DIE US-AMERIKANISCHE FOLK- UND COUNTRY-SÄNGERIN NANCI GRIFFITH IST GESTORBEN

Die am 6. Juli 1953 in Seguin (Texas) geborene US-amerikanische Folk- und Country-Sängerin und Songwriterin Nanci Griffith (Bild) ist am 13. August 2021 in Nashville (Tennessee) gestorben. 1994 wurde Griffith mit einem Grammy für das beste zeitgenössische Folkalbum «Other Voices/Other Rooms» ausgezeichnet. Die 17 Lieder des Albums sind ein Tribut an die Sänger und Songschreiber, die Griffith am meisten beeinflusst haben. Viele dieser Künstler sind als Gaststars auf dem Album zu hören, so unter anderen Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke oder John Prine. Von Griffith stammt auch die Originalversion von «From a Distance» (1987), einem Lied, das mehrfach gecovert wurde, bevor Bette Midler damit 1990 einen Welthit hatte.*

Bild: Nanci Griffith am Cambridge Festival 2007 – Foto: © Bryan Ledgard, https://www.flickr.com/people/97355030@N00 – Lizenz: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en – Datei: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nanci_Griffith_Cambridge_Festival_2007_(966579201).jpg

Nanci Griffith Has Died. The Texas Singer-Songwriter Was 68

Griffith was known for her skills as a story-telling songwriter, producing memorable songs like «Late Night Grand Hotel» and «It’s a Hard Life Wherever You Go.» Her songs also proved successful for other singers: Kathy Mattea scored a country Top 5 hit with «Love at the Five and Dime,» while Suzy Bogguss cracked the country Top 10 with «Outbound Plane,» written by Griffith with Tom Russell.

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/13/1027564725/nanci-griffith-died-texas-singer-songwriter-68?t=1628891022052

Nanci Griffith, Singer Who Blended Folk and Country, Dies at 68

Her best-loved songs were closely observed tales of small-town life, sometimes with painful details in the lyrics, but typically sung with a deceptive prettiness.

Gavin Edwards

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/13/arts/music/nanci-griffith-dead.html

Though Griffith never got to experience a big radio hit with her own recordings, her songs were often recorded with greater success by others

Nanci Griffith, the Grammy-winning folk and country songwriter whose popular recordings include «Love at the Five and Dime,» «Once in a Very Blue Moon,» and «Outbound Plane,» died Friday, her manager confirmed to Rolling Stone. No cause of death was given. She was 68.

Jon Freeman

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/nanci-griffith-dead-obituary-1212043/

While a powerful singer in her own right, Griffith was arguably better known for her songs like «Love at the Five and Dime» (which was a country hit for Kathy Mattea) and «Outbound Plane» (ditto Suzy Bogguss) and as a collaborator: She recorded duets with Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Willie Nelson, the Chieftans, Darius Rucker, and many others over the course of her four-decade career.

Jem Aswad

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/nanci-griffith-dead-dies-1235041416/

Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, remembered Griffith with kind words:

«Nanci Griffith was a master songwriter who took every opportunity to champion kindred spirits, including Vince Bell, Elizabeth Cook, Iris DeMent, Julie Gold, Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Eric Taylor, and Townes Van Zandt,» said Young. «Her voice was a clarion call, at once gentle and insistent. Her brilliant album The Last of the True Believers is a template for what is now called Americana music, and her Grammy-winning Other Voices, Other Rooms is a compelling guide to 20th-century folk songs. Nanci offered gifts that no one else could give.»

https://americansongwriter.com/grammy-winning-singer-songwriter-nanci-griffith-passes-away-at-68/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR1qAT-0eaZMfG62SLUJbTrbEsigSV5zfb9tjlO2FkMc0MnejRM6t80S43M#Echobox=1628889087

Nanci Griffith: a folk singer committed to the genre as much as activism

The late singer-songwriter was dedicated to the fundamentals of folk music and her Grammy-winning music also found space for politics

Mark Guarino

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/aug/14/nanci-griffith-folk-music-activism

Nanci Griffith was a teacher to me, she showed me folk music, she educated me on what came before. She spoke my language, sang her way into my being. I loved her music and saw her perform many, many times.

I got to work with her a bit when I was getting started, and I got to know her some after I came to Nashville. She was always kind to me, generous. A profound influence on me, her spirit will always remain alive inside her music.

Mary Gauthier

https://www.facebook.com/marygauthiersongs/posts/10165800459940014

Sie gehörte neben Emmylou Harris zu den profiliertesten und auch engagiertesten weiblichen Stimmen in der Americana-Welt – dieser Welt, die entgegen allen Vorurteilen unentwegt das Bild eines anderen, besseren Amerika repräsentiert.

Martin Schaefer

https://www.facebook.com/martin.schaefer.54390

Auch Kolleginnen wie Rosanne Cash und Suzy Bogguss würdigten die Musikerin

Mit dem Album «Other Voices, Other Rooms» (1994) hatte Griffith den Grammy für das beste zeitgenössische Folk-Album gewonnen. Als Gaststars wirkten unter anderem Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris und John Prine mit.

ala/dpa

https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/nanci-griffith-ist-tot-a-24971ca0-671c-4ef8-82df-48b4665e609e

Audios / Videos:

Nanci Griffith Love at the Five and Dime

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GK462XnRjQ

Nanci Griffith – Austin City Limits 1989

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reZpbkE8o_M

Nanci Griffith, «From a Distance» on Letterman, August 30, 1988

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBBi1dk-_HQ

The Loving Kind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNy4_eseGm8

Nanci Griffith – Across the Great Divide