Kevin Griffin
Kevin Michael Griffin[1] (born October 1, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock band Better Than Ezra.[3]
Kevin Griffin | |
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Griffin in 2010 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Kevin Michael Griffin[1] |
Born | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[2] | October 1, 1968
Genres | |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments |
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Years active | 1988–present |
Associated acts | Better Than Ezra, Barenaked Ladies |
Griffin formed the alternative rock band Better Than Ezra in 1988. The band had great success in the 1990s with hits such as "Good", "In the Blood", and "Desperately Wanting", and has continued in the 2000s with hits such as "Extra Ordinary", "A Lifetime", and "Juicy". They continue to tour and produce new recordings, the most recent of which is All Together Now, released in September 2014. As a singer and performer, Griffin is known for singing in falsetto, inviting audience members onstage to play guitar, and interrupting his own songs with verses of well-known rock songs. He is a skilled mimic, imitating singers from Aaron Neville to Bruce Springsteen.
Kevin Griffin released his first solo album, entitled Anywhere You Go,[4] on October 4, 2019, playing several dates to support it throughout the end of the year.
Personal life
Griffin grew up in Monroe, Louisiana and attended River Oaks High School there. He received a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in political science from Louisiana State University in 1990.[3] There he became a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He took the LSAT with the intention of pursuing a law degree and working in entertainment law.[3] Griffin took a job with Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles during the early 1990s,[3] before Better Than Ezra achieved commercial success.
Griffin and his family largely resided in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005.[5] Griffin purchased a home in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles in July 2006,[5] but after a few years in L.A. he discovered that many of the artists he wanted to collaborate with, e.g., Jason Mraz and James Blunt, were working out of Nashville.[6] In 2011, he sold his house and moved to Franklin, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville, to be closer to a more prosperous songwriting market.[7]
Songwriting credits
Griffin has also produced, written, and co-written songs for other artists, such as Sugarland, James Blunt, Christina Perri, Taylor Swift, Train, Howie Day, Missy Higgins, Daniel Powter, Augustana, Debbie Harry, and Josh Radin. Griffin is credited with having co-written "Stuck Like Glue", the Mediabase #1 single from the 2010 Sugarland album, The Incredible Machine, as well as their subsequent single "Tonight". Most recently, Griffin co-wrote Tristan Prettyman's top ten single, "My Oh My". He also co-wrote and co-produced James Blunt's "I'll Be Your Man" from his recent Some Kind of Trouble album. Griffin co-wrote the Top 40 hit "Collide" with Howie Day. He also co-wrote four tracks on Missy Higgins' debut album, The Sound of White, which included the hit "Scar." The album went ten times platinum in Australia. Griffin also co-wrote Tristan Prettyman's single "Madly," and "Avalanche" on the self-titled, major-label debut of American Idol winner David Cook. Other recent artists Griffin has worked with include The Secret Sisters, A Rocket to the Moon, Boys Like Girls, Megan and Liz, Skillet, Shinedown, and Hot Chelle Rae. He co-wrote three songs with Barenaked Ladies frontman, Ed Robertson, on their 2013 album Grinning Streak, two songs on their 2015 album Silverball, and four on their 2017 album Fake Nudes.
Year | Artist | Song | Album | Credit |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | Blondie | "Good Boys" | The Curse of Blondie | Co-Writer |
Howie Day | "Collide" | Stop All the World Now | Co-Writer | |
"Perfect Time of Day" | Co-Writer | |||
"Sunday Morning Song" | Co-Writer | |||
Meat Loaf | "Testify" | Couldn't Have Said It Better | Writer | |
2004 | Graham Colton Band | "Cigarette" | Drive | Co-Writer |
"Cut" | Co-Writer | |||
"First Week" | Co-Writer | |||
"How Low (Breakdown)" | Co-Writer | |||
"Morning Light" | Co-Writer | |||
Missy Higgins | "Don't Ever" | The Sound of White | Co-Writer | |
