Jimmy McGriff
Encyclopedia
James Harrell McGriff was an American
hard bop
and soul-jazz organist
and organ trio
bandleader
who developed a distinctive style of playing the Hammond B-3 organ.
, Pennsylvania
, McGriff started playing piano
at the age of five and by his teens had also learned to play vibes
, alto sax, drum
s and upright bass. His first group was as bassist in a piano trio. When he joined the United States Army
, McGriff served as an MP
during the Korean War
and he later became a police officer
in Philadelphia for two years.
Music kept drawing McGriff's attention away from the police force. His childhood friend, organist Jimmy Smith
, had begun earning a substantial reputation in jazz for his Blue Note records
(the two played together once in 1967) and McGriff became entranced by the organ sound while Richard "Groove" Holmes played at his sister's wedding. Holmes went on to become McGriff's teacher and friend and they recorded together on two occasions in 1973 for two Groove Merchant
records.
McGriff bought his first Hammond B-3 organ in 1956, spent six months learning the instrument, then studied at New York's Juilliard School
. He also studied privately with Milt Buckner
, Jimmy Smith
, and Sonny Gatewood. He was influenced by the energy and dynamics of organist Milt Buckner
and the diplomatic aplomb of Count Basie
, and by local pianists such as Howard Whaley and pianist Austin Mitchell.
(who soon switched permanently to organ, and became one of the instrument's renowned performers). During this time, McGriff also accompanied such artists as Don Gardner
, Arthur Prysock
, Candido
and Carmen McRae
, who came through town for local club dates.
In 1961, McGriff's trio was offered the chance to record an instrumental version of Ray Charles
' hit "I've Got a Woman" by Joe Lederman's Jell Records, a small independent label. When the record received substantial local airplay, Juggy Murray
's Sue
label picked it up and recorded a full album of McGriff's trio, released in 1962. The album also turned out another huge hit in McGriff's "All About My Girl", establishing McGriff's credentials as a fiery blues-based organist, well-versed in gospel
, soul
and "fatback groove".
McGriff recorded a series of popular albums for the Sue label between 1962 and 1965, ending with what still stands as one of his finest examples of blues-based jazz, Blues for Mister Jimmy. When producer Sonny Lester
started his Solid State
record label in 1966, he recruited McGriff to be his star attraction. Lester framed McGriff in many different groups, performing a wide variety of styles and giving the organist nearly unlimited opportunities to record. McGriff was heard everywhere from an all-star tribute to Count Basie
; The Big Band, a series of organ and blues band records such as A Thing to Come By (1969), pop hits ("Cherry", "The Way You Look Tonight") and funk classics (Electric Funk and singles such as "The Worm" and "Step 1").
During this time, McGriff performed at clubs and concert halls worldwide. He settled in Newark
, New Jersey
, and eventually opened his own supper club, the Golden Slipper - where he recorded Black Pearl and a live album, Love Ain’t Nothin’ But A Business Goin’ On with Junior Parker
in 1971. Beginning in 1969, he also performed regularly with Buddy Rich
's band, though the two were only recorded once together in 1974 on The Last Blues Album Volume 1.
, kept issuing McGriff records at a rate of three or four a year. By 1973, McGriff was touring relentlessly and actively recording again. Around this time, disco
was gaining a hold in jazz music and McGriff's flexibility proved infallible. He produced some of his best music during this period: Stump Juice (1975), Red Beans (1976) and Outside Looking In (1978). These albums still stand out today as excellent documents of McGriff's organ playing.
By 1980, McGriff broke away from Sonny Lester and began working actively with producer Bob Porter (and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder
). McGriff began a long relationship with Fantasy Records
' Milestone label, collaborating with Rusty Bryant
, Al Grey
, Red Holloway
, David "Fathead" Newman, Frank Wess
and Eric Alexander.
In 1986, McGriff started a popular partnership with alto saxophone player Hank Crawford
. Their partnership yielded 1987's Soul Survivors and 1997's Road Tested. But it was only during their brief period at Telarc
in the mid 1990s that McGriff's name headlined the popular club and cruise ship attraction.
that increased the organ's capabilities with MIDI enhancements. This gave McGriff an unnatural synthesized sound, which probably explains his retreat from the instrument on late recordings such as 2000's McGriff's House Party (featuring fellow organist Lonnie Smith). House Party did include the use of the XB-3; however, he did not use the MIDI functions
.
