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You are here: Home / Music / Nanci Griffith RIP…Taken Too Soon.

Nanci Griffith RIP…Taken Too Soon.

by | 60 Comments

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Like a number of commenters in Betty’s post below, I just learned that Nanci Griffith has died at the way-too-young age of 68.

We’ve lost too many good ones lately–John Prine still stings, and there are so many others. This one hurts. A friend of mine turned me on to Griffiths in the late 80s–about a decade late, given that she released her first album in 1978. She wrote beautiful songs and sang them like angel; she covered great music and made those pieces come to life anew; she did duets and trios and ensembles and every grouping was better for her presence. I listened to her a lot in the months after my friend played her album Lone Star State for Mind for me, and that was part of the soundtrack of my life for a while, up to and including the time I met the woman foolish enough to agree to marry me.

I’m sure many here have favorites; toss the titles (and links if you have them) into the comments.  Here are a few to be going on with, not an attempt at a greatest list, just some of the ones that I have loved.

Damn, Nanci. It’s a poorer world without you in it, and one sounding so much less sweet.

Here’s one Raven praised below:

 

Here’s a cover duet she did with Townes Van Zandt on one of his songs that breaks my heart every time I listen to it:

 

This one always makes me smile:

 

Here she is covering a John Prine tune (you knew I was going to post this one):

 

Finally, I don’t know if you can say Griffith had a single singular tune, the one you think of first when you think of her. But at a minimum, this is a good one with which to sing her out:

“When you get to be four or five years old you wake up one morning and you walk into the living room and look out at the members of your family and you scratch your head and think to yourself ‘why do I always have to hang around with these people. And then you go out and you find yourself a friend…”

Rest in peace, Nanci. You gave the world a gift; we are richer for your presence and saddened by your leaving.

Reader Interactions

60Comments

  1. 1.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    damn

    She’d kind of fallen off my radar, but my sister turned me on to her many years ago, I think she saw them with the Chieftains?. A beautifully haunting voice

  2. 2.

    Haroldo

    The tune ‘Once in a Very Blue Moon’ was my introduction to her.  And I was then a fan forever.

    I seem to remember her recounting that she received uncountable marriage proposals.  Understandable.

  5. 5.

    There go two miscreants

    I don’t remember exactly what songs of hers I first started listening to…it was over 25 years ago and has faded. I think my favorite is her duet with Ian Tyson, Summer Wages, on Other Voices 2. But Other Voices 1 is probably my favorite of her albums; lots of great songs there.

  6. 6.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Republican is the way you vote
    You’ve got a sticker on your bumper that’s how I know
    And you think true love is around this bend
    You’ve been around the bend since the age of ten
    But you think you’ve got it made
    Think you’ve got it made
    Think you’ve got it made
    When you’re one blade shy of a sharp edge
    Now, I’m a little too old for your toupee curls
    I’m a full grown woman and you’re lookin’ for girls
    Hey, it’s Saturday night so go on down the road
    I’ll cancel you out when I go to the polls
    But you think you got it mad

    1991

  7. 7.

    Dan B

    James Hormel died as well.  He was a good one who did not die young – 88.  He was the first gay ambassador.  Clinton appointed him to Luxembourg in a recess appointment.  The right wing and evangelicals believed it would insult Luxembourg.  He also was a philanthropist who kick started significant parts of the LGBT infrastructure we have today.  He leaves behind a husband and children.

  10. 10.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Dan B: Was it Jesse Helms leading the opposition to his appointment? (A safe bet, but I don’t remember exactly). One of my earliest memories of John McCain as a politician was him being asked if his sexuality was a reason to deny Hormel confirmation. McCain gave a simple and straightforward “no”. A fairly evolved position for a Republican in 1993.

    RIP, Ambassador.

  13. 13.

    MomSense

    This makes me so sad.  It’s hard to lose the artists who have seen us through the good and the bad times in life.

    ETA in the Townes song above he sings a lyric “her ways were free and it seemed to me the sunshine walked beside her”  Perfect way to describe Nanci.

  14. 14.

    Dan B

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: I don’t know who led the charge against Hormel.

    I believe the current Premier of Luxembourg is gay and married his husband in 2015 while PM.  Seems Luxembourg wasn’t insulted much.

  15. 15.

    Citizen Scientist

    I saw Nanci G live  one time back in the early 90s.  She opened for Hootie and the Blowfish, and I only remember her playing LSSOM and a Buddy Holly cover.  I have been a fan since.  TFG is alive and she and John Prime are not.  There’s no justice in this world.

