Patty Griffin
Encyclopedia
Patty Griffin, born Patricia Jean Griffin, March 16, 1964, is an American
Grammy award
-winning singer-songwriter
and musician
. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris
, Ellis Paul
, and the Dixie Chicks
, who have played with her onstage as well as performing cover songs of Griffin's work, exposing many of her compositions to mainstream pop
and country music
audiences outside Griffin's folk music
circle of fans. She was also recipient of the Americana Music Association
's highest honor as "Artist of the Year" in 2007, as well as taking home the award for best album for Children Running Through
. In 2011, Griffin won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album for Downtown Church
.
, United States, next to the Penobscot Native American reservation. She is primarily a guitarist
, pianist
, and vocalist, with a distinctive voice. The youngest child in her family with six older siblings, she bought a guitar for $50 at age 16, and sang and played, but had no inclination at the time to become a professional musician. After a short marriage which ended in 1992, Griffin began playing in Boston coffee houses, and was scouted by A&M Records
, who signed Griffin on the strength of her demo tape; however A&M thought it to be overproduced, so Nile Rodgers
and A&M instead released a stripped-down reworking of her demo tape, as an album called Living with Ghosts
.
Griffin's second album, 1998's Flaming Red
was a departure from the acoustic
sound of Living with Ghosts, with a mix of mellow songs along with other, very high tempo rock and roll
songs. The title track, "Flaming Red" is an example of this, beginning with an even beat until it increases to a fevered pitch of emotion. "Tony" from this album is also featured on the charity benefit album Live in the X Lounge
.
Her third record, Silver Bell had a similar sound to its predecessor, though it was also unreleased by A&M. A&M dropped Griffin's contract after Silver Bell, but she was picked up by Dave Matthews
' ATO Records
. Griffin re-recorded songs from that album for later releases such as "Making Pies", "Mother of God," "Standing," and "Top of the World
" and others have been most famously covered by the Dixie Chicks
. Copies of the unreleased Silver Bell were leaked and bootlegged, and can now be easily acquired via the "B&P" (Blanks and Postage
) method on message boards.
Four albums have followed so far on ATO, including 2002's 1000 Kisses
, A Kiss in Time
(2003), Impossible Dream
(2004), Children Running Through
(2007),
In 2004, Griffin toured with Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller
, Gillian Welch
and David Rawlings
as the Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue
. On February 6, 2007, she released Children Running Through
. The album debuted at #34 on the Billboard 200
with 27,000 copies sold. Of the album, Griffin told Gibson Lifestyle, “I just kind of felt like singing what I wanted to sing, and playing how I wanted to play. It’s not all dark and tragic. It’s a different way for me to look at things. Getting old—older, I should say, I’m not so serious all the time.” It was also said that the album was inspired by her childhood days.
Griffin's songs have been recorded by artists such as Irish-born singer Maura O'Connell
("Long Ride Home"), Linda Ronstadt
("Falling Down"), the Dixie Chicks ("Truth No. 2," "Top of the World," "Let Him Fly"), Bette Midler
("Moses"), Beth Nielsen Chapman
, Christine Collister
, and Dixie Chicks
("Mary"), Mary Chapin Carpenter
("Dear Old Friend"), Jessica Simpson
("Let Him Fly"), Martina McBride
("Goodbye"), Melissa Ferrick
and Missy Higgins
("Moses"), Emmylou Harris ("One Big Love", "Moon Song"), Bethany Joy Galeotti
("Blue Sky"), The Wreckers
("One More Girl"), Keri Noble
("When It Don't Come Easy"), Joan Osborne
("What You Are"), Solomon Burke
("Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)
"), and Miranda Lambert
("Getting Ready"). Kelly Clarkson
performed "Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)
" with Jeff Beck
on guitar, accompanied by some orchestra
tion on the Idol Gives Back
episode of American Idol
, and the live recording was released as a single immediately afterwards, reaching #56 on the Billboard Hot 100
in its first week and giving Griffin her highest charting position as a songwriter
. (The audience gave Clarkson a standing ovation
following her performance.) Griffin herself had said that when she heard Burke
's version of the song, she almost did not feel worthy of singing it herself anymore. Griffin's version of the song was featured on the fourth season, episode 11 of the popular ABC
television show, Grey's Anatomy
.
