Albert Sidney "Sid" Griffin was born on September 18,1955 and is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist-mandolinist, bandleader, and author who lives in London, England.
13 Facts About Sid Griffin
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Sid Griffin led the Long Ryders band in the 1980s, founded the Coal Porters group in the 1990s, has recorded several solo albums and is the author of volumes on Bob Dylan, Gram Parsons and bluegrass music.
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Sid Griffin then moved to Los Angeles, California, to launch a career as a musician.
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Sid Griffin briefly played in the punk band Death Wish before joining Shelley Ganz to form the Unclaimed in 1979.
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Sid Griffin left the Unclaimed in November 1981, along with band's bassist Barry Shank, to form the nascent Long Ryders, adding Greg Sowders on drums and, after a period of searching, guitarist Stephen McCarthy.
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Besides the Long Ryders, Griffin has been the bandleader of the Coal Porters, which he put together while living in Los Angeles.
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The Coal Porters were initially rooted in the music of the Byrds, Gram Parsons, and the Buffalo Springfield, playing country and country rock songs but evolved into an acoustic group playing a hybrid of folk and bluegrass after Sid Griffin moved to London in the early 1990s.
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Sid Griffin has worked as a producer, helming the Lindisfarne album Here Comes the Neighbourhood.
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Sid Griffin is the co-author of the BBC television documentary Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel.
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Sid Griffin serves as a periodic commentator on popular music for BBC radio and television.
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Sid Griffin is an on-camera commentator on a number of documentaries covering the careers of such major musicians as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, Adele, Reba McEntire, Gene Clark, Amy Winehouse, Ringo Starr, and Van Halen.
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Sid Griffin served as the keynote speaker at the Americana Music Association UK Conference in London on Feb 1,2017.
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In 2022, Sid Griffin was on hand to accept the International Trailblazers Award on behalf of the Long Ryders from the Americana Music Association UK.