  16. 16.

    The Dangerman

    @Haroldo: 

    Absolutely. She had a unique gift (and I’m talking about more than her singing). Among other things, she told great stories. I saw her with Jim Messina opening once and she walked on stage early to talk about her time as a teacher (Kindergarten, IIRC) and she would sing songs like House at Pooh Corner for her kids.

    She helped me find some amazing artists. Bela Fleck and the Flectones. Marc Cohn. There were many others.

    I always misted up to the autobiographical There’s a light beyond these woods when perhaps her one true soul mate passed away too young. Yes, there is (was?) a Mary Margaret and John.

    Sad day.

  18. 18.

    Betty Cracker

    I don’t know how I missed hearing about her all these years, but I’m sorry to hear we’ve lost a great musician. Will have to explore what I’ve been missing!

  24. 24.

    Anne Laurie

    We saw her live around the time just before she released her first album, in a church basement in a Michigan college town. The not-yet-Spousal-Unit was a bit grumpy about being dragged out to see yet another female singer-songwriter, but Ms. Griffith knew how to win over audience, even apart from her singing talents. I’ll always have a special spot in my heart for St Olav’s Gate, which she introduced with an amazing three-minute riff on playing ‘American country music’ in Norwegian bars (Every time we came back, the bandstand had been built up a little higher, but that didn’t discourage the drunks from tossin’ their empties at us… At least back in Texas, the drunks look before they toss, but the Norwegian drunks don’t care! )…

  26. 26.

    dexwood

    Saw her open for John Prine once and as the main attraction twice. Great nights. Thanks, Nanci.

  27. 27.

    trollhattan

    Do not know her work well, but she has a sweet and affecting voice and great songs. Need to fix that. (Confess I also mix her up with Patty Griffin.)

    RIP Nanci, surely gone too soon.

  28. 28.

    prostratedragon

    Haven’t seen yet, but I’ll bet that wfmt.com will pay significant tribute to her tomorrow night. Saturdays from 9pm to 1am are folk time.

  29. 29.

    burnspbesq

    “Love at the Five and Dime” was the one that did it for me. First heard Kathy Mattea’s version, and that led me to her (in much the same way that Tom Rush covers led me to Jackson Browne and Bruce Cockburn).

    Damn damn damn.

  32. 32.

    Honus

    @Dan B:I knew James Hormel, his kids are friends of mine. I thought it was great that during his confirmation hearing when Jesse Helms was smearing him for being gay that his ex-wife Alice and his five grown children were in the gallery cheering and supporting his appointment.

  35. 35.

    MP

    I always thought her cover of Tecumseh Valley was up there with John Prine’s Sam Stone when it came to sadness, but the beauty with which she sang it made it sadder still. My guitar instructor in Chicago met her once and said she could could cuss like a gruff-voiced sailor, but you’d have no idea when you heard her sing.

  36. 36.

    Almost Retired

    She was spectacular.  She should have been more famous than she was, but I have yet to meet anyone familiar with her work who didn’t love her.  Saw her at McCabes in Santa Monica many years ago..can’t remember when, but I was young enough to not complain about artists taking the stage after 8:00 pm.

  38. 38.

    William D

    Her Other Voices Other Rooms ( the first one) is on my essential cd list….songs every person who likes prine and Lightfoot and dylan should know

  39. 39.

    A Ghost to Most

    Not a name I’m familiar with.  Sorry for your loss. I was angered when John Prine died. One more reason to hate Republicans.

  40. 40.

    Another Scott

    I think I first came across her in the W years. My (potentially faulty) recollection is that she was a fierce critic of him, but didn’t get as much visibility as The Dixie Chicks.

    CNN (from 2009):

    CNN: Being a folk singer and your views being what they are, was it tougher or maybe easier to write songs from 2000 to 2008?

    Nanci Griffith: It was very difficult for me. I was hurt by the direction my country was going in. And then, after [the 2008 election], everything came spilling out. Things came along like the Mildred and Richard Loving case (“The Loving Kind”), where Mildred died, and I read her obituary. [The Lovings were a couple whose interracial marriage was against the law in Virginia at the time.] That was such an inspiration. … Just wondering why I never knew about this and how important that case is currently with equality in marriage. Little things. Bit by bit, my heart started to open up again, and I could write!

    CNN: Had you ever gone through that before?

    Griffith: No, never in my life. I’ve always been a very prolific writer.

    CNN: Now, what about writing in the age of Obama?

    Griffith: (laughs) It feels great! People may be down on their luck, financially. But I see so much optimism about the direction of the country and [general] openness.