, duetting on the song "You Got Growing Up to Do." In October 2008, she appeared in background vocals on Todd Snider
's cover of John Fogerty's "Fortunate Son" for Snider's Peace Queer album. In February 2009, Griffin was featured on the album Feel That Fire by Dierks Bentley
, duetting on the song "Beautiful World".
In 2009, Patty Griffin, along with Mavis Staples
and The Tri-City Singers released a version of the song "Waiting For My Child to Come Home" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration
.
The collaboration with Staples led EMI
's Peter York
to suggest Griffin make an album of gospel
songs. Griffin agreed on the condition that friend and bandmate Buddy Miller
produced the record. Griffin's sixth studio album, Downtown Church
, was recorded at the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville and was released on January 26, 2010. The album features long-time friends Buddy and Julie Miller
, as well as Shawn Colvin
and Emmylou Harris
. It features songs by Hank Williams, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton
, and "All Creatures of Our God and King," a song accredited to St. Francis of Assisi.
In July 2010, Robert Plant
toured the United States with Band of Joy
(reprising the name of his very first band in the 1960s). Patty Griffin toured with them as a backing vocalist to Plant, along with singer-guitarist Buddy Miller
, multi-instrumentalist
and vocalist Darrell Scott
, bassist-vocalist Byron House, and drummer-percussionist-vocalist Marco Giovino. She is also featured on Plant's solo album, Band of Joy
, which was released in September 2010 by Rounder Records.
's Elizabethtown
the soundtrack of which also included her song "Long Ride Home" and a cover of "Moon River" by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini.
In 2007, the Atlantic Theater Company produced 10 Million Miles, an Off Broadway musical
with Griffin's music as the soundtrack, and a book by Keith Bunin, directed by Michael Mayer.
Griffin's first DVD, "Patty Griffin: Live From The Artists Den" was filmed on February 6, 2007 at the Angel Orensanz Foundation For the Arts
on New York’s Lower East Side and released later that year. Selections from the DVD were featured on the program Live from the Artists Den on Ovation TV
beginning January 24, 2008.
In 2007, Griffin was singled out by the Americana Music Association and awarded their top honor: Artist of the Year, and her album Children Running Through also received an honor from the Association. She performed "Trapeze" with Emmylou Harris
harmonizing.
On June 13, 2008 Griffin performed an acoustic in the round set in Nashville, Tennessee
with Kris Kristofferson
and Randy Owen
(Alabama
) for a special taping of a PBS
songwriters series to be aired in December 2008. Each performer played five songs. In Griffin's case, it features "Making Pies," "No Bad News," "Up to the Mountain," and "Mary."
Griffin's song "Not Alone" (sometimes attributed as "You Are Not Alone"), from her first album, Living with Ghosts
, was featured in the soundtrack for the hit television series, Without a Trace
, in 2009. It also plays over the final scenes and end credits of the film Niagara, Niagara
(1997).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Grammy award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. She is especially known for her down-home crafting of songs and her connection to musicians including Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
, Ellis Paul
Ellis Paul
Ellis Paul is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Aroostook County, Maine, Paul is a key figure in what has become known as the Boston school of songwriting, a literate, provocative and urbanely romantic folk-pop style that helped ignite the folk revival of the 1990s...
, and the Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
, who have played with her onstage as well as performing cover songs of Griffin's work, exposing many of her compositions to mainstream pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
and country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
audiences outside Griffin's folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
circle of fans. She was also recipient of the Americana Music Association
Americana Music Association
The Americana Music Association is a trade organization developed to provide professional support and to promote awareness of Americana music. Toward these ends the organization works with artists, radio stations, record labels, publishers, and others to create networking opportunities and to...
's highest honor as "Artist of the Year" in 2007, as well as taking home the award for best album for Children Running Through
Children Running Through
Children Running Through is Patty Griffin's sixth commercially released album, and fifth studio album. It was released on 6 February 2007. The album features vocals from Emmylou Harris on "Trapeze". "Heavenly Day" was the album's first single....
. In 2011, Griffin won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Gospel Album for Downtown Church
Downtown Church
Downtown Church is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Patty Griffin, released on January 26, 2010, by Credential Recordings, a Christian label distributed by EMI. The album was recorded in Downtown Presbyterian Church, Nashville and features different styles. Griffin has stated...
.
Early years
Patty Griffin is from Old Town, MaineOld Town, Maine
Old Town is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,840 at the 2010 census. The city's developed area is chiefly located on a relatively large island, though its boundaries extend beyond that...
