Ray Griff
Encyclopedia
Ray Griff is a Canadian country music
singer and songwriter from Vancouver
, British Columbia. Griff began songwriting in the early 1960s and had early cuts by Johnny Horton
, Jim Reeves
, and others. Griff moved to Nashville
in 1964 to pursue his music career full-time. His first records as a singer were released in the late 1960s and Griff had his first hit, "Patches", a remake of the Clarence Carter
soul hit in 1970 which peaked at #26 in Billboard
. Griff recorded for the small country label Royal American and later moved on to Dot Records
without much success. His stint at Capitol Records
from 1975-1979 proved more successful, racking up eight more country top 40 hits, the most successful being 1976's "If I Let Her Come In" which peaked at #11.
Griff's success as a songwriter, however, has always overshadowed his recording work with over 700 songs recorded including the major hits "Canadian Pacific
" for George Hamilton IV
, "Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano" for Jerry Lee Lewis
, and "Baby" for Wilma Burgess
. Others who have had major hit record with Griff songs include Faron Young
, Porter Wagoner
& Dolly Parton
, Bob Luman
, Gene Watson
, and Johnny Duncan
.
Griff returned to Canada in the late 1970s and remains active on the country music scene there as an artist, songwriter, and record producer.
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...
singer and songwriter from Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia. Griff began songwriting in the early 1960s and had early cuts by Johnny Horton
Johnny Horton
John Gale "Johnny" Horton was an American country music and rockabilly singer most famous for his semi-folk, so-called "saga songs" which began the "historical ballad" craze of the late 1950s and early 1960s...
, Jim Reeves
Jim Reeves
James Travis Reeves , better known as Jim Reeves, was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well-known for being a practitioner of the Nashville sound...
, and others. Griff moved to Nashville
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...
in 1964 to pursue his music career full-time. His first records as a singer were released in the late 1960s and Griff had his first hit, "Patches", a remake of the Clarence Carter
Clarence Carter
Clarence Carter is a blind American soul singer and musician.-Life and career:Born in Montgomery, Alabama on 14 January 1936, Carter attended the Alabama School for the Blind in Talladega, Alabama, and Alabama State College in Montgomery, graduating in August 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree...
soul hit in 1970 which peaked at #26 in Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
. Griff recorded for the small country label Royal American and later moved on to Dot Records
Dot Records
Dot Records was an American record label and company that was active between 1950 and 1977. It was founded by Randy Wood. In Gallatin, Tennessee, Wood had earlier started a mail order record shop, known for its radio ads on WLAC in Nashville and its R&B air personality Bill "Hoss" Allen...
without much success. His stint at Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
from 1975-1979 proved more successful, racking up eight more country top 40 hits, the most successful being 1976's "If I Let Her Come In" which peaked at #11.
Griff's success as a songwriter, however, has always overshadowed his recording work with over 700 songs recorded including the major hits "Canadian Pacific
Canadian Pacific (song)
"Canadian Pacific" is the title of a song written by Ray Griff and recorded by American country music artist George Hamilton IV. It was released in June 1969 as the first single from his album Canadian Pacific. The song peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached...
" for George Hamilton IV
George Hamilton IV
George Hege Hamilton IV is an American country musician. He began performing in the late 1950s as a teen idol, later switching to country music in the early 1960s.-Biography:Hamilton was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina...
, "Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano" for Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, and "Baby" for Wilma Burgess
Wilma Burgess
Wilma Burgess was an American country music singer. She rose to fame in the mid 1960s and charted fifteen singles on the Billboard C&W charts between 1965 and 1975.-Background:...
. Others who have had major hit record with Griff songs include Faron Young
Faron Young
Faron Young was an American country music singer and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s and one of its most successful and colorful stars...
, Porter Wagoner
Porter Wagoner
Porter Wayne Wagoner was a popular American country music singer known for his flashy Nudie and Manuel suits and blond pompadour. He introduced the young Dolly Parton near the beginning of her career on his long-running television show, and they were a well-known duet throughout the late 1960s and...
& Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress and philanthropist, best known for her work in country music. Dolly Parton has appeared in movies like 9 to 5, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Steel Magnolias and Straight Talk...
, Bob Luman
Bob Luman
Bob Luman was an American country and rockabilly singer.-Early life and career:...
, Gene Watson
Gene Watson
Gary Gene Watson is an American country singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit "Love in the Hot Afternoon," his 1982 hit "Fourteen Carat Mind," and his signature song "Farewell Party." Watson's long career has notched six number ones, 23 top tens and over 75 charted singles.-Biography:Watson...