    CNN: Now, in addition to “The Loving Kind,” there are other songs based on actual events on this record. Tell me about “Not Innocent Enough.”

    Griffith: That’s based on Philip Workman’s case in Memphis [Tennessee]. He was robbing a Wendy’s — was a heroin addict — and police came in, and an officer was killed. Now, Workman didn’t kill him; it was friendly fire. Workman was convicted anyway and executed. I’m a total abolitionist when it comes to the death penalty, but this case really stunned me, because I feel like this country has evolved enough to where we shouldn’t have to live with the death penalty.

    CNN: Is it hard as a writer/musician to inhabit those songs, knowing that they are actual events?

    Griffith: Not really. I feel like, in some ways, I’m just a journalist. I don’t express my opinion [in the songs], necessarily. But it’s important to me that my audience hear these stories. I want as many people to know about Loving v. Virginia as possible.

    CNN: Do you feel like it’s a more palatable way to become aware of a story like that when a song is attached to it?

    Griffith: I do. I’ve been informed many times through music. Pete Seeger, Odetta, Dave Van Ronk, Bruce Springsteen … so many folk songwriters. It’s all around you.

    CNN: The song “Still Life” — I suspect that’s about President George W. Bush?

    Griffith: It’s about people like him. This country is full of them, and especially my home state of Texas. It’s a [perspective on] people who go through life getting away with everything.

    CNN: Do you feel a sense of vindication with President Obama’s election, or at least a sense that things are moving in a direction you’re in favor of?

    Griffith: I hope so. Right now, he is my hero. So is his wife.

    A great talent, definitely gone too soon.

    Condolences to her friends and family and all who loved her.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  41. 41.

    J R in WV

    Not to diminish Ms Griffith’s passing, but Tony Bennett, now 95 and has sung duets with a ton of great women, has to decline to continue his touring career. He can still sing, evidently, but has dementia, and can no longer travel.

    I gave my father, a huge fan of big bands and the mid-century music of his life, a Tony Bennett k d lang album, which he did not expect to enjoy. It instantly became a favorite of his, which didn’t surprise me a single tiny bit. He performed with Lady Gaga, who is also a master of all she ever has done.

    So sad to age out and have to see your idols pass before you. Beats the alternative, tho… Ms Griffith also ranked among the masters of the musical arts! I hope she and John Prine and Towns Van Sandt are all playing together in the sky world, having a great time together!

  44. 44.

    J R in WV

    @Honus:

    Still Bill from Slab Fork, West Virginia. A great one.

    I learned to drive out around Slab Fork. That’s near my home turf!! Big steep hills, twisty roads….

    ETA: Wyoming county, very rough coal country.

    Was a Caperton coal camp, one of which [Gaston] was actually elected governor. I actually voted for him.

  46. 46.

    rachel

    It’s a Hard Life Wherever You Go is her song that first hooked me. It’s even more relevant today, sadly ?.

  50. 50.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @J R in WV:

    Not to diminish Ms Griffith’s passing, but Tony Bennett, now 95 and has sung duets with a ton of great women, has to decline to continue his touring career. He can still sing, evidently, but has dementia, and can no longer travel.

    That’s a shame. He’s an icon. Hoping he has a contented and comfortable retirement.

  51. 51.

    TriassicSands

    I first listened to Nanci Griffith decades ago and I’ve never been able to imagine her older than thirty.

    The world is a poorer place…

  52. 52.

    TriassicSands

    @Wvng:

    I think her cover is better than his — very fine — original.

    My favorite song of hers was Jerry Jeff Walker’s “Morning Song for Sally.”

  54. 54.

    Balconesfault

    @Haroldo: Once in A Very Blue Moon used to be “The Song” for the former Ms. Balconesfault after we saw her on the UT Campus while in Grad School.

    More appropriate now than during the 27 years we were together.

  57. 57.

    206inKY

    Every time I remember we lost John Prine to this fucking pandemic, my heart breaks all over again.

  60. 60.

    Are you gonna eat that sandwich

    A friend of mine in law school used to sing in local coffee houses and I remember going to see one of her shows. This had to be late 1985 or early 1986. She did a beautiful cover of “Love at the Five and Dime” which I’d never heard before. The next day I bought “The Last of the True Believers”, my first Nanci Griffith CD.

    A few years later I saw her perform a couple of times in small venues in DC. As beautiful as her recorded music is, her live performances were even more amazing. I will always picture her as she was in those shows. Hard to believe she’s gone so soon.

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