, United States, next to the Penobscot Native American reservation. She is primarily a guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, and vocalist, with a distinctive voice. The youngest child in her family with six older siblings, she bought a guitar for $50 at age 16, and sang and played, but had no inclination at the time to become a professional musician. After a short marriage which ended in 1992, Griffin began playing in Boston coffee houses, and was scouted by A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, who signed Griffin on the strength of her demo tape; however A&M thought it to be overproduced, so Nile Rodgers
Nile Rodgers
Nile Gregory Rodgers is an American musician, producer, composer, arranger, and guitarist.-Biography:...
and A&M instead released a stripped-down reworking of her demo tape, as an album called Living with Ghosts
Living with Ghosts
Living with Ghosts is Patty Griffin's debut album and was released on May 21, 1996. According to Billboard the album is Griffin's best seller and has sold 222,000 copies in the United States as of January 2010.-Track listing:...
.
Griffin's second album, 1998's Flaming Red
Flaming Red
Flaming Red is Patty Griffin's second album. It was released on June 23, 1998 and reached number 12 on the Top Heatseekers chart. According to Billboard the album has sold 122,000 copies in the U.S. up to May 2004...
was a departure from the acoustic
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
sound of Living with Ghosts, with a mix of mellow songs along with other, very high tempo rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
songs. The title track, "Flaming Red" is an example of this, beginning with an even beat until it increases to a fevered pitch of emotion. "Tony" from this album is also featured on the charity benefit album Live in the X Lounge
Live in the X Lounge
Live in the X Lounge is a series of albums released by Birmingham, Alabama's former alternative rock radio station, WRAX.Though the station can no longer be found on the air, this series of live performances was produced while the station was known as 107.7 The X...
.
Her third record, Silver Bell had a similar sound to its predecessor, though it was also unreleased by A&M. A&M dropped Griffin's contract after Silver Bell, but she was picked up by Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
' ATO Records
ATO Records
According to Our Records was founded in early 2000 by Dave Matthews , Coran Capshaw, Chris Tetzeli, and Michael McDonald as a division of RCA Records...
. Griffin re-recorded songs from that album for later releases such as "Making Pies", "Mother of God," "Standing," and "Top of the World
Top of the World (Dixie Chicks song)
"Top of the World" is a contemporary folk-country song written by Patty Griffin and most known as recorded and performed in Grammy Award-winning fashion by the Dixie Chicks....
" and others have been most famously covered by the Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
. Copies of the unreleased Silver Bell were leaked and bootlegged, and can now be easily acquired via the "B&P" (Blanks and Postage
Blanks and Postage
Blanks and Postage is a method of acquiring recordings, typically live music, by mailing blank CD-Rs or DVD-Rs and a self-addressed stamped envelope to an experienced trader. The trader copies the desired recordings to the discs and mails them back in the envelope, receiving nothing for the service...
) method on message boards.
Four albums have followed so far on ATO, including 2002's 1000 Kisses
1000 Kisses
1000 Kisses is Patty Griffin's third commercially released album. It was released on April 9, 2002.The album reached a peak of number 101 on the Billboard 200 chart resulting in a number one peak on the Top Heatseekers chart. According to Billboard the album has sold 151,000 copies in the U.S...
, A Kiss in Time
A Kiss in Time
A Kiss in Time is Patty Griffin's fourth commercially released album, and her first live album. It was recorded on 30 January 2003, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee and released on 7 October of the same year...
(2003), Impossible Dream
Impossible Dream
Impossible Dream is Patty Griffin's fifth commercially released album, and fourth studio album. It was released on April 20, 2004. The album features an unlisted song - Griffin's mother and father singing "The Impossible Dream" - at the end of "Top of the World."Impossible Dream reached a peak of...
(2004), Children Running Through
Children Running Through
Children Running Through is Patty Griffin's sixth commercially released album, and fifth studio album. It was released on 6 February 2007. The album features vocals from Emmylou Harris on "Trapeze". "Heavenly Day" was the album's first single....
(2007),
In 2004, Griffin toured with Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller
Buddy Miller
Buddy Miller is a country singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee...
, Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch
Gillian Welch is an American singer-songwriter. She performs with her musical partner, guitarist David Rawlings. Their sparse and dark musical style, which combines elements of Appalachian music, Bluegrass, and Americana, is described by The New Yorker as "at once innovative and obliquely...
and David Rawlings
David Rawlings
David Todd Rawlings is a professional guitarist and singer. He is best known as the longtime musical partner of bluegrass singer-songwriter Gillian Welch.David attended the Berklee College of Music and studied with guitar professor Lauren Passarelli....
as the Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue
Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue
The Sweet Harmony Traveling Revue was a three-week concert tour of country and folk musicians Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Buddy Miller, Gillian Welch, and David Rawlings, which took place in August 2004. The group toured primarily in the American South, but also played in New York City ,...
. On February 6, 2007, she released Children Running Through
Children Running Through
Children Running Through is Patty Griffin's sixth commercially released album, and fifth studio album. It was released on 6 February 2007. The album features vocals from Emmylou Harris on "Trapeze". "Heavenly Day" was the album's first single....
. The album debuted at #34 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
with 27,000 copies sold. Of the album, Griffin told Gibson Lifestyle, “I just kind of felt like singing what I wanted to sing, and playing how I wanted to play. It’s not all dark and tragic. It’s a different way for me to look at things. Getting old—older, I should say, I’m not so serious all the time.” It was also said that the album was inspired by her childhood days.
Griffin's songs have been recorded by artists such as Irish-born singer Maura O'Connell
Maura O'Connell
Maura O'Connell is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music.-Background:...
("Long Ride Home"), Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
("Falling Down"), the Dixie Chicks ("Truth No. 2," "Top of the World," "Let Him Fly"), Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
("Moses"), Beth Nielsen Chapman
Beth Nielsen Chapman
Beth Nielsen Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, mostly known for her numerous hits recorded by country and pop music performers.-Early history:...
, Christine Collister
Christine Collister
Christine Collister is a Manx folk, blues and jazz singer-songwriter. She was born and grew up on the Isle of Man and first came to public attention in 1986 as the singer of the theme song for the BBC's television adaptation of Fay Weldon's book The Life and Loves of a She-Devil.Prior to this, in...
, and Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
("Mary"), Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mary Chapin Carpenter is an American folk and country music artist. Carpenter spent several years singing in Washington, D.C. clubs before signing in the late 1980s with Columbia Records, who marketed her as a country singer...
("Dear Old Friend"), Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
("Let Him Fly"), Martina McBride
Martina McBride
Martina McBride is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range....
("Goodbye"), Melissa Ferrick
Melissa Ferrick
-Early life:Ferrick was raised in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Herfather John was a well-liked public school teacher who managed several free-jazz bands on the side. As a child, Ferrick would often accompany her father to clubs on Boston's North Shore to watch the bands play. She began taking...
and Missy Higgins
Missy Higgins
Melissa "Missy" Morrison Higgins is an Australian pop singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Her No. 1 albums in Australia are The Sound of White and On a Clear Night , and her Top Ten singles are "Scar", "The Special Two", "Steer" and "Where I Stood". From a musical family in...
("Moses"), Emmylou Harris ("One Big Love", "Moon Song"), Bethany Joy Galeotti
Bethany Joy Galeotti
Bethany Joy Galeotti is an American actress, musician, director, writer, and producer.Galeotti is best known for her on screen portrayals of Michelle Bauer Santos on Guiding Light and Haley James Scott on One Tree Hill...
("Blue Sky"), The Wreckers
The Wreckers
-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Singles:-Featured singles:^ Song was credited as Santana with Michelle Branch and The Wreckers.-Music videos:-Awards and nominations:-External links:***...
("One More Girl"), Keri Noble
Keri Noble
Keri Noble is an American singer-songwriter born in Fort Worth, Texas and raised in Detroit. Her father was a Baptist minister, and Noble sang in church as a child. She attended a local Assembly of God school for Jr High and high school in Dearborn Heights...
("When It Don't Come Easy"), Joan Osborne
Joan Osborne
Joan Elizabeth Osborne is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "One of Us". She has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown.-Biography:Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb...
("What You Are"), Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke was an American singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, mortician, and an archbishop of the United House of Prayer For All People. Burke was known as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", and as the "Bishop of Soul", and described as "the Muhammad Ali of soul", and as "the most...
("Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)
Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)
"Up to the Mountain " is a contemporary folk song written by Patty Griffin. The song touches upon emotions surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous 1968 "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, given the day before his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee...
"), and Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert is an American country music artist who gained fame as a finalist on the 2003 season of Nashville Star, where she finished in third place and later signed to Epic Records. Lambert made her debut with the release of "Me and Charlie Talking", the first single from her 2005 debut...