McGriff was one of the first B3 players to add MIDI to the upper keyboard his personal B3 to add and extend "his sound" beyond just the drawbar sound of the B3. He incorporated synthesizers in his live performances as he liked vibes, piano, string, brass and other sounds that could only be created by a synthesizer and which the classic B3 cannot provide. Jimmy purchased the XB-3 as he had more control over the MIDI functions, and the XB-3 weighs about half of the classic B3, which made it easier to move.
Jimmy, as well as Groove Holmes
, spent a great deal of time experimenting and modifying their B3's and Leslie speaker
s over the years. Some of these modifications made their way into products manufactured by both Hammond and Leslie, for which they did not always receive credit.
Along with the soul-jazz sound, McGriff experienced renewed popularity in the mid-1990s, forming The Dream Team group, which featured David "Fathead" Newman (a longtime saxophonist with Ray Charles
) and drummer Bernard Purdie
, and recording the Straight Up (1998), McGriff's House Party (2000), Feelin' It (2001), and McGriff Avenue (2002) albums.
On March 29, 2008, McGriff was given a last private concert by "Mr. B3" Bill Dilks and Grant Macavoy in his honor in Voorhees, New Jersey. Dilks brought his B3 and played for McGriff his wife Margaret, their guests, and the folks at Genesis HealthCare. As Dilks said, "The Hammond reaches its players far beyond where the conscious mind lives".
A resident of Voorhees Township
, New Jersey
, McGriff died there at age 72 on May 24, 2008, due to complications of multiple sclerosis
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hard bop
Hard bop
Hard bop is a style of jazz that is an extension of bebop music. Journalists and record companies began using the term in the mid-1950s to describe a new current within jazz which incorporated influences from rhythm and blues, gospel music, and blues, especially in the saxophone and piano...
and soul-jazz organist
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...
and organ trio
Organ trio
An organ trio, in a jazz context, is a group of three jazz musicians, typically consisting of a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and either a jazz guitarist or a saxophone player. In some cases the saxophonist will join a trio which consists of an organist, guitarist, and drummer, making it a quartet...
bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
who developed a distinctive style of playing the Hammond B-3 organ.
Early years and influences
Born in GermantownGermantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Germantown is a neighborhood in the northwest section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, about 7–8 miles northwest from the center of the city...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, McGriff started playing piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
at the age of five and by his teens had also learned to play vibes
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
, alto sax, drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s and upright bass. His first group was as bassist in a piano trio. When he joined the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, McGriff served as an MP
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and he later became a police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
in Philadelphia for two years.
Music kept drawing McGriff's attention away from the police force. His childhood friend, organist Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
, had begun earning a substantial reputation in jazz for his Blue Note records
Blue Note Records
Blue Note Records is a jazz record label, established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis. Francis Wolff became involved shortly afterwards. It derives its name from the characteristic "blue notes" of jazz and the blues. At the end of the 1950s, and in the early 1960s, Blue Note headquarters...
(the two played together once in 1967) and McGriff became entranced by the organ sound while Richard "Groove" Holmes played at his sister's wedding. Holmes went on to become McGriff's teacher and friend and they recorded together on two occasions in 1973 for two Groove Merchant
Groove Merchant
Groove Merchant was an American jazz and R&B record label during the 1970s. It was ran by producer Sonny Lester and distributed by Pickwick Records. Notable artists included Chick Corea, O'Donel Levy, Buddy Rich, Jimmy McGriff, and Lionel Hampton to name a few...
records.
McGriff bought his first Hammond B-3 organ in 1956, spent six months learning the instrument, then studied at New York's Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
. He also studied privately with Milt Buckner
Milt Buckner
Milt Buckner was an American jazz pianist and organist, originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He was orphaned as a child, but an uncle in Detroit taught him to play...
, Jimmy Smith
Jimmy Smith (musician)
Jimmy Smith was a jazz musician whose performances on the Hammond B-3 electric organ helped to popularize this instrument...
, and Sonny Gatewood. He was influenced by the energy and dynamics of organist Milt Buckner
Milt Buckner
Milt Buckner was an American jazz pianist and organist, originally from St. Louis, Missouri. He was orphaned as a child, but an uncle in Detroit taught him to play...
and the diplomatic aplomb of Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, and by local pianists such as Howard Whaley and pianist Austin Mitchell.
