Kenneth W. Griffin


Kenneth W. "Ken" Griffin, was an American organist.

Biography

Griffin was born in Columbia, Missouri. His biggest hit was "You Can't Be True, Dear", which was first released as an instrumental, and later that year re-released with a vocal by Jerry Wayne dubbed in. Both versions became popular, selling over 3.5 million copies. He also starred in a 1954-55 syndicated television series, 67 Melody Lane. He recorded on a variety of recording labels, especially Columbia.
It was in the 1940s in Aurora, Illinois, that Griffin broke into the nightclub circuit, playing at the Rivoli Cafe nightly. The sessions at the Rivoli cafe were broadcast on the radio station, WMRO, and the program became popular. Griffin died on March 11, 1956 in Chicago, Illinois at the age of 46, of a heart attack and was buried at Lincoln Memorial Park in Aurora. Columbia had many hours of Griffin's unreleased recordings on tape, and continued to release "new" recordings of Griffin's music for a number of years after his death. His version of Ebb Tide was played in the fifth-season premiere of the TV drama Mad Men.

Partial discography