KEN's LP COVER TEXT
LOST IN A CLOUD (10" LP version)
(Philips cover text)When Ken Griffin sits down at the organ, he has considerably more to do than let his fingers wander idly over the keys-he is concerned with putting together a program of light romantic music that will charm and delight his thousands and thousands of admirers. That he has succeeded is attested to by the constant (both continuing and unchanging) sales of his recordings, and by the steady stream of requests for new records by this popular organist.
In this, his latest, he has collected a garland of popular ballads of enduring appeal, and presents them with all the straightforward freshness that is his hallmark. Music such as that included in this collection, and in arrangements such as these, does much to demonstrate why Ken Griffin is beyond question the most popular organist now performing, and why be is held in such esteem by his fans. His choice of songs, although leaning largely on sentimental ballads, is nevertheless based on the finest of popular melodies, and his interpretations present the music without fuss, in clean, tuneful settings. There is always a steady beat in a Griffin arrangement, and he is more interested in making the organ sing than using it as a showcase for mechanical effects. Consequently, his performances have a charm and directness that is unique among organists, and offer a wealth of delightful listening to those to whom the melody is the important thing.
All these traits are readily discernible in the rich list of recordings already issued by Ken Griffin, all of them best-sellers and all of them favorites with millions of people all over the world. They offer, too, a variety of moods and locales, and provide a handy collection of many of the best-loved songs of the world.
Copyright to Philips records.CRUISING DOWN THE RIVER
(Philips LP cover text)In the American story rivers have played a very important part, first or transportation, later for commerce and always as subjects for romance. From slow meandering streams to wild torrents, they are almost all highly pictorial and it is not surprising that they have given birth to a wealth of song. Ken Griffin, the popular American-born organist, has drawn on this repertoire-with one exception-for a group of his especial favorites which he plays in his most agreeable style.
The title-song is British, chosen for its popularity and because it sets the mood so well, recalling the lazy outings on the water that we have all enjoyed. Ken Griffin next plays a piece composed in 1899 by Paul Dresser, On The Banks Of The Wabash. This is a great favorite with small vocal groups, both for its nostalgic appeal and its engaging melody, bidding fair to take a place in American folk music. In contrast, Red River Valley is a genuine folk song, lonesome wistful. We can imagine it originating in the gun-smoke of the pioneer days. The first part of the program concludes with a recent tune, Down the River Of Golden Dreams, a romantic song of 1930.
The second group opens with Swanee River or Old Folks At Home, Stephen Foster's most famous composition. It was seized on almost at once by minstrel shows, and European commentators have occasionally mistaken it for a folk song, thus paying its composer an unconscious tribute. Lazy River by Hoagy Carmichael, and Moonlight On The Colorado, date from 1931 and 1930 respectively, but like so many songs about rivers they seem far older.
Ken Griffin concludes with Jerome Kern's Ol' Man River, First formed in 1927, this song from "Show Boat" is a classic its kind, as impressive in it sweep as the Mississippi itself.
Copyright to Philips records.IRISH EYES SMILING
(Philips LP cover text)In this collection the talented Ken Griffin presents a survey of Irish melodies fit to warm the heart of everyone with a touch of Irish in him. One of the most popular legends to-day is that fostered by the Irish about themselves as a brawling, lusty race with a penchant for highly sentimental ideas and music, and nowhere is that legend more strongly fostered than in popular Irish melodies. Select any one of these tunes, and the most distantly-removed Irishman can detect the peat bogs, the lakes and hills, the pervading green of Eire, all misted over with an irresistibly lovely haze. The spell of Ireland is something no true romanticist can deny, and its spell is most often passed along in songs such as these.
Some of these songs were written by Irish-Americans: George M. Cohan, Chauncey Olcott, Ernest Ball, whose Gaelic personalities were their stock in trade. Another, the lovely Galway Bay, is in its lyrics a sort of intensely nationalistic cry The traditional Danny Boy is one of the world's enduring melodies, known not only under the present title, but as the Londonderry Air, Would God I Were The Tender Apple Blossom, and. in a Percy Grainger setting, as Irish Tune From County Derry. About still another of these songs, I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen, hangs the curious and possibly apocryphal story that it was written by a man whose wife, sick and longing for her homeland, wanted to be taken not to Ireland but back from the middle west to the eastern part of the United States. Nevertheless, this song has a strongly Gaelic quality, and rightfully belongs among the collections of lovely Irish songs, at least in spirit. In Ken Griffin's delightful arrangements, the sentimental and spirited in the Irish are contrasted in an entertaining sequence Notable, for example, is his cheerful arrangement Eyes Are Smiling, neatly sidestepping the lugubrious often given an essentially charming song. Kathleen on the other hand, is properly lingering and sentimental, What A Grand Old Name offers the easy swing of a typical M. Cohan song. Where The River Shannon Flows again to the sentimental feelings, in a lyric Griffin setting.
In the second part of his program Ken Griffin offers Galway Bay, with its deeply meaningful melody looking longingly at the beauties of Ireland. Danny Boy follows, with its traditional love line enhanced by a sympathetic Organ arrangement, while Peggy O'Neil appears in a lilting Irish waltz tempo, as merry and bright as its heroine.
Ken Griffin concludes with one of the most famous of ~ Irish songs, Mother Machree, winding up a brief but memorable sheaf of songs from one of the most melodious of all countries one that is never absent from the hearts of her roaming sons and daughters, who keep the memories alive with songs as these.
Copyright to Philips records.LOVE LETTERS IN THE SAND
(Cover text)America’s most popular organist began his career with an entirely different instrument, but became so fascinated by the work an organist appearing in his home-town theatre that he switched and taught himself to play the organ so well and so swiftly that within a year he was appearing professionally. After some time as a theatre organist, he moved into hotels and clubs for a further career. Interrupted only by his army service. And over there he kept up his work, practicing after hours on chapel organs.
After the war he returned to his familiar haunts and recorded a song called You can’t be true, dear, one of the most successful records in history. With this he became an overnight star, and retained that position throughout his career.
In this collection, Ken Griffin demonstrates the winning qualities of his playing and offers his fans yet another heart-warming collection of fine songs.
Copyright of Philips records Ltd.