1960s: First combos
McGriff formed a combo that played around Philadelphia and often featured tenor saxophonist Charles EarlandCharles Earland
Charles Earland was an American jazz composer, organist, and saxophonist in the soul jazz idiom.-Biography:...
(who soon switched permanently to organ, and became one of the instrument's renowned performers). During this time, McGriff also accompanied such artists as Don Gardner
Don Gardner
Don Gardner is an American rhythm and blues drummer and vocalist.Born in Philadelphia, Gardner had formed his own group, the Sonotones, in 1953, but teamed up with Dee Dee Ford in the early 1960s to have his biggest successes. Their biggest hit was "I Need Your Lovin'," a Top 20 hit in 1962...
, Arthur Prysock
Arthur Prysock
Arthur Prysock was an American jazz singer best known for his live shows and his baritone influenced by Billy Eckstine....
, Candido
Candido
Candido may refer to:* Antonio Candido , writer, professor, and literary critic* Candido Amantini , Italian Roman Catholic priest* Candido Camero , Cuban percussionist* Candido Jacuzzi , Italian-American inventor...
and Carmen McRae
Carmen McRae
Carmen Mercedes McRae was an American jazz singer, composer, pianist, and actress. Considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century, it was her behind-the-beat phrasing and her ironic interpretations of song lyrics that made her memorable...
, who came through town for local club dates.
In 1961, McGriff's trio was offered the chance to record an instrumental version of Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
' hit "I've Got a Woman" by Joe Lederman's Jell Records, a small independent label. When the record received substantial local airplay, Juggy Murray
Juggy Murray
Henry 'Juggy' Murray Jr. was an influential rhythm and blues music producer....
's Sue
Sue Records
Sue Records was founded in 1957 by Henry 'Juggy' Murray in New York City.Also within the group was Symbol Records and Sue also financed and distributed A.F.O.Records owned by Harold Battiste in New Orleans....
label picked it up and recorded a full album of McGriff's trio, released in 1962. The album also turned out another huge hit in McGriff's "All About My Girl", establishing McGriff's credentials as a fiery blues-based organist, well-versed in gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and "fatback groove".
McGriff recorded a series of popular albums for the Sue label between 1962 and 1965, ending with what still stands as one of his finest examples of blues-based jazz, Blues for Mister Jimmy. When producer Sonny Lester
Sonny Lester
Sonny Lester is a Grammy-award winning music producer from New York City. He started his career as a musician in a big band jazz ensemble before being drafted into the U.S. Army. During the war he earned a Purple Heart and worked under Henry Kissinger, who was an intelligence officer at time...
started his Solid State
Solid State Records (jazz label)
Solid State Records was a jazz record label formed in 1966 by noted producers Sonny Lester and Phil Ramone, with arranger Manny Albam.The label released original recordings in the mid to late 1960s by Joe Williams, Chick Corea, Jimmy McGriff, Dizzy Gillespie, The Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Jazz...
record label in 1966, he recruited McGriff to be his star attraction. Lester framed McGriff in many different groups, performing a wide variety of styles and giving the organist nearly unlimited opportunities to record. McGriff was heard everywhere from an all-star tribute to Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
; The Big Band, a series of organ and blues band records such as A Thing to Come By (1969), pop hits ("Cherry", "The Way You Look Tonight") and funk classics (Electric Funk and singles such as "The Worm" and "Step 1").
During this time, McGriff performed at clubs and concert halls worldwide. He settled in Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and eventually opened his own supper club, the Golden Slipper - where he recorded Black Pearl and a live album, Love Ain’t Nothin’ But A Business Goin’ On with Junior Parker
Junior Parker
Junior Parker was an American Memphis blues singer and musician. He is best remembered for his unique voice which has been described as "honeyed," and "velvet-smooth"...
in 1971. Beginning in 1969, he also performed regularly with Buddy Rich
Buddy Rich
Bernard "Buddy" Rich was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed.-Early life:...
's band, though the two were only recorded once together in 1974 on The Last Blues Album Volume 1.
1970s-1980s
McGriff "retired" from the music industry in 1972 to start a horse farm in Connecticut. But Sonny Lester's new record company, Groove MerchantGroove Merchant
Groove Merchant was an American jazz and R&B record label during the 1970s. It was ran by producer Sonny Lester and distributed by Pickwick Records. Notable artists included Chick Corea, O'Donel Levy, Buddy Rich, Jimmy McGriff, and Lionel Hampton to name a few...
