Yesterday, the world lost one of the most loved actors of the television era with the passing of Andy Griffith.
Andy Griffith I Love to Tell a Story
From The Andy Griffith Show to Matlock and his turns in film, especially in the superb A Face in the Crowd, Griffith was a leading comedy actor who was also more than comfortable in drama.
What many forget was that Griffith also had a recording career and music was often a part of his acting roles. As drifter Lonesome Rhodes in Crowd, Andy can be heard singing while in jail. He starred on Broadway in the musical Destry Rides Again (1957) and it wasn’t unusual for him to be heard singing during some episodes of both the Griffith Show and Matlock.
As a recording artist, Griffith first came to prominence in 1953 as a monologist. His Colonial Records (and later Capitol) single What It Was, Was Football was credited to Deacon Andy Griffith and portrayed a backwards preacher and his description (and misinterpretation) of the first football game that he had ever seen. It went on to sell almost one million copies and is still one of the biggest selling comedy records of all time.
Griffith also made it to the Hot 100 in 1955 with Make Yourself Comfortable, which reached number 26. He released the comedy album Just For Laughs in 1958 (which contained the football monologue) and, in 1959, switched to folk music with Shouts the Blues and Old Timey Songs.
His recording career was a bit sparser over the ensuing decades with only a couple of albums, including one featuring the whistled theme to the Andy Griffith Show called The Fishin’ Hole but, in 1993, he once again took up recording with American Originals. He followed with a number of other projects, most in the religious/gospel genre. He won the 1997 Grammy for Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album for I Love to Tell a Story: 25 Timeless Hymns.
Griffith is also credited with advancing bluegrass music’s visibility with the public when he hired the Dillards to play the backwoods musicians the Darlings on the Griffith Show.
Griffith is a member of the Country Gospel Hall of Fame (1999) and the Christian Music Hall of Fame (2007). Martin Guitars produced a signature model D-18 guitar carrying Andy’s name. He was also a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
Four years ago, he was part of the Country Music Associations Video of the Year when he appeared in the Brad Paisley video for Waitin’ on a Woman. Paisley tweeted on Tuesday “Andy Griffith entertained the world. He improved our lives, and I was so proud to work with him call him a friend. Love you Andy. Go rest.” He followed with a picture of the two on the set of the video, stating “One of the highlights of my life.”