"Scar" | Co-Writer | |||
"Unbroken" | Co-Writer | |||
2005 | Josh Kelley | "Lover Come Up" | Almost Honest | Co-Writer |
2006 | Val Emmich | "Absolutely Still" | Sunlight Searchparty | Co-Writer |
2007 | Graham Colton | "New Year's Resolution" | Here Right Now | Co-Writer |
Ingram Hill | "Four Letter Word" | Cold in California | Co-Writer | |
"Impossible" | Co-Writer | |||
Jeremy Lister | "Fit" | Just One Day EP | Co-Writer | |
"Just One Day" | Co-Writer | |||
Jon McLaughlin | "Human" | Indiana | Co-Writer | |
2008 | David Cook | "Avalanche" | David Cook | Co-Writer |
I Nine | "Don't Wanna" | Heavy Weighs the King | Co-Writer | |
Joshua Radin | "Free of Me" | Simple Times | Co-Writer | |
Lenka | "Knock Knock" | Lenka | Co-Writer | |
Tristan Prettyman | "Madly" | Hello...x | Co-Writer | |
2009 | Howie Day | "Be There" | Sound the Alarm | Co-Writer |
"Longest Night" | Co-Writer | |||
"Sound the Alarm" | Co-Writer | |||
"Undressed" | Co-Writer | |||
Train | "I Got You" | Save Me, San Francisco | Co-Writer | |
2010 | Taylor Swift | Breathless | Hope for Haiti Now | Writer |
James Blunt | I'll Be Your Man | Some Kind of Trouble | Co-Writer | |
Sugarland | Stuck Like Glue | The Incredible Machine | Co-Writer | |
Sugarland | Tonight | The Incredible Machine | Co-Writer | |
2011 | Augustana | Counting Stars | Augustana | Co-Writer |
David Cook | Fade into Me | This Loud Morning | Co-Writer | |
Howie Day | Ceasefire | Ceasefire EP | Co-Writer | |
Howie Day | Isn't It Obvious | Ceasefire EP | Co-Writer | |
Howie Day | Oxygen | Ceasefire EP | Co-Writer | |
Il Volo | This Time | Il Volo (International Version) | Co-Writer | |
2012 | Boys Like Girls | Crazy World | Crazy World | Co-Writer |
Daniel Powter | Cupid | Turn on the Lights | Co-Writer | |
Daniel Powter | The Day We Never Met | Turn on the Lights | Co-Writer | |
Missy Higgins | Hello Hello | The Ol' Razzle Dazzle | Co-Writer | |
Tristan Prettyman | My Oh My | Cedar + Gold | Co-Writer | |
2013 | A Rocket to the Moon | Whole Lotta You | Wild & Free | Co-Writer |
A Rocket to the Moon | You're My Song | Wild & Free | Co-Writer | |
Barenaked Ladies | Did I Say That Out Loud? | Grinning Streak | Co-Writer | |
Barenaked Ladies | Gonna Walk | Grinning Streak | Co-Writer | |
Barenaked Ladies | Odds Are | Grinning Streak | Co-Writer | |
James Blunt | Kiss This Love Goodbye | Moon Landing (Deluxe Edition) | Co-Writer | |
James Blunt | Telephone | Moon Landing (Deluxe Edition) | Co-Writer | |
2014 | Christina Perri | Lonely Child | Head or Heart | Co-Writer |
Christina Perri | One Night | Head or Heart | Co-Writer | |
JT Hodges | Already High | TBA | Co-Writer | |
Megan and Liz | Night of Our Lives | Simple Life | Co-Writer | |
2015 | Barenaked Ladies | Get Back Up | Silverball | Co-Writer |
Barenaked Ladies | Duct Tape Heart | Silverball | Co-Writer | |
2015 | David Cook | Home Movies (Over Your Shoulder) | Digital Vein | Co-Writer |
2017 | Barenaked Ladies | Canada Dry | Fake Nudes | Co-Writer |
Barenaked Ladies | Bringing It Home | Fake Nudes | Co-Writer | |
Barenaked Ladies | Lookin' Up | Fake Nudes | Co-Writer | |
Barenaked Ladies | You + Me vs. the World | Fake Nudes | Co-Writer | |
2018 | The Struts | Freak Like You | Young & Dangerous | Co-Writer |
Mike Love | Must Be Christmas | Reason for the Season | Co-Writer |
References
- "Kevin Griffin - Biography, Albums, Streaming Links - AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved October 1, 2016.
- "Pilgrimage co-founder Kevin Griffin talks solo album, act, at this year's festival".
- Seastrand, Andrea (June 19, 2009). "Interview with Better Than Ezra: Better Than Solo". The Aquarian Weekly. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
- Milano, Brett (September 26, 2019). "Kevin Griffin, Anywhere You Go (BMG)". Offbeat Magazine. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
- Spera, Keith (May 28, 2009). "Better Than Ezra frontman Kevin Griffin's move colors new 'Paper Empire'". The Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on January 10, 2012. Retrieved August 19, 2009.
- Paulson, Dave (September 17, 2018). "Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival: A Long Process". 114 (20). The Tennessean. pp. 1A, 13A.
- Spera, Keith (December 22, 2010). "Better Than Ezra's Kevin Griffin anticipates busy year in Nashville and beyond". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved January 19, 2011.