Kevin Griffin
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Kevin Michael Griffin<ref name="allmusic.com"/> (born October 1, 1968) <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Better Than Ezra.<ref name=aq>Template:Cite news</ref>
His songs have been performed and recorded by artists such as Taylor Swift,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":2">Template:Cite web</ref> Train,<ref name=":1" /> Sugarland,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">Template:Cite web</ref> James Blunt,<ref name=":1" /> Dierks Bentley, The Record Company, Wilder Woods, Moon Taxi,<ref name=":5">Template:Cite web</ref> Saint Motel, Andy Grammer, Christina Perri,<ref name=":4" /> Trombone Shorty,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Howie Day,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":5" /> Barenaked Ladies,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4" /> Tom Morello, Boys Like Girls, Blondie,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> Chase Rice,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=":7">Template:Cite web</ref> The Struts,<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" /> Andrew McMahon, Matt Nathanson, Meat Loaf, Missy Higgins, and many others.
He is a co-founder and partner of the Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival in Franklin, Tennessee.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":9">Template:Cite web</ref> Rolling StoneTemplate:'s review of the festival's inaugural year was positive, saying it had "an A-list lineup (arguably the best curated of the year)" <ref name=":8" /> and "established itself as a festival to watch."<ref name=":8" /> Performers at the festival have included Justin Timberlake,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":9"/> Foo Fighters,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Willie Nelson,<ref name=":11" /> Chris Stapleton,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The Killers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Dave Matthews Band,<ref name=":10">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":11">Template:Cite web</ref> Maren Morris,<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" /> The Black Keys,<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":7" /> Cage the Elephant,<ref name=":10" /> and Black Pumas.<ref name=":10" />
Griffin formed the alternative rock band Better Than Ezra in 1988.<ref name=":9" /> They had platinum success in the 1990s with hits such as "Good", "In the Blood", and "Desperately Wanting", and have continued in the 2000s with hits such as "Extra Ordinary", "A Lifetime", and "Juicy". The band continues to tour and produce new recordings, the most recent of which is All Together Now, released in September 2014. As a 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 also a mimic, imitating singers such as Aaron Neville, Bruce Springsteen, and Dave Matthews.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
His first solo album, Anywhere You Go,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was released on October 4, 2019.<ref name=":5" /> Griffin also performs as part of the supergroup Ezra Ray Hart with Mark McGrath of Sugar Ray and Emerson Hart of Tonic.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Personal life
[edit]Griffin was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and grew up in Monroe, Louisiana. He attended River Oaks School, where he met his bandmate Jim Payne.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":6"/> He received a bachelor's degree in English and a minor in political science<ref name=":9" /> from Louisiana State University in 1990.<ref name="aq" /> He was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. He took the LSAT with the intention of attending law school and working in entertainment law.<ref name="aq" /> He then took a job with Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles during the early 1990s,<ref name="aq" /> 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.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite web</ref> He purchased a home in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles in July 2006<ref name=":12" /> and in 2011, he sold his house and moved to Franklin, Tennessee, with his family.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
[edit]Griffin has produced, written, and co-written platinum albums and songs that have sold more than thirty million copies.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":5" />
Griffin's first number-one with Better Than Ezra was the 1995 song "Good",<ref name=":13">Template:Cite web</ref> and it stayed on top of the Alternative Chart for seven weeks. It reached No. 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, No. 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100.<ref name=":13" />
His other number-one songs are Howie Day's "Collide"<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":6" /> and Sugarland's "Stuck Like Glue" in 2011,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":6" /> which became the eleventh most-downloaded song in country music history.Template:Citation needed
