Edna McGriff (December 16, 1935 – March 25, 1980) was an American
rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
singer and pianist. She recorded mainly in the 1950s, and secured one
hit single on the
US ''
Billboard''
R&B chart with "Heavenly Father" in 1952.
The record sold over 500,000 copies.
Life and career
Edna McGriff was born in
Tampa,
Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. She was educated at
Washington Irving High School in New York.
She released her first
single, "Note Droppin' Papa" / "Come Back", on
Jubilee Records
Jubilee Records was an American independent record label, specializing in rhythm and blues and novelty records. It was founded in New York City in 1946 by Herb Abramson. His partner was Jerry Blaine. Blaine bought Abramson's half of the compan ...
in September 1951 with
Bennie Green
Bennie Green (April 16, 1923 – March 23, 1977) was an American jazz trombonist.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and ...
's band. Her second
recording
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
took place late that same year, when she sang with Buddy Lucas and His Band of Tomorrow on "Heavenly Father" / "I Love You". She was aged 16 at the time. The single was released in early 1952, and sales started to soar. The track entered the US R&B chart in April 1952, peaking at No. 4 in a 13-week stay.
Various
cover version
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s of "Heavenly Father" appeared, recorded by
Fran Warren,
The Four Lads
The Four Lads was a Canadian male singing quartet which, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, earned many gold singles and albums. Its million-selling signature tunes include " Moments to Remember"; " Standing on the Corner"; " No, Not Much"; "Who Nee ...
, and also
Evelyn Knight
Evelyn Dawn Knight (born 5 November 1942) is an English woman known for her involvement in the Abscam sting operation of the 1970s, with her ex-husband Mel Weinberg. A character inspired by her was portrayed on film by Amy Adams in '' American ...
.
McGriff appeared on stage at the Earle Theater in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
. Various shows followed, where she was placed on the bill with
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout Nor ...
. Separately in June 1952, McGriff recorded six
duets
A duet is a musical composition or piece for two performers.
Duets or The Duets may also refer to:
Films and television
* ''Duets'' (film), a 2000 film, starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Giamatti and Huey Lewis
* "Duets" (''Glee''), a 2010 episo ...
with
Sonny Til of
The Orioles
The Orioles were an American R&B group of the late 1940s and early 1950s, one of the earliest such vocal groups who established the basic pattern for the doo-wop sound.
The Orioles are generally acknowledged as R&B's first vocal group. Balt ...
, including "
I Only Have Eyes for You
"I Only Have Eyes for You" is a romantic love song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin, written for the film ''Dames'' (1934) when Dick Powell introduced it. Several successful recordings of the song were made in 1934; later, there we ...
", "
Once in a While", "Picadilly" and "Good".
Her next solo release was "Pray For A Better World" / "In A Chapel by the Side of The Road", followed by "Edna's Blues" / "Why Oh Why" (1953). Several other releases flopped and she moved to
Josie Records
Josie Records was a subsidiary of Jubilee Records in New York City that was active from 1954 to 1971.
The label's best selling bands were The Cadillacs ("Speedoo"), Bobby Freeman and the Meters.
Other hits for Josie Records included the Chip ...
, who issued "
I'll Be Around" / "Ooh, Little Daddy" (1954), and then onto Favorite Records, but without any further chart activity.
Bell Records took up her contract, and issued "
The Fool" / "
Born to Be with You" (1956), and these were followed by many other cover versions, including
Laurie London
Laurie London (born 19 January 1944) is an English singer, who achieved fame as a boy singer of the 1950s, for both his gospel and novelty songs recording in both English and German. He is best known for his hit single of the spiritual song "He's ...
's "
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
"He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" is a traditional African-American spiritual, first published in 1927. It became an international pop hit in 1957–58 in a recording by English singer Laurie London, and has been recorded by many other si ...
" and
Huey "Piano" Smith
Huey Pierce Smith, known as Huey "Piano" Smith (born January 26, 1934) is an American rhythm-and-blues pianist whose sound was influential in the development of rock and roll.
His piano playing incorporated the boogie-woogie styles of Pete Joh ...
's "Don't You Just Know It", however she had stopped recording with Bell by the time she was 22 years old. In 1958, she recorded a one-off single for Felsted, followed by another one-off for Savoy, this time duetting with longtime friend Buddy Lucas on "No Change" / "Ah-Ah-Ah". Thereafter her career gradually wound down, with a small sprinkle of recordings spread over two record companies - Willow Records in 1961 (a remake of "Heavenly Father"), and Capitol during 1964-1965.
The Connecticut Marriage Index 1959-2001, reveals that at age 23 she married Leroy Minors in
Stamford,
Fairfield County, Connecticut
Fairfield County is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is the most populous county in the state and was also its fastest-growing from 2010 to 2020. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 957, ...
, on March 7, 1959. The Social Security Death Index records that Edna Minors (née McGriff) died in
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
,
New York, on March 25, 1980, aged 44 years. An obituary was printed in the ''
New York Amsterdam News
The ''Amsterdam News'' (also known as ''New York Amsterdam News'') is a weekly Black-owned newspaper serving New York City. It is one of the oldest newspapers geared toward African Americans in the United States and has published columns by s ...
'', and it is thought that her death was due to
lymphoma
Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enla ...
.
In August 2012, a
compilation album of her recordings was issued by
Bear Family Records
Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks.
History
The label has been in existence since ...
.
Discography
Compilation album
See also
*
List of R&B musicians
References
External links
Discogs.com discography*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgriff, Edna
1935 births
1980 deaths
American rhythm and blues singers
African-American pianists
Singers from New York (state)
Musicians from Harlem
Musicians from Tampa, Florida
Date of death missing
20th-century American women pianists
20th-century American pianists
20th-century African-American women singers