, and Johnny Duncan
Johnny Duncan (country music artist)
Johnny Richard Duncan was an American country singer. In his career, he released fourteen studio albums, including thirteen on Columbia Records...
.
Griff returned to Canada in the late 1970s and remains active on the country music scene there as an artist, songwriter, and record producer.
Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | A Ray of Sunshine | 42 | Dot |
| 1973 | Songs for Everyone | 22 | |
| 1975 | Expressions | 47 | ABC/Dot |
| 1976 | Ray Griff | 31 | Capitol |
| 1977 | The Last of the Winfield Amateurs | 44 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN Country | CAN AC | 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... |
|||
| 1965 | "Weeping Willow Tree"A | 6 | — | — | Singles only |
| "Don't Lead Me On" | 10 | — | — | ||
| "Golden Years" | 2 | — | — | ||
| 1967 | "Your Lily White Hands" | — | — | 49 | A Ray of Sunshine |
| 1968 | "The Sugar from My Candy" | 14 | — | 50 | |
| 1969 | "Wanderin' Through the Valley" | 18 | — | — | Singles only |
| "The Entertainer" | 6 | — | — | ||
| 1970 | "Patches" | 13 | 30 | 26 | |
| "Ain't Nowhere to Go" | 42 | 18 | — | ||
| 1971 | "The Mornin' After My Baby Let Me Down" | 12 | — | 14 | Songs for Everyone |
| 1972 | "It Rains Just the Same in Missouri" | 19 | — | 62 | |
| 1973 | "A Song for Everyone" | 38 | 78 | 66 | |
| "What Got to You (Before It Got to Me)" | 5 | — | 46 | ||
| "Darlin'" | 26 | — | 42 | ||
| 1974 | "That Doesn't Mean (I Don't Love My God)" | 12 | — | 65 | Expressions |
| "The Hill" | 18 | — | 91 | ||
| 1975 | "If That's What It Takes" | — | — | 65 | Single only |
| "You Ring My Bell" | 40 | — | 16 | Ray Griff | |
| 1976 | "If I Let Her Come In If I Let Her Come In "If I Let Her Come In" is a single by Canadian country music artist Ray Griff. Released in 1976, it was the second single from his album Ray Griff. The song reached number one on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada in April 1976.-Chart performance:... " |
1 | — | 11 | |
| "I Love the Way That You Love Me" | 36 | — | 40 | ||
| "That's What I Get (For Doin' My Own Thinkin')" | 9 | — | 24 | The Last of the Winfield Amateurs | |
| "The Last of the Winfield Amateurs" | 11 | — | 27 | ||
| 1977 | "You Put the Bounce Back into My Step" | — | — | flip | |
| "A Passing Thing" | 20 | — | 28 | ||
| "A Cold Day in July" | 33 | — | 69 | Singles only | |
| "Raymond's Place" | 41 | — | 52 | ||
| 1978 | "Canada" | 22 | — | — | |
| 1979 | "Betty Mitchell" | 43 | — | — | |
| "Friends and Neighbours" | 55 | — | — | ||
| 1981 | "Jimmy, Luke and Me" | 48 | — | — | |
| "Draw Me a Line" | 24 | — | 87 | ||
| 1982 | "Things That Songs Are Made Of" | 30 | — | 95 | |
| 1983 | "If Tomorrow Never Comes" | 8 | — | 86 | |
| "You Can Count on Me" | 33 | — | — | ||
| 1984 | "So Close" | 30 | — | — | |
| "Diamond in the Rough" | 52 | — | — | ||
| 1985 | "A Light in the Window" | 48 | — | — | |
| "I Did" | 51 | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "What My Woman Does to Me" | 50 | — | 71 | |
| 1987 | "That Old Montana Moon" | 40 | — | — | |
| 1988 | "Light as a Feather" (with Glory-Anne Carriere) | 37 | — | — | |
| "Honest to Goodness Amigos" (with Ronnie Prophet Ronnie Prophet Ronald Lawrence Victor Prophet is a Canadian-born country musician and comedy performer.In his childhood, Ronnie Prophet lived in Calumet, Quebec and began performing at local venues in his youth. His successful musical career in the United States began in the mid-1960s... ) |
86 | — | — | ||
| 1990 | "Flames" | 78 | — | — | |
| "Daybreak" | 47 | — | — |
- A"Weeping Willow Tree" also peaked at #39 on the Canadian Singles ChartCanadian Singles ChartThe Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
.