("Getting Ready"). Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
performed "Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)
Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)
"Up to the Mountain " is a contemporary folk song written by Patty Griffin. The song touches upon emotions surrounding Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous 1968 "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech, given the day before his assassination in Memphis, Tennessee...
" with Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
on guitar, accompanied by some orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
tion on the Idol Gives Back
Idol Gives Back
Idol Gives Back is the name of a charitable campaign that spanned two episodes of American Idol during its sixth season. A second Idol Gives Back concert and fundraiser occurred on April 9, 2008, during the seventh season of the show. Idol Gives Back was not held in 2009 due to the ongoing...
episode of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, and the live recording was released as a single immediately afterwards, reaching #56 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in its first week and giving Griffin her highest charting position as a songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
. (The audience gave Clarkson a standing ovation
Standing ovation
A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim...
following her performance.) Griffin herself had said that when she heard Burke
Solomon Burke
Solomon Burke was an American singer-songwriter, entrepreneur, mortician, and an archbishop of the United House of Prayer For All People. Burke was known as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock 'n' Soul", and as the "Bishop of Soul", and described as "the Muhammad Ali of soul", and as "the most...
's version of the song, she almost did not feel worthy of singing it herself anymore. Griffin's version of the song was featured on the fourth season, episode 11 of the popular ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television show, Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
.
Recent work
In September 2008, Griffin was featured on the album Simple Times by indie artist Joshua RadinJoshua Radin
Joshua Radin is an American recording artist, songwriter and actor. He was born and raised in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and is of Swedish, German, Polish, Russian, and Austrian descent. He studied drawing and painting at Northwestern University, following his college years with stints as an art...
, duetting on the song "You Got Growing Up to Do." In October 2008, she appeared in background vocals on Todd Snider
Todd Snider
Todd Daniel Snider is an American singer-songwriter with a musical style that combines Americana, alt-country, and folk.-Biography:...
's cover of John Fogerty's "Fortunate Son" for Snider's Peace Queer album. In February 2009, Griffin was featured on the album Feel That Fire by Dierks Bentley
Dierks Bentley
Dierks Bentley is an American country music artist who has been signed to Capitol Records Nashville since 2003. That year, he released his self-titled debut album. Both it and its follow-up, 2005's Modern Day Drifter, are certified platinum in the United States. A third album, 2006's Long Trip...
, duetting on the song "Beautiful World".
In 2009, Patty Griffin, along with Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples
Mavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
and The Tri-City Singers released a version of the song "Waiting For My Child to Come Home" on the compilation album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration
Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration
"Some of secular music's top acts -- among them Queen Latifah, Jon Bon Jovi, Joss Stone and 3 Doors Down -- take a walk on the spiritual side for Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration."...
.
The collaboration with Staples led EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
's Peter York
Peter York
Peter York, real name Peter Wallis, born 1943, is a British management consultant, author and broadcaster most famous for co-authoring Harpers & Queen's The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook with Ann Barr...
to suggest Griffin make an album of gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
songs. Griffin agreed on the condition that friend and bandmate Buddy Miller
Buddy Miller
Buddy Miller is a country singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee...
produced the record. Griffin's sixth studio album, Downtown Church
Downtown Church
Downtown Church is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Patty Griffin, released on January 26, 2010, by Credential Recordings, a Christian label distributed by EMI. The album was recorded in Downtown Presbyterian Church, Nashville and features different styles. Griffin has stated...
, was recorded at the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville and was released on January 26, 2010. The album features long-time friends Buddy and Julie Miller
Julie Miller
Julie Miller is a songwriter, singer, and recording artist currently living in Nashville, Tennessee. She married Buddy Miller in 1981...
, as well as Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin
Shawn Colvin is an American singer-songwriter and musician.-Childhood and early career:Colvin was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. Her formative years were spent in the town of Carbondale, Illinois, where she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She learned to play guitar at the age...
and Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
. It features songs by Hank Williams, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton
Big Mama Thornton
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952. The song was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks in 1953. The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the single sold almost two million...
, and "All Creatures of Our God and King," a song accredited to St. Francis of Assisi.
In July 2010, Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
toured the United States with Band of Joy
Band of Joy
The Band of Joy are a rock band from England. Various lineups of the group performed from 1965 to 1968 and from 1977 to 1983...