, kept issuing McGriff records at a rate of three or four a year. By 1973, McGriff was touring relentlessly and actively recording again. Around this time, disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
was gaining a hold in jazz music and McGriff's flexibility proved infallible. He produced some of his best music during this period: Stump Juice (1975), Red Beans (1976) and Outside Looking In (1978). These albums still stand out today as excellent documents of McGriff's organ playing.
By 1980, McGriff broke away from Sonny Lester and began working actively with producer Bob Porter (and recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder
Rudy Van Gelder is an American recording engineer specializing in jazz.Often regarded as one of the most important recording engineers in music history, Van Gelder has recorded several thousand jazz sessions, including many widely recognized as classics, in a career spanning more than half a century...
). McGriff began a long relationship with Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records
Fantasy Records is a United States-based record label that was founded by Max and Sol Weiss in 1949 in San Francisco, California. They had previously operated a record-pressing plant called Circle Record Company before forming the Fantasy label...
' Milestone label, collaborating with Rusty Bryant
Rusty Bryant
Royal G. "Rusty" Bryant was an American jazz tenor and alto saxophonist....
, Al Grey
Al Grey
Al Grey was a jazz trombonist who is most remembered for his association with the Count Basie orchestra....
, Red Holloway
Red Holloway
James W. "Red" Holloway is an American jazz tenor saxophonist.-Biography:Holloway started playing banjo and harmonica, switching to tenor sax when he was twelve years old...
, David "Fathead" Newman, Frank Wess
Frank Wess
Frank Wess is an American jazz musician, who has played saxophone and flute.-Biography:...
and Eric Alexander.
In 1986, McGriff started a popular partnership with alto saxophone player Hank Crawford
Hank Crawford
Bennie Ross "Hank" Crawford, Jr. was an American R&B, hard bop, jazz-funk, soul jazz alto saxophonist, arranger and songwriter...
. Their partnership yielded 1987's Soul Survivors and 1997's Road Tested. But it was only during their brief period at Telarc
Telarc International Corporation
Telarc International Corporation is an independent record label, based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, and founded in 1977 by two classically trained musicians and former teachers, Jack Renner and Robert Woods...
in the mid 1990s that McGriff's name headlined the popular club and cruise ship attraction.
1990s-2000s
Between 1994 and 1998, McGriff also experimented with the Hammond XB-3, an organ synthesizerSynthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
that increased the organ's capabilities with MIDI enhancements. This gave McGriff an unnatural synthesized sound, which probably explains his retreat from the instrument on late recordings such as 2000's McGriff's House Party (featuring fellow organist Lonnie Smith). House Party did include the use of the XB-3; however, he did not use the MIDI functions
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIDI is an industry-standard protocol, first defined in 1982 by Gordon Hall, that enables electronic musical instruments , computers and other electronic equipment to communicate and synchronize with each other...
.
McGriff was one of the first B3 players to add MIDI to the upper keyboard his personal B3 to add and extend "his sound" beyond just the drawbar sound of the B3. He incorporated synthesizers in his live performances as he liked vibes, piano, string, brass and other sounds that could only be created by a synthesizer and which the classic B3 cannot provide. Jimmy purchased the XB-3 as he had more control over the MIDI functions, and the XB-3 weighs about half of the classic B3, which made it easier to move.
Jimmy, as well as Groove Holmes
Richard Holmes (organist)
Richard Arnold "Groove" Holmes was an American jazz organist who performed in the hard bop and soul jazz genre...
, spent a great deal of time experimenting and modifying their B3's and Leslie speaker
Leslie speaker
The Leslie speaker is a specially constructed amplifier/loudspeaker used to create special audio effects using the Doppler effect. Named after its inventor, Donald Leslie, it is particularly associated with the Hammond organ but is used with a variety of instruments as well as vocals. The...
s over the years. Some of these modifications made their way into products manufactured by both Hammond and Leslie, for which they did not always receive credit.
Along with the soul-jazz sound, McGriff experienced renewed popularity in the mid-1990s, forming The Dream Team group, which featured David "Fathead" Newman (a longtime saxophonist with Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
) and drummer Bernard Purdie
Bernard Purdie
Bernard Lee "Pretty" Purdie is an American session drummer, and is considered an influential and innovative exponent of funk...
