| TENNESSEE CONCERTS TRIBUTE TO DOUGLAS GRIFFITHS |
| For those of you who had the privilege of getting to know Doug, I wanted to let you know that we'll be having a memorial service for him at 2:00 PM this Sunday (Nov. 8). We'll have the service at our CITY center at 11853 Lebanon Road, Suite A in Mt. Juliet. From the moment he first connected with our church, Doug began serving others as much as he was able. Please join me in praying for his family as they grieve their loss. Doug said that he wanted this to be a "happy" time, so as 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 says, we don't "grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." Doug will be missed, but we look forward to seeing him again. |
Dad brought home an organ when
I was a kid, and put it in the living
room where he could entertain
company. I took lessons for a few
months and quit. Bought a
Wurlitzer electric piano and a
Farfisa organ and played both in a
high school band, The
Establishment. I was the first and
only player in the area who played
2 instruments at the same time.
We got a gig at one of the year's big
dances at the high school and we
were the first band allowed to turn
off all the lights in the gym so we
could have a light show... which
was just strobe lights, but nobody
had seen a show like it before and
we were a big hit. I went to college
in Syracuse and majored in
Theatre. Got with a rock band
called "Second Hand" and played a
bunch of college town gigs from
Syracuse to Potsdam, NY.
That was my first experience
playing a (borrowed) A-100,
and we played everything from
Steppenwolf, Deep Purple,
James Brown, Sly & the Family
Stone to the BeeGees.We didn't
have the sophisticated
PA systems like we have now,
so everything the audience heard
came from behind the musicians
except vocals, and by the end of
Saturday night at a packed house
weekend performance in Potsdam,
my hearing was completely shut
down and I couldn't hear until the
following Wednesday. Did some
permanent damage there.
Friends would ask me to play at
their weddings, and I got into
playing pop music on giant pipe
organs from time to time in the
70's. Even had the opportunity
offered me by the deans of the
Eastman School of Music and
Syracuse University to attend those
schools free and play concerts on
their big pipe organs, but that's
another story I won't get into here.;
Bought a big Lowrey organ and a
Hammond Porta-B & Leslie and
spent most of the 70's playing both
(at right angles to each other) and
kicking bass with my left foot. Got
tired of recorded drums and drum
machines and Holiday Inns and
hired a drummer and got into the
club scene for the last few years of
the 70's to the early 80's. Burned
out on having to kick bass all night
while playing 2 organs and singing
every song, so I cancelled 13
months of gigs and went broke.
Joined an all original
rock/fusion/funk band called
"Passenger" in '83, which was the
only band I've played with that had
roadies and hired concert sound &
lights, and an opening act each
time we played, and when that
broke up I got a guitar player and
we did a commercial rock duo for a
while. Got with a 7 piece r&b group
called "Hollywood Al & the Mix" and
found out I play really well with a
black band. "When A Man Loves
A Woman", "Tighten Up", "Shotgun",
"Rainy Night In Georgia", and
songs in that venue became my
regular diet for several years. We
opened at Rochester's Downtown
Festival Tent for the "Kingsmen"
and "Otis Day & the Knights" in the
late 80's. Started playing with and
building a reputation for an
emerging blues star, Chris Beard,
around upstate NY after that, and
had the moniker of "Rochester's
only white soul brother" attached to
me by Chester McMillan from
B.B. King's band after filling in for a
TV show that I wasn't aware we were
taping, and aired on Rochester's
black TV station. Since coming to
Nashville I've jammed with a huge
number of artists, and toured for a
while with blues recording artist
Burton Gaar, before he was
hospitalized. I worked with local
favorites "Smoking Gun" around
Nashville and surrounding
counties. I also played for
Clifford Curry, best known for
"She Shot A Hole In My Soul",
as well as Nashville's "Queen
of the Blues", Marion James.
I am currently a member of The
Outfit, a band spawned from the
Play It Again Jam, who will be
playing out this summer (2007).
Somehow I've managed to whittle
my inventory down so I only have
the Porta-B and Leslie left, but I
intend to get a synthesizer for piano
& strings, etc. soon.
Maybe my dream of owning my very
own late 50's - early 60's B-3 will
come true one of these days.
I was a kid, and put it in the living
room where he could entertain
company. I took lessons for a few
months and quit. Bought a
Wurlitzer electric piano and a
Farfisa organ and played both in a
high school band, The
Establishment. I was the first and
only player in the area who played
2 instruments at the same time.
We got a gig at one of the year's big
dances at the high school and we
were the first band allowed to turn
off all the lights in the gym so we
could have a light show... which
was just strobe lights, but nobody
had seen a show like it before and
we were a big hit. I went to college
in Syracuse and majored in
Theatre. Got with a rock band
called "Second Hand" and played a
bunch of college town gigs from
Syracuse to Potsdam, NY.
