Discography – Press Photos – Music Reviews – Book Reviews – Lyrics/Chords
“I’m the guy from the Long Ryders in 1980s L.A. & the guy from the Coal Porters in London. Yes, I also make solo albums and do singer-songwriter gigs. Million Dollar Bash is my book on The Basement Tapes and I’ve never met Dylan.” – Sid Griffin
“His intimate acoustic shows are consistently memorable” – The Sunday Times
Biography
Sid Griffin displays many chapeaux in his career as a multi-faceted musician, proud author, knowledgeable broadcaster and professional golfer. Or is that professional go-fer? Okay, only the first three hats get anywhere near his noggin, but they all fit snugly. He is also a proud parent and part time journalist as well as a man who makes excellent cheese mushroom omelettes.
An eighth-generation native Kentuckian who currently resides in England, Sid has popped up in literary circles due to the success of his Million Dollar Bash book on Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes as well as the follow up Shelter From The Storm. He has also appeared in music circles due to his bluegrass band the Coal Porters enjoying success after success with their new CD, No. 6. and to his many media appearances, be they via print media or the airwaves. In 2006 ABC’s The Jimmy Kimmel Show had their house band play Sid’s song Jimmy Reed as they went to commercial…our hero was watching that eve and fell off the sofa when he heard the familiar melody struck up. In addition to falling off furniture Griffin has already won a Lifetime Achievement Award in Italy in 2003 (Piero Ciampi Award), and Sid’s old band the Long Ryders, the legendary founders of alt-country, are occasionally found touring.
Sid appears as Resident Musicologist on BBC Radio 6 Music DJs Stuart Maconie and Mark Radcliffe’s excellent afternoon show and this brought Sid to an entirely new demographic. Frequently heard on late night BBC Radio, Griffin’s silver-toned vocal chords were heard extensively when the BBC broadcast Mark Lamarr’s four-part series Redneck Music in early 2008. (Griffin was not the redneck in question.)
As a musician, Griffin continues to perform on bluegrass mandolin with his acoustic Coal Porters ensemble. The Coal Porters have played festivals in many places around the world including Glastonbury in the UK, Kilkenny Festival in Ireland and the World Of Bluegrass festival in Kentucky USA. He looks forward the future as his old rock band The Long Ryders sometimes perform again. The Long Ryders box set Final Wild Songs was released in January 2016 to universal acclaim, creating a new demand for live concerts by the band.
And yes, in between all of this activity Sid Griffin still performs the occasional, and very special, solo troubadour show. Lately his solo appearances are in support of his 2015 solo album The Trick Is To Breathe, which earned Griffin four and five star reviews globally. In 2018 Sid is performing solo in Spain, Italy, the UK, Scandinavia and his native United States.
The DVD release on Warner Bros/Rhino of the BBC TV special which Griffin co-wrote and researched entitled Gram Parsons, Fallen Angel has proven to be a great success as was his book Bluegrass Guitar: Know The Players, Play The Music. (Backbeat, UK) Sid of course has two books on Bob Dylan; one one The Basement Tapes called Million Dollar Bash, and the other on the Rolling Thunder Revue era Bob called Shelter From The Storm. Both are published in the USA and UK by Jawbone.
Griffin believes global warming is our greatest challenge and recycles while striving to reduce his own carbon footprint.
As a documentary scriptwriter for BBC Radio Two, Sid Griffin had two of his scripts broadcast in 2006, the first on Gram Parsons and the second on the Carter Family, this latter narrated by Dolly Parton. Sid is starting to write a new book in early 2018 and word has it this will be his final book on Bob Dylan.
As a freelance journalist Griffin is a regular contributor to Mojo, Fritz Lang Review, Gaslight, Rock ‘n’ Reel, Baseball Maniac, Skyway and Country Music International. He has been published in The Guardian, Music Week, Variety, Cash Box, New Musical Express, the L.A. Weekly, BAM and Melody Maker. Sid was a regular contributor to Q magazine as well.
An acknowledged expert on the musical career of Gram Parsons, Sid’s first book Gram Parsons – A Music Biography (Sierra Books) is still in print and it would be nice if the publisher paid him his royalties one day. He has contributed sleeve notes to a great many CD reissues by Gram Parsons and The Flying Burrito Bros, The Byrds and Gene Clark. Sid has also compiled and written sleeve notes for reissues by Long John Baldry, Mike Nesmith, Arthur Lee’s Love, Joe Ely, Dolly Parton, the International Submarine Band, Steve Young, Tim Hardin, The Everly Brothers, Phil Ochs, Iggy Pop, Nils Lofgren, his heroes Bill Monroe & the Bluegrass Boys, his friend the late Ronnie Lane, Hank Williams, Glen Campbell and for various compilations including Beating Up The Campus, Fallen Angels: An Alt-Country Sampler and Okay, So We Lost: Songs Of The Confederacy, Vol. Five.
Further to all this Sid has his very own musical Podcast ‘Call All Coal Porters‘ which is availible on iTunes as well as on his own website at SidGriffin.com
Prima Records has compiled, archived and reissued seven albums of Sid’s 1980’s band, The Long Ryders. The fifth of these reissues was the first “new” Long Ryders material in sixteen years with the well-received album, Three Minute Warnings: Live In New York City.
A sixth CD was released in October 2007, Live 2004: State Of Our Reunion and a seventh, an expanded Native Sons with extra tracks, appeared to loud huzzahs in January 2011. At present there are no further Long Ryder reissues planned.
The Long Ryders reformed for live concerts in 2004, 2009, 2014 and twice in 2016 and on February 15, 2019 Cherry Red Records in London and Omnivore in the USA released the first new Long Ryders album in over thirty years, Psychedelic Country Soul. Garnering positive reviews across the board Psychedelic Country Soul reached Number One in both the Official UK Americana Chart and Amazon UK’s Alt-Country/Americana Chart!
On Saturday 23rd January 2021 our brother Tom Stevens died at his home in Indiana. We ask you all to keep Tom, his loving wife Elaine, Sarah, Zach and James in your thoughts. Tom loved you all so much.
Play his beautiful song “Let it Fly” and be grateful for the time we all had together. We are.
In 2022 The Long Ryders were pleased and proud to be recognised and receive the International Trailblazer Award, an award presented to an “International artist, duo or group that has taken an exceptional path, inspiring others in the Americana genre” from the Americana Music Association UK.
The band’s three founding members Sid Griffin, Stephen McCarthy and Greg Sowders continue to tour the world and and on March 10th, 2023 released the long awaited follow up to their widely acclaimed #1 UK Americana album, Psychedelic Country Soul. The new album is called September November and is released by Cherry Red Records worldwide. Produced by Ed Stasium at his state-of-the-art studio in California the album stretches The Long Ryders envelope musically and contains two heartfelt musical tributes to their late bass player, the great Tom Stevens.
The Journey From Grape To Raisin is Sid’s first solo album in a decade.
It was recorded in Nashville with his trusted producer Thomm Jutz (Nanci Griffith, Otis Gibbs, Steve Young) and dear friends such as legendary bassist Mark Fain (Ricky Skaggs, Chris Hillman) and session whiz Tammy Rogers (Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood). Its eleven songs include ten Griffin originals and one campfire cover of, get ready, the Velvet Underground’s Femme Fatale.
When asked about the sessions and the album as a whole Griffin smiles and calls The Journey From Grape To Raisin
“my career highlight, the best work I am ever likely to do. Heaven forbid I should go but if I did I’d die happy”.
Sid Griffin proudly uses Pickboy Picks