In 2010, his song "Breathless" was covered by Taylor Swift at the Hope for Haiti telethon,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> the most widely distributed telethon in history.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Griffin has won numerous BMI pop and country awards,<ref name=":5" /> and his song "Scar", with Missy Higgins, won Song of the Year at the Australian ARIA Awards.<ref name=":5" />
In 2018, he was an adjunct professor at NYU's Clive Davis School of Recorded Music.<ref name=":9"/>
He is active with Better Than Ezra's foundation, MusiCares, and St. Jude.<ref name=":14">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=":15">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2020, through a series of livestream acoustic performances, he was able to raise more than $220K for various charities helping those adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name=":14" /><ref name=":15" />
Songwriting credits
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| Year | Artist | Song | Album | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Barenaked Ladies | "Flip" | Detour de Force | Co-writer |
| "Good Life" | Co-writer | |||
| "New Disaster" | Co-writer | |||
| "Roll Out" | Co-writer | |||
| Tom Morello | "Raising Hell" | The Atlas Underground Flood | Co-writer | |
| The Record Company | "How High" | Play Loud | Co-writer | |
| Moon Taxi | "The Beginning" | Silver Dream | Co-writer | |
| King Calaway | "Homegrown" | Midnight | Co-writer | |
| Chase Rice | "American Nights" | The Album | Co-writer | |
| Saint Motel | "Bullet" | The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | Co-writer | |
| Hurricane Fall | "Another One More Time" | Another One More Time | Co-writer | |
| Wax Owls | "Carry Me" | Carry Me | Co-writer | |
| Daniel Powter | "Fall in Love" | Essential Daniel Powter | Co-writer | |
| 2020 | Kyd the Band | "Corridors" | Season 3: The Realization | Co-writer |
| Chaz Cardigan | "Live a Little" | Live a Little | Co-writer | |
| Dierks Bentley & Sheanandoah | "Every Road" | Every Road | Co-writer | |
| 2019 | Patrick Droney | "Stand and Deliver" | Patrick Droney EP | Co-writer |
| Wilder Woods | "Feel" | Wilder Woods | Co-writer | |
| 2018 | The Struts | "Freak Like You" | Young & Dangerous | Co-writer |
| Mike Love | "Must Be Christmas" | Reason for the Season | Co-writer | |
| Phillip Phillips | "Miles" | Collateral | Co-writer | |
| "Don't Tell Me" | Co-writer | |||
| Moon Taxi | "Good As Gold" | Let the Record Play | Co-writer | |
| Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear | "Hell and Back" | The Radio Winners | Co-writer | |
| The Night Game | "American Nights" | The Night Game | Co-writer | |
| Lennon Stella | "Without Warning" | Nashville Soundtrack vol. 6 | Co-writer | |
| 2017 | Barenaked Ladies | "Canada Dry" | Fake Nudes | Co-writer |
| "Bringing It Home" | Co-writer | |||
| "Lookin' Up" | Co-writer | |||
| "You + Me vs. the World" | Co-writer | |||
| Trombone Shorty | "Where It At?" | Parking Lot Symphony | Co-writer | |
| 2016 | Violent Femmes | "Issues" | We Can Do Anything | Co-writer |
| 2015 | Barenaked Ladies | "Get Back Up" | Silverball | Co-writer |
| "Duct Tape Heart" | Co-writer | |||
| David Cook | "Home Movies (Over Your Shoulder)" | Digital Vein | Co-writer | |
| Andrew McMahon | "Canyon Moon" | Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness | Co-writer | |
| 2014 | Christina Perri | "Lonely Child" | Head or Heart | Co-writer |
| "One Night" | Co-writer | |||
| JT Hodges | "Already High" | Non-album single | Co-writer | |
| Megan and Liz | "Night of Our Lives" | Simple Life | Co-writer | |
| 2013 | A Rocket to the Moon | "Whole Lotta You" | Wild & Free | Co-writer |
| "You're My Song" | Co-writer | |||
| Barenaked Ladies | "Did I Say That Out Loud?" | Grinning Streak | Co-writer | |
| "Gonna Walk" | Co-writer | |||
| "Odds Are" | Co-writer | |||
| James Blunt | "Kiss This Love Goodbye" | Moon Landing (deluxe edition) | Co-writer | |
| "Telephone" | Co-writer | |||
| 2012 | Boys Like Girls | "Crazy World" | Crazy World | Co-writer |
| Daniel Powter | "Cupid" | Turn On the Lights | Co-writer | |
| "The Day We Never Met" | Co-writer | |||
| Missy Higgins | "Hello Hello" | The Ol' Razzle Dazzle | Co-writer | |
| Tristan Prettyman | "My Oh My" | Cedar + Gold | 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 | |
| "Isn't It Obvious" | Co-writer | |||
| "Oxygen" | Co-writer | |||
| Il Volo | "This Time" | Il Volo (international version) | 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 | |
| "Tonight" | 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
| 2006 | Val Emmich | "Absolutely Still" | Sunlight Searchparty | Co-writer |
| 2005 | Josh Kelley | "Lover Come Up" | Almost Honest | Co-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 | |||
| 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 |
References
[edit]- 1968 births
- American alternative rock musicians
- APRA Award winners
- Better Than Ezra members
- American male singers
- Living people
- Musicians from New Orleans
- Louisiana State University alumni
- American rock songwriters
- American male songwriters
- Musicians from Atlanta
- American alternative rock singers
- Singers from New Orleans