That was my first experience
playing a (borrowed) A-100,
and we played everything from
Steppenwolf, Deep Purple,
James Brown, Sly & the Family
Stone to the BeeGees.We didn't
have the sophisticated
PA systems like we have now,
so everything the audience heard
came from behind the musicians
except vocals, and by the end of
Saturday night at a packed house
weekend performance in Potsdam,
my hearing was completely shut
down and I couldn't hear until the
following Wednesday. Did some
permanent damage there.
Friends would ask me to play at
their weddings, and I got into
playing pop music on giant pipe
organs from time to time in the
70's. Even had the opportunity
offered me by the deans of the
Eastman School of Music and
Syracuse University to attend those
schools free and play concerts on
their big pipe organs, but that's
another story I won't get into here.;
Bought a big Lowrey organ and a
Hammond Porta-B & Leslie and
spent most of the 70's playing both
(at right angles to each other) and
kicking bass with my left foot. Got
tired of recorded drums and drum
machines and Holiday Inns and
hired a drummer and got into the
club scene for the last few years of
the 70's to the early 80's. Burned
out on having to kick bass all night
while playing 2 organs and singing
every song, so I cancelled 13
months of gigs and went broke.
Joined an all original
rock/fusion/funk band called
"Passenger" in '83, which was the
only band I've played with that had
roadies and hired concert sound &
lights, and an opening act each
time we played, and when that
broke up I got a guitar player and
we did a commercial rock duo for a
while. Got with a 7 piece r&b group
called "Hollywood Al & the Mix" and
found out I play really well with a
black band. "When A Man Loves
A Woman", "Tighten Up", "Shotgun",
"Rainy Night In Georgia", and
songs in that venue became my
regular diet for several years. We
opened at Rochester's Downtown
Festival Tent for the "Kingsmen"
and "Otis Day & the Knights" in the
late 80's. Started playing with and
building a reputation for an
emerging blues star, Chris Beard,
around upstate NY after that, and
had the moniker of "Rochester's
only white soul brother" attached to
me by Chester McMillan from
B.B. King's band after filling in for a
TV show that I wasn't aware we were
taping, and aired on Rochester's
black TV station. Since coming to
Nashville I've jammed with a huge
number of artists, and toured for a
while with blues recording artist
Burton Gaar, before he was
hospitalized. I worked with local
favorites "Smoking Gun" around
Nashville and surrounding
counties. I also played for
Clifford Curry, best known for
"She Shot A Hole In My Soul",
as well as Nashville's "Queen
of the Blues", Marion James.
I am currently a member of The
Outfit, a band spawned from the
Play It Again Jam, who will be
playing out this summer (2007).
Somehow I've managed to whittle
my inventory down so I only have
the Porta-B and Leslie left, but I
intend to get a synthesizer for piano
& strings, etc. soon.
Maybe my dream of owning my very
own late 50's - early 60's B-3 will
come true one of these days.
| DOUG GRIFFITHS THE MAY 2007 PLAY IT AGAIN JAM SPOTLIGHT ARTIST INCLUDING 2006 & 2007 PICTURES OF DOUG AT THE JAM |
| We were happy to be associated with Doug and spend many Sunday afternoons with him. He will be missed by all of us by Pat Adams from Tennessee Concerts. Jam pictures taken by Pat Adams. |
Feel free to put your memories & thoughts about Doug in our jam guestbook
| See more pictures of Doug on our 2006-2007 Play It Again Jam pages www.tennesseeconcerts.com/jam2007 See Doug's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/search/?q= doug+griffiths&o=2048&init=ffs#/douglas.griffiths See Doug's MySpace page http://www.myspace.com/dhgriffiths |
| TENNESSEE CONCERTS SEARCH ENGINE Search this website Website by Pat Adams. pat@tennesseeconcerts.com |
| Nashville says goodbye to Doug Griffiths November 14, 2009 - Nashville Music Examiner - Ken Utterback A great keyboardist, who was well-known in Nashville as one of those who still actually toted around a Hammond B-3 organ, passed away at the end of last month. He was 60 years old. Doug Griffiths had been having health problems the last few years, and only in the past couple months let his friends know that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Doug, with his great ear and his expertise of bringing the genuine Hammond organ sound to many of our songs at the Play It Again Jam, will be greatly missed. I'll never forget how Doug used to play exactly what was needed. I was particularly impressed with his inspiration on songs that I wrote. It's a great honor to have made music with him. Count me as one who feels as bad about his passing as any musicians in Nashville. See this article published in the Nashville Music City Examiner Ken Utterback is a long time musician who writes a blog on MySpace and also submits stories for the Pacific Gas & Electric fan website. You can email Ken at: klutterback@gmail.com |
 |  |  |  |  |