Gary Griffin (musician)

Gary Griffin (born October 26, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American musician, best known for performing as a keyboardist and vocalist with The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Jan and Dean and The Surf City Allstars.^[1]

Early career

Griffin grew up in Cincinnati and attended Miami University and the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music, where he majored in piano and music theory. ^[2]

In 1977, Griffin moved to Los Angeles where he was hired as an organist by The Beach Boys, joining them for the recording of their Warner Brothers album M.I.U.,^[1] as well as several other related productions, Almost Summer by spin-off group Celebration and Weavings by jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd.

Griffin toured and recorded with Jan and Dean throughout the 80’s and 90’s,^[2] and has appeared as a regular on several television shows, most notably General Hospital and Full House.^[1] In 2000, Griffin served as music director, alongside producer John Stamos, for the Emmy-nominated television mini-series, The Beach Boys: An American Family for ABC. He also appeared as a recording engineer and bass guitarist in the film.^[2]

Griffin has produced an eclectic roster of artists, most notably Micky Dolenz of The Monkees, political satirist Harry Shearer.,^[3][4] Dave Coulier, singer Sandra Stephens, Laura Hall of television's, "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" and long time The Beach Boys band member Jeffrey Foskett. He also co-produced the music for the PBS television series, “Edens: Lost and Found”, “And Thou Shalt Honor” and "Designing Healthy Communities".^[5][6]

In 2008, Griffin was featured prominently in the best-selling book, When We Get To Surf City, by Bob Greene, an account of life on the road with the Jan and Dean band in the 90’s.^[7] He has continued to work with various members of The Beach Boys, most recently as a keyboardist and engineer for their 50th anniversary CD, That's Why God Made the Radio.^[1]

Recent Years

Griffin has toured and recorded with Brian Wilson in recent years, contributing to his CD's That Lucky Old Sun, Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin and In the Key of Disney.

Additionally, Griffin performs with The Surf City Allstars^[1] He co-produced their CD's Acoustic Vibrations and Live with the band's drummer, David Logeman.

In July, 2013, he appeared with John Stamos on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon at the host’s request. He performed as part of a reunion of Jesse and the Rippers, the fictitious band from Full House.^[8]

Griffin has engineered several recent recordings by legendary pop music notables, such as Petula Clark, Jimmy Webb, Christopher Cross, Al Kooper, Rod McKuen and Mark Lindsay.

Recent productions include The Bamboo Trading Company (2013)— a group consisting of surf music cohorts Randell Kirsch, Phil Bardowell, Matt Jardine and Dean Torrence— and Keep a Little Christmas (2014), which is his third CD collaboration with singer Nita Whitaker.

Griffin appears as session musician, Al DeLory in the Brian Wilson biopic, "Love and Mercy (film)", starring John Cusack, Paul Giamatti and Paul Dano, released in the summer of 2015.^[9]

In the summer of 2015, he was a featured performer and bandleader in The Beach Boys Tribute, a fundraiser for the City of Hope by the Get Together Foundation. He also reprised those duties for Rock and Roll Christmas later that year, a fundraiser for MusiCares.^[10] In February, 2016, Gary (and The Rippers) appeared in the premiere episode of the Netflix series, Fuller House, the sequel to Full House.^[9]

In 2016, Griffin will again be working with Brian Wilson, singing and playing keyboards and vibes on the Pet Sounds 50th Anniversary World Tour.

Family

Gary is the son of famed WWII navigator, Tom Griffin (aviator), a member of the Doolittle Raiders, and has been married since 2011 to Elizabeth Fogle Griffin.

References