Gene Watson's Peers: Ray Griff
Gene Watson's peers within the country music
industry believe in the sheer talent of this unassuming man from east Texas,
so much so that Gene is regarded by many of them as 'the singer's singer' -
and rightly so!
All of Gene's Peers who were contacted in 2004 were most
gracious with their time & words. It is here, within this special part of
gene-watson.com, that you have an opportunity to read
a quote from
Ray Griff, which he submitted
to this site on Monday 6 September 2004.
Sean Brady would like to take this opportunity to say 'thank you' to
Ray Griff who has made a special
contribution to a unique part of this online 'celebration of a Lone Star
Hero'.
Ray Griff
This quote was submitted on Monday 6 September 2004
'Gene Watson is probably the last of the truly great
traditional country music singers around today.
I've been a Gene Watson fan since he recorded my song 'Where love begins',
and each & every time he has recorded one of my songs has been a natural
high for me.
Gene is one of the few artists who sings a song the way the writer hears it
in his head'.
Thank you, Ray Griff, for your support
of Gene Watson.
About Ray Griff...
Ray Griff was born on April 22 in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the younger of two sons by Katherine
and George Griff. Due to a breakup of the marriage & financial hard ships,
Katherine left with her two sons & moved to Winfield, Alberta where she
found employment as a bookkeeper. Her sheer determination and years of
sacrificing is what moulded Ray!
Having a great love for music, at the age of eight, Ray along with his
brother Ken & three other local kids, formed a band calling themselves 'The
Winfield Amateurs', a title that later became one of Ray's most popular
songs. Ray sang & played drums in the band.
Saving his pennies, Ray purchased a Palm Beach guitar that he taught himself
to play. It was about this time that Ray started writing songs. His mum
Katherine scraped together enough funds to buy an old upright piano; Ray
taught himself to play the piano as well.
When Ray turned twelve, the family decided to move to Calgary, Alberta,
Canada. Coming into adulthood, Ray worked at a grocery store after school &
on weekends to help with the family bills.
Ray fronted his own group in the late 1950s called 'The Blue Echo's' & began
to earn a name for himself in & around Calgary, performing at high school
hops & at local community affairs. It was during one of these performances
that he attracted the attention of local radio personality & promoter D'Arcy
Scott, who asked Ray to be the opening act for Johnny Horton on a tour of
Western Canada.
During the tour Ray played a song he had written for Johnny called 'Mister
Moonlight', which Johnny included on his classic album 'The Battle of New
Orleans'. Ray decided to quit school & took a day job to make enough money
to get to Nashville to pitch his songs. He also entertained at a local
nightclub, being the first live entertainment to perform in Calgary when the
Liquor Bill was passed.
Ray made his first trip to Nashville in 1961 leaving countless tapes of his
songs with music publishers and record labels. For the next two years, Ray
fine-tuned his talents as a songwriter & performer. It was after a Jim
Reeves concert in Calgary that Ray presented Jim with his song 'Where Do I
go from here'. Jim not only recorded the song on his next album, he also
invited Ray to move to Nashville. After completing a Canadian nightclub
tour, Ray made the long anticipated move to Music City in 1964. Sadly, Jim
Reeves, Ray's friend & mentor, perished in a plane crash on 31 July 1964.
Though devastated & alone, Ray was determined to make it in the world of
country music. He got a job repairing pianos from seven in the morning until
three in the afternoon, when he would pitch his songs to record labels until
closing time. He would then work from six until midnight at a record
pressing plant to help make ends meet. Ray also managed to write songs as
well as getting his high school diploma through a correspondence course.
Bob Ferguson, a record producer in Nashville was so impressed with Ray that
he hired him to pitch songs for his publishing company. Ray then recorded
'Don't lead me on' & 'That weepin' willow tree'. The session was presented
to Chet Atkins at RCA Records & Ray was signed to its subsidiary label,
Groove Records. Ray remained with the label until artistic differences led
him to be let out of his contract.
Shortly after, Ray played a song for renowned producer Owen Bradley. The
song was 'Baby', which Owen recorded with Wilma Burgess, a new artist on
Decca - Ray's career as a songwriter & music publisher was under way.
For the next twenty plus years, Ray Griff would remain one of the hottest
songwriters & music publishers in country music. He enjoyed forty eight
singles in the Top 100, as well as being the recipient of eighty seven ASCAP
& BMI citations as a songwriter, artist, producer & publisher, taking home
an unprecedented sixteen ASCAP awards two years running in 1975 & 1976.
Ray Griff has written over two thousand songs with more than seven hundred
of his songs recorded by such renowned artists as Eddy Arnold,
Johnny
Duncan, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Crystal Gayle, George Hamilton IV, Johnny
Horton, Ferlin Husky, Stonewall Jackson,
George Jones, Jerry Lee Lewis, Hank Locklin, Bob Luman, Loretta Lynn, Wayne Newton, Dolly Parton, Ray Price,
Charley Pride, Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, Carl Smith, Hank Snow,
Mel Tillis,
Conway Twitty, Porter Wagoner, Gene Watson, Roger
Whittaker, Slim Whitman & Faron Young.
In 1989 Ray was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall Of Fame.
In 1998, Ray was inducted into the Canadian Country Music Association's Hall Of Honor
which took place during Country Music Week in Calgary, Friday 11 September -
Monday 14 September 1998.
Gene Watson has recorded several Ray Griff
compositions:
Gene Watson recorded
'Where love begins' & included the track on 'Love in the Hot Afternoon'
(Capitol Records, 1975)
Gene Watson recorded
'Her body couldn't keep you (off my mind)', 'How good a bad woman feels',
'Hey Louella' & 'And then you came along' & included
the tracks on 'Because
You Believed in Me' (Capitol Records, 1976)
Gene Watson recorded
'If the shoe fits, wear it' & 'Don't look at me (in that tone of voice)'
& included the tracks on 'Paper
Rosie' (Capitol Records, 1977)
Gene Watson recorded
'Between this time & the next time' & included the track on 'Between This
Time & the Next Time' (MCA Records, 1982)
Gene Watson recorded
'Hold that thought' & included the track on 'Uncharted Mind'
(Step
One Records, 1993).
Visit Ray Griff's Official Site