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Texan Jeff Griffith’s debut album, IF IT AIN'T ONE THING IT'S ANOTHER, was released in October of 2007, and its success has launched Griffith on to stages ranging from world-famous honky tonks (Fort Worth's Stagecoach Ballroom and Pearl's Dancehall, 11th Street Cowboy Bar of Bandera, Texas) to the prestigious CMA Music Festival (2008) in Nashville, Tennessee and the world-renowned Country Rendez-Vous Festival in Craponne-sur-Azon, France (2009). Appearances on powerhouse airways like Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, WSM Radio, Y100 Radio and television’s GAC TV's Master Series With Bill Cody, Inside Music Row and Crossroads Live TV have made Jeff seem like an "overnight success" instead of a "country newcomer." Griffith's instantly-identifiable voice is a proven winner, and it's ringing true with traditional country music lovers in the U.S. and abroad. The debut CD gave Jeff a steady stream of hits that included Drinkin’ Thing; Fishin’ Forever; Holed Up In Some Honky Tonk ; If It Ain’t One Thing It’s Another ; I’m Your Radio and She Reminds Me Of You. From his first single to his most-recent hit, Jeff's distinctive baritone has won him fans, inspired line dances and become a familiar presence at country radio stations worldwide. For Griffith, a "small town kid" from Santa Fe, Texas, the success is humbling. "Sometimes I just can’t believe this is all real," he says. "It’s been a whirlwind." And, performing regularly for live audiences has proven to be an eye-opening good time. "Folks really do want to hear traditional country music," he comments. "And that’s just what I give ‘em." Jeff jump-started the second phase of his career earlier this year when he picked up the pen and started writing songs. This new passion is already bringing him success, and his current single, "Dip Me In Beer," is the first of his compositions to be recorded. Written with Hobson Smith and produced by Bill Green, the song is the first release from Jeff's upcoming CD. "We actually heard a guy say that phrase in a club one night," Jeff says with his trademark grin. "And we knew we had a great ‘hook.’" The song has "hooked" everyone -from programmers to fans - and it’s shaping up to be one of Griffith’s biggest records yet. Raised on a dairy farm, Jeff got his first guitar at the age of seven. His first public performance was as a scrawny eighth-grader, and he recalls that night fondly. "I was nervous, don’t get me wrong. But when that curtain went up, and we started playing ‘Johnny B. Good,’ I knew that performing was what I wanted to do." By the age of 14, Griffith was playing lead guitar in a cover band and working the honky tonks around Houston on weekends. "I was so young," he says. "I had to have a chaperone!" It was fun while it lasted, but reality came crashing in when his father suffered a debilitating stroke when Jeff was just 17. "He had a concrete business," Griffith says of his father. "And after the stroke he couldn’t work. I’d just married my childhood sweetheart, Donna, so I quit school to take over the business to support my folks." Shortly thereafter, the first of Jeff’s three children were born. "I made myself a promise then," says Griffith. "I’d quit performing professionally and focus on being a family man. I’d get my kids through high school - and then I’d pursue making music again." Jeff’s youngest child was just three months shy of her graduation when his good friend (and manager), Charlie Patterson, stepped in. "I’d been playing the club circuit around San Antonio, basically gigging every chance I got," Jeff says. "Charlie thought I was ready for bigger and better things." Patterson arranged for Jeff to meet his longtime friend, country legend Joe Stampley. Stampley was so impressed that he told Charlie it was time to take Jeff in to the studio. They recorded IF IT AIN’T ONE THING IT’S ANOTHER, and the rest, as they say, is history. "I've been gigging all over (Texas, Louisiana, Minnesota and beyond)," Griffith says from his home in Spring Branch, Texas. "I never thought I'd get this far with my music, so there's no tellin' where this road will lead. I'm busy writing more songs for the new album, and can't wait to hear what folks think." With a whiskey-soaked voice that speaks to the "everyman," Griffith's soul-baring traditional sound should take him as far as he wants to go. |
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