Roni Griffith is an American former 1980s

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

musician and model from

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

Career

She was one of the original Coconuts in the popular 1980s group

Kid Creole and the Coconuts Kid Creole and the Coconuts is an American musical group created by August Darnell with Andy Hernandez and Adriana Kaegi. Its music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular a mix of disco and Latin American, Caribbean ...

. They opened up for

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

Huey Lewis and the News Huey Lewis and the News are an American rock band based in San Francisco, California. They had a run of hit singles during the 1980s and early 1990s, eventually achieving 19 top ten singles across the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, Adult Contempora ...

and appeared on

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

in 1981. Finding success as a musician the same year she appeared on SNL with Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Griffith decided to go solo, signing a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist (or group), where the artist makes a record (or series of records) for the label to sell and promote. Artists ...

with

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a n ...

and producer,

Bobby Orlando Robert Philip Orlando (born 1958), also known as Bobby Orlando or just Bobby O, is an American record producer, indie record label owner, songwriter, and musician. He is regarded as an innovator in the hi-NRG genre for developing his signature s ...

. By the end of 1982 she had a

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

and

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

for her

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" is a song written by Phil Spector, Pete Andreoli and Vince Poncia. It was first recorded by the Ronettes, produced by Phil Spector and arranged by Jack Nitzsche with Ronnie Spector on lead vocals and with backing ...

" and "Desire". "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" reached #63 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in July 1984. In addition, she was also featured in the first national

Clairol Clairol is the American personal care-product division of company Wella, specializing in hair coloring and hair care. Clairol was founded in 1931 by Americans Joan Gelb and her husband Lawrence M. Gelb, with business partner and lifelong friend ...

commercial shot in 35 mm film for Nice 'n Easy. She resided in New York from the age of 19 until she was 23 years old, finding an amount of success within a short period of time. On the eve of her first music video and her launch on the new music media outlet

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, Griffith decided to walk away from everything based on her morals and values as a Christian in the secular

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

. In 1983, Griffith pursued a career as a

Christian Contemporary Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

artist. She appeared on ''

The 700 Club ''The 700 Club'' is the flagship television program of the Christian Broadcasting Network, airing each weekday in syndication in the United States and available worldwide on CBN.com. The news magazine program features live guests, daily news, con ...

'' and was also featured numerous times in her hometown newspaper, ''The Herald Times''. In 2004, she released her second Christian Contemporary album, entitled ''Only You''. After giving up her fame in the secular music industry and becoming a Christian Contemporary artist, in 1994 Griffith became a professional photographer, opening up her talent production company 'Integrity Productions'. Griffith has been working as one of Indiana's most renowned photographers for over 10 years. She has worked with many companies in Indiana such as the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

, the Helen Wells Agency in addition to celebrity clients.

Discography

Albums

*''

Roni Griffith Roni Griffith is an American former 1980s disco musician and model from Bloomington, Indiana. Career She was one of the original Coconuts in the popular 1980s group Kid Creole and the Coconuts. They opened up for The B-52's, Huey Lewis and the Ne ...

'' (1982) *''Only You'' (2004)

Singles

*"Mondo Man" (1980) (US Dance #36) *"Desire" (1981) (Canada #34 / Germany #17 / Switzerland #2 / US Dance #30) *"Voodoo Man" (1982) *"

" (1982) (UK #63 / US Dance #2) *"Love Is the Drug" (1982) *"Breaking My Heart" (1983) (Belgium #38) *"

Dancing Machine "Dancing Machine" is a song recorded by American R&B outfit the Jackson 5, and was the title track of their ninth studio album. The song was originally recorded for the group's 1973 album '' G.I.T.: Get It Together'' and was released as a remix ...

" (1984)

References

External links

Desire – 80's TV performance

Roni Griffith at Discogs

Official Music VF – Billboard Charts Positions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffith, Roni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American women pop singers American hi-NRG musicians Musicians from Bloomington, Indiana Vanguard Records artists American women in electronic music 21st-century American women