(reprising the name of his very first band in the 1960s). Patty Griffin toured with them as a backing vocalist to Plant, along with singer-guitarist Buddy Miller
Buddy Miller
Buddy Miller is a country singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist and producer, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee...
, multi-instrumentalist
Multi-instrumentalist
A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
and vocalist Darrell Scott
Darrell Scott
James Darrell Scott known as Darrell Scott , the son of musician Wayne Scott with whom he has collaborated, is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He moved as a child to East Gary, Indiana. He was playing professionally by his teens in Southern California, later living in...
, bassist-vocalist Byron House, and drummer-percussionist-vocalist Marco Giovino. She is also featured on Plant's solo album, Band of Joy
Band of Joy (album)
- Personnel :* Bekka Bramlett - backing vocals * Marco Giovino – drums, percussion, backing vocals * Patty Griffin – vocals, backing vocals * Byron House – bass guitar, double bass...
, which was released in September 2010 by Rounder Records.
Film, television, and theater
Griffin has appeared in several movies including Cremaster 2 and in Cameron CroweCameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
's Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown (film)
Elizabethtown is a 2005 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. Alec Baldwin has a small role as a CEO of an athletic shoe company and Susan Sarandon appears as a grieving widow...
the soundtrack of which also included her song "Long Ride Home" and a cover of "Moon River" by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini.
In 2007, the Atlantic Theater Company produced 10 Million Miles, an Off Broadway musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
with Griffin's music as the soundtrack, and a book by Keith Bunin, directed by Michael Mayer.
Griffin's first DVD, "Patty Griffin: Live From The Artists Den" was filmed on February 6, 2007 at the Angel Orensanz Foundation For the Arts
Angel Orensanz Center
The Angel Orensanz Center is located at 172 Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side of New York City, New York...
on New York’s Lower East Side and released later that year. Selections from the DVD were featured on the program Live from the Artists Den on Ovation TV
Ovation TV
Ovation is an American television channel that airs programming dedicated to the arts and contemporary culture. It features programming devoted to performance, people, art, music and film. In addition, Ovation features in-depth profiles on various artists and performers, Arts news from the U.S and...
beginning January 24, 2008.
In 2007, Griffin was singled out by the Americana Music Association and awarded their top honor: Artist of the Year, and her album Children Running Through also received an honor from the Association. She performed "Trapeze" with Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
harmonizing.
On June 13, 2008 Griffin performed an acoustic in the round set in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
with Kris Kristofferson
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
and Randy Owen
Randy Owen
Randy Owen is an American country music artist. He is known primarily for his role as the lead singer of Alabama, a country rock band which saw considerable mainstream success throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Although Alabama only records new albums on occasion, Owen himself has maintained a career...
(Alabama
Alabama (band)
Alabama is a country music and southern rock band from Fort Payne, Alabama, United States. The band was founded in 1969 by Randy Owen and his cousin Teddy Gentry , soon joined by Jeff Cook...
) for a special taping of a PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
songwriters series to be aired in December 2008. Each performer played five songs. In Griffin's case, it features "Making Pies," "No Bad News," "Up to the Mountain," and "Mary."
Griffin's song "Not Alone" (sometimes attributed as "You Are Not Alone"), from her first album, Living with Ghosts
Living with Ghosts
Living with Ghosts is Patty Griffin's debut album and was released on May 21, 1996. According to Billboard the album is Griffin's best seller and has sold 222,000 copies in the United States as of January 2010.-Track listing:...
, was featured in the soundtrack for the hit television series, Without a Trace
Without a Trace
Without a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
, in 2009. It also plays over the final scenes and end credits of the film Niagara, Niagara
Niagara, Niagara
Niagara, Niagara is a 1997 film directed by Bob Gosse, and starring Henry Thomas , Robin Tunney as well as Michael Parks , John Ventimiglia and Stephen Lang ....
(1997).