, and recording the Straight Up (1998), McGriff's House Party (2000), Feelin' It (2001), and McGriff Avenue (2002) albums.
On March 29, 2008, McGriff was given a last private concert by "Mr. B3" Bill Dilks and Grant Macavoy in his honor in Voorhees, New Jersey. Dilks brought his B3 and played for McGriff his wife Margaret, their guests, and the folks at Genesis HealthCare. As Dilks said, "The Hammond reaches its players far beyond where the conscious mind lives".
A resident of Voorhees Township
Voorhees Township, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 28,126 people, 10,489 households, and 7,069 families residing in the township. The population density was 2,424.0 people per square mile . There were 11,084 housing units at an average density of 955.2 per square mile...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, McGriff died there at age 72 on May 24, 2008, due to complications of multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
.
Discography
- I've Got a Woman, Sue, 1963
- One of Mine, Sue, 1963
- Jimmy McGriff at the Apollo, Sue, 1963
- Christmas With McGriff, Sue, 1964
- Jimmy McGriff at the Organ, Sue, 1964
- Topkapi, Sue, 1964
- Blues for Mister Jimmy, Sue, 1965
- The Big Band of Jimmy McGriff, Solid State, 1966
- Cherry, Solid State, 1966
- A Bag Full of Soul, Solid State, 1966
- A Bag Full of Blues, Solid State, 1967
- I've Got a New Woman, Solid State, 1967
- The Worm, Solid State, 1968
- Honey, Solid State, 1968
- Step 1, Solid State, 1969
- A Thing to Come By, Solid State, 1969
- Electric FunkElectric FunkElectric Funk is an album by American jazz organist Jimmy McGriff featuring performances recorded in 1969 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:...
, Blue Note, 1969 - Something to Listen ToSomething to Listen To (Jimmy McGriff album)Something to Listen To is an album by American jazz organist Jimmy McGriff featuring performances recorded in 1970 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars....
, Blue Note, 1970 - Black PearlBlack Pearl (Jimmy McGriff album)Black Pearl is a live album by American jazz organist Jimmy McGriff featuring performances recorded in New Jersey in 1971 and released on the Blue Note label.-Reception:The Allmusic review awarded the album 3 stars....
, Blue Note, 1971 - Good Things Don't Happen Everyday, Groove Merchant, 1971
- Groove Grease, Groove Merchant, 1971
- Black and Blues, Groove Merchant, 1971
- Soul Sugar, Capitol, 1971
- Let's Stay Together, Groove Merchant, 1972
- Fly Dude, Groove Merchant, 1972
- Giants of the Organ Come Together, Groove Merchant, 1973
- The Main Squeeze, Groove Merchant, 1974
- Stump Juice, Groove Merchant, Groove Merchant, 1975
- The Mean Machine, Groove Merchant, 1976 Feat. Joe Thomas
- Red Beans, Groove Merchant, 1976
- Tailgunner, Lester Radio Corp. 1977
- Outside Looking In, Lester Radio Corp. 1978
- City Lights, Jazz America, 1980
- Movin' Upside the Blues, JAM, 1980
- The Groover, JAM, 1982
- Countdown, Milestone, 1983
- Skywalk, Milestone, 1984
- State of the Art, Milestone, 1985
- Soul Survivors, Milestone, 1986 with Hank Crawford
- The Starting Five, Milestone, 1986
- Steppin' Up, Milestone, 1987 with Hank Crawford
- Blue to the Bone, Milestone, 1988
- On the Blue Side, Milestone, 1989 with Hank Crawford
- You Ought To Think About Me, Headfirst, 1990
- In A Blue Mood, Headfirst, 1991
- Right Turn on Blues, Telarc, 1994 with Hank Crawford
- Blues Groove, Telarc, 1995 with Hank Crawford
- The Dream Team, Milestone, 1996 Feat. David 'Fathead' Newman
- Charles Earland's Jazz Organ Summit, Cannonball, 1997
- Road Tested, Milestone, 1997 with Hank Crawford
- Straight Up, Milestone, 1998 Feat. David 'Fathead' Newman
- Crunch Time, Milestone, 1999 with Hank Crawford
- McGriff's House Party, Milestone, 1999 Feat. Dr. Lonnie Smith
- Feelin' It, Milestone, 2000
- McGriff Avenue, Milestone, 2001