Rex Griffin

Induction Year: 1970

Birth Name: Alsie Griffin
Birth Date: August 12, 1912
Place of Birth: Gadsden, AL
Deceased: October 07, 1958
Place of Death: New Orleans, LA

Biography

Griffin's "The Last Letter" is considered to have brought about a stark new literacy in songwriting, one that had a huge impact on writers such as Ernest Tubb, Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson.

Discography / Career Highlights

Career Milestones:
early 1930s - began singing career; worked at radio stations throughout the South
late 1930s - recorded 38 songs for Decca Records
1937 - recorded "The Last Letter"
1939 - recorded "Lovesick Blues," which served as the basis for Hank Williams' version (recorded 10 years later; became Williams' first major hit)

Catalog Highlights:

"The Last Letter"
Rex Griffin 1937 #1 country
Jimmie Davis 1939
The Sons of Acadians 1939
Gene Autry 1940
Hawkshaw Hawkins 1948
Hank Snow 1951
Tennessee Ernie Ford 1955
The Carter Family 1956
George Hamilton IV 1960
Don Gibson 1961
Wanda Jackson 1961
Tommy Collins 1961
Ramblin’ Jack Elliott 1961
Willie Nelson 1963
Ernest Tubb 1964 *
The Blue Sky Boys 1964
Ray Price 1965
Faron Young 1965
Pete Cassell 1965
Roy Clark 1966
Chet Atkins 1965
Grady Martin 1967
Marty Robbins 1968
Connie Smith 1968
Glen Campbell 1968
Jack Greene 1969
George Jones 1972
Waylon Jennings 1974
Asleep at the Wheel 1974
Willie Nelson (reissue) 1976 #46 country
Merle Haggard 1977
Mac Wiseman 1988
The Osborne Brothers 1991

"Just Call Me Lonesome"
Eddy Arnold 1955 #2 country
Wanda Jackson 1958
Jim Reeves 1959
Kitty Wells & Red Foley 1961
The Wilburn Brothers 1961
Slim Whitman 1963
Jean Shepard 1964
Ernest Tubb 1964 *
Ray Price 1965
Dave Dudley 1966
Don Gibson 1966
Elvis Presley 1967
Billy Walker 1967
Dottie West 1968
Willie Nelson & Ray Price 1980

"Won't You Ride In My Little Red Wagon"
Hank Penny 1939 #1 country
Tex Williams 1947
Merle Travis 1956
Jimmy Wakely 1958
Judy Lynn 1965
Ernest Tubb 1968
Hank Thompson 1973
Willie Nelson 1981
The Texas Playgirls 1995
Hardrock Gunter 1997
Ray Pennington 1997
Buddy Emmons 1997
Mark Abbott 2002

"Let Forgiveness In"
(Note:Webb Pierce at times has been credited with this title in the past, but Rex Griffin is the only author of this song.)
Webb Pierce 1961 #5 country
Mel Tillis 1971

"I Told You So"
Jimmie Davis 1941
Bob Crosby 1941
Ernest Tubb 1964 *

"Over the River"
Rex Griffin 1937
Ernest Tubb 1945

"Everybody's Tryin' to Be My Baby"
(Note: Carl Perkins is listed as the writer today, but it is an undeniable fact that Rex Griffin, wrote it, recorded it and released it as a single in 1936. The subsequent Roy Newman 1938 version also credits Griffin as the song’s writer.)
Rex Griffin 1936
Roy Newman 1938
Carl Perkins 1957
The Beatles 1964
George Harrison 1986
Lee Rocker 1999
Johnny Cash 2003
Glen Thompson 2003
Eric Clapton 2006

"I Loved You Once"
Ernest Tubb 1964 *

"An Old Faded Photograph"
Rex Griffin 1936
Hank Thompson 1960
Ernest Tubb 1964 *

"If You Call That Gone, Goodbye"
Rex Griffin 1936
Ernest Tubb 1964 *

"How Can I Be Sure"
Rex Griffin 1946
Ernest Tubb 1964 *

"I’ll Never Tell You That I Love You"
Rex Griffin 1939
Ernest Tubb 1964 *

"Beyond the Last Mile"
Rex Griffin 1939
Ray Price 1951
Ernest Tubb 1964 *
Ray Price (remake) 1967

"Just Partners"
Rex Griffin 1939
Ernest Tubb 1964 *

"I Think I’ll Give Up"
Rex Griffin 1939
Ernest Tubb 1964 *

"I’m as Free as the Breeze"
Rex Griffin 1946
Ernest Tubb 1964 *

"I Don’t Love Anybody But You"
Rex Griffin 1935
Roy Newman 1938

"Why Should I Care if You’re Blue"
Rex Griffin 1935

"The Walkin’ Blues"
Rex Griffin 1936
Roy Newman 1938

"Nobody Wants to Be My Baby"
Rex Griffin 1939

"Answer to the Last Letter"
Rex Griffin 1939
Ray Price 1951

"My Hillbilly Baby"
Rex Griffin 1939
Ernest Tubb 1957

"I Saw My Castles Fall Today"
Ray Price 1951

"Thunder and Lightning"
Smiley & Kitty Wilson 1956

* Ernest Tubb recorded an entire album of his friend Rex Griffin’s compositions. Titled Just Call Me Lonesome and Other Great Songs by Rex Griffin, it was issued by Decca Records in 1964, six years after the songwriter’s death.