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
US Christ |
US Folk Folk Albums Folk Albums is a music chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the top selling "current releases by traditional folk artists, as well as appropriate titles by acoustic-based singer-songwriters" in the United States. The chart debuted on the issue dated December 5, 2009... |
US Indie Independent Albums The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels... |
US Rock |
||||||||||
| Living with Ghosts Living with Ghosts Living with Ghosts is Patty Griffin's debut album and was released on May 21, 1996. According to Billboard the album is Griffin's best seller and has sold 222,000 copies in the United States as of January 2010.-Track listing:... |
|
— | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| Flaming Red Flaming Red Flaming Red is Patty Griffin's second album. It was released on June 23, 1998 and reached number 12 on the Top Heatseekers chart. According to Billboard the album has sold 122,000 copies in the U.S. up to May 2004... |
|
— | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1000 Kisses 1000 Kisses 1000 Kisses is Patty Griffin's third commercially released album. It was released on April 9, 2002.The album reached a peak of number 101 on the Billboard 200 chart resulting in a number one peak on the Top Heatseekers chart. According to Billboard the album has sold 151,000 copies in the U.S... |
ATO Records According to Our Records was founded in early 2000 by Dave Matthews , Coran Capshaw, Chris Tetzeli, and Michael McDonald as a division of RCA Records... |
101 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| Impossible Dream Impossible Dream Impossible Dream is Patty Griffin's fifth commercially released album, and fourth studio album. It was released on April 20, 2004. The album features an unlisted song - Griffin's mother and father singing "The Impossible Dream" - at the end of "Top of the World."Impossible Dream reached a peak of... |
Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
67 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| Children Running Through Children Running Through Children Running Through is Patty Griffin's sixth commercially released album, and fifth studio album. It was released on 6 February 2007. The album features vocals from Emmylou Harris on "Trapeze". "Heavenly Day" was the album's first single.... |
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34 | — | — | 2 | — | ||||||||
| Downtown Church Downtown Church Downtown Church is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Patty Griffin, released on January 26, 2010, by Credential Recordings, a Christian label distributed by EMI. The album was recorded in Downtown Presbyterian Church, Nashville and features different styles. Griffin has stated... |
Credential Recordings Credential Recordings is a Nashville-based record label, focusing generally on the pop rock genre. It began branching out when it agreed on a distribution agreement with Lowercase people records for Switchfoot singer Jon Foreman's solo EPs, which tend to be more folk-acoustic in style... |
38 | 1 | 1 | — | 7 | ||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||||||||||||
Live albums
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| A Kiss in Time A Kiss in Time A Kiss in Time is Patty Griffin's fourth commercially released album, and her first live album. It was recorded on 30 January 2003, at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee and released on 7 October of the same year... |
|
Other contributions
- Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music (1998) - "Cain" (recorded live during the 1997 tour)
- Live at the World Café: Vol. 15 - HandcraftedLive at the World Café: Vol. 15 - HandcraftedLive at the World Café: Handcrafted is the fifteenth volume in an ongoing series of compilation albums showcasing artists that appear on the radio program "World Cafe". "World Cafe" is a two-hour long nationally syndicated music program that originates from WXPN, a non-commercial station on the...
(2002, World Café) - "Rain" - 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10 (2002) - "Rain"
- ElizabethtownElizabethtown (soundtrack)The soundtrack for the film Elizabethtown was released September 13, 2005 by RCA Records. A follow up Vol. 2 was also released on February 7, 2006. The original score was released on October 14, 2005...
Soundtrack (2005, RCA RecordsRCA RecordsRCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
) - "Long Ride Home", "Moon River" - Oh Happy DayOh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration"Some of secular music's top acts -- among them Queen Latifah, Jon Bon Jovi, Joss Stone and 3 Doors Down -- take a walk on the spiritual side for Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration."...
(2009, EMI Gospel/Vector Recordings) - "Waiting For My Child To Come Home" (with Mavis StaplesMavis StaplesMavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
and The Tri-City Singers) - Live at the World Cafe: Vol. 5 (1997, World Cafe Records) - "Every Little Bit"
- Live at the World Cafe: Vol. 16 - Sweet Sixteen (World Cafe Records) - "Makin' Pies"
Guest singles
| Year | Single | Artist | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
||||
| 2009 | "Seeing Stars" | Jack Ingram Jack Ingram Jack Owen Ingram is an American Texas Country artist signed to Big Machine Records, an independent record label. He has released eight studio albums, one extended play, six live albums and eighteen singles. Although active since 1992, Ingram did not reach the U.S. country Top 40 until the late... |
54 | Big Dreams & High Hopes Big Dreams & High Hopes -Album:-Singles:... |
External links
- Official website
- Patty Griffin at the Internet Off Broadway DatabaseLortel ArchivesThe Lortel Archives, or the Internet Off-Broadway Database is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway.The archives are named in honor of actress and theatrical producer Lucille Lortel.-See also:...