''Great Organ Favorites'' Harmony/Columbia 12" LP H 31028 * ''At The Great Organ'' Rondo-lette 12" LP A30 * ''The Sparkling Touch'' Columbia 12" Lp CL 1709 * ''To Each His Own'' Columbia 12" Lp CL 1599 * ''On The Happy Side'' Columbia 12" Lp CL 1518 * ''Hawaiian Magic'' Columbia 12" Lp CL 1062 * ''Plays Romantic Waltzes'' Columbia 12" Lp CL 1365 * ''

Love Letters In The Sand "Love Letters in the Sand" is a popular song first published in 1931. The music was written by J. Fred Coots and the lyrics by Nick Kenny and Charles Kenny. Ted Black and His Orchestra, with vocalist Tom Brown, had the first major hit recording o ...

'' Columbia 12" Lp CL 1039 * ''Let's Have a Party (And Everybody Sing)'' Columbia 12" Lp CL 1127 * ''Ebb Tide'' Columbia 12" HS-11226 * ''The Fabulous Ken Griffin Harmony'' Columbia 12" HS 11184 * ''Sentimental Me'' Rondo-lette longplay A17 * ''Sentimental Journey'' Harmony 12" Lp HS 11329

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Ken 1909 births 1956 deaths American male organists Musicians from Columbia, Missouri Hickman High School alumni People from Aurora, Illinois Musicians from Chicago Columbia Records artists 20th-century American musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century American male musicians American organists