Mt. Vernon resident shares deep truths in simple manner during stellar singing, songwriting career
By John Herndon, KentuckySings.com
MOUNT VERNON, Ky. – There’s a sense of amazement surrounding Rodney Griffin these days. It’s an amazement of where God has led him as one of gospel music’s most recognized artists and the innumerable blessings popping up in his journey.
And, Griffin might wonder, what’s next?
Before a May appearance with Greater Vision at his home church, Bible Baptist in Mt. Vernon, Griffin still seemed overwhelmed about his induction into the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame coming October 26 at Renfro Valley. Those in the Southern Gospel world believe Griffin is more than deserving, given his membership in the Southern Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame the 21 No. 1 hits he’s penned.
But Griffin does not see himself on par with gospel greats like Howard and Vestal Goodman, Dottie Rambo or Steven Curtis Chapman, all members of the Hall of Fame. “Those are my heroes,” Griffin quietly smiled. “I know how incredibly grateful and incredibly blessed I feel to be a part of this class.”
Like thousands of others in the 1960s, ‘70s and early ‘80s, Griffin knew The Happy Goodmans almost as family members. “Oh yes! On Sunday mornings, we’d be getting ready for church and it would be ‘Jubilee, Jubilee.’ You could hear that,” he said before breaking into the familiar theme song for the Gospel Singing Jubilee.
And Griffin is simultaneously awed and thankful to be honored with artists from all forms of music.
“Steve Wariner from up the road in Russell Springs. Larnelle Harris is one of my all-time favorites,” Griffin said, naming other Hall of Fame members. “I grew up listening to Crystal Gayle. Jon Conlee, back when I was in high school, he was a top country singer. Of course Vestal and Howard Goodman, Ricky Skaggs.
“Rosemary Clooney, what a vocalist she was! My goodness! Think of all those Christmas songs I listened to. Norah Lee Allen sang at the Grand Ole Opry all those years. Grandpa Jones, I used to see him on Saturday nights on ‘Hee Haw.’ Steven Curtis Chapman, what a consistent performer he has been down through the years. Exile, I listened to them in high school. Jason Crabb, what an incredible singer and songwriter and artist and what a great friend he is. There are some really quality people there.”
While Griffin’s appearances with Greater Vision are largely found in churches and smaller concert venues, his impact on gospel music has been enormous. He’s written over 500 songs and with many spending time on the Southern Gospel charts.
“He is so deserving,” said Griffin’s Greater Vision mate Jon Epley. “He has lived in Kentucky for a lot of years but he has had an impact all over this nation with his songwriting and his singing. It’s such a great thing and I am very excited for him.”
Griffin is beloved for his ability to uncover truths in overlooked places. “I Remember the Fish,” part of Greater Vision’s 2019 album, You’ve Arrived, is a prime example. Told from the perspective of a Jewish man looking back on his childhood, he recalls giving Jesus his lunch of five loaves and two fish and seeing 5,000 people fed.
“Rodney can write as deep and complicated as anybody, but he has a knack for taking a very complicated idea and breaking it down where just the average guy in his pickup, who doesn’t care about all of that complicated stuff, where that guy can understand it,” Epley continued. “He has that ability to make things just right down where you live.”
Griffin believes God leads him during those times of successful writing. “If I have ever been able to put a few lines together and make a song and come up with a melody, it’s just the Lord giving me the ability to do that,” he said.
God blessed Griffin with considerable writing abilities as he has Southern Gospel fans have named him their favorite songwriter 24 out of the last 25 years.
The one other writer honored in that time frame? The legendary Bill Gaither.
And Griffin is often reminded of that ability to make biblical truths personal through music, especially through a song he wrote more than 20 years ago, “Faces.”
The song focuses on those who serve God behind the scenes and ends with the powerful lyric,
And for those years you thought
Nobody saw as you labored in lowly places
One day he’ll smile and show you all the faces.
… the faces… you’ll see their faces.
– “Faces,” by Rodney Griffin, recorded by Greater Vision. Words and music by Rodney Griffin, @2003, Songs of Greater Vision (BMI)
“It seems every week I get requests to use that song in a funeral, at a pastor’s retirement service, at a pastor appreciation day, at a missionary send off, so anyone who is doing anything for the Kingdom, they absolutely do not need to be on a platform to do that,” Griffin recalled.
“Most of God’s kingdom work is done off the platform, so that song was written to remind each of us, even if we are just changing diapers in the nursery, that someday we are all part of God’s program to see the gospel spread and you will see the faces of those your life influenced and brought to Calvary and knelt at the cross because of your faithfulness to do the little thing that God asked you to do.”
Not only do the lyrics speak, but Griffin’s songs are written in such a manner that churches across America use them as a part of their music ministries. Epley says that Griffin keeps the musical score “simple enough that the average church group and church piano player can sit down and play it and the church quartet can sing it. Because of that, his songs have been sung for years and years. He writes in a way that anybody can sing them, anybody can play them. Again, that is a great compliment to him.”
Songs like “Faces,” “I Remember the Fish” and “My Name Is Lazarus” have lifted Griffin to a place of honor amongst Kentucky artists. And like Griffin’s humble manner, the news was delivered rather quietly.
“I was checking my email and saw an email had been forwarded by the Greater Vision office to me,” remembers Griffin, who grew up in Somerset and graduated from Pulaski County High School. “It had been sent by Jessica Blankenship, the director of the Hall of Fame.
“We were actually available that night (Oct. 26), which is very unusual. I couldn’t believe that I looked at the calendar and we were not scheduled to be anywhere.”
Griffin is thrilled that the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame continues to recognize the many branches of gospel music. “The Kentucky Hall, just by including gospel possibilities, it means they see our genre as legitimate musically. We know how legitimate it is spiritually. It reaches people. To be taken as a medium musically serious is really, really a neat thought.”
And Griffin, who has sung at Renfro Valley as a member of the Dixie Melody Boys as well as Greater Vision, is eager to sing the message he loves before a different audience. While Greater Vision’s tour schedule is filled with stops at churches and smaller venues full of gospel music fans, the induction ceremony audience will likely include people who have not been touched or challenged by Griffin’s music.
“Oh, man, that is the best ever,” Griffin said with a big smile. “You get to sing to people, some of whom may have never even heard the gospel. If we sing a song like ‘Faces,’ maybe we will stir them to thinking, ‘What about my soul? What about eternity? Am I just living for the here and now? Maybe I should think about what happiness to me after I die.’”
But for now, Rodney Griffin will just keep on singing and writing.
And he will be recognized for his efforts in his hometown. “It’s probably about seven miles from my house,” Griffin says. “And Renfro Valley has such a rich history with gospel music. Of course, all genres have sung there but gospel music has been represented here.
“It’s hard to believe our little town holds the place where Kentucky musicians are recognized.
“If you ask me a reason why I should be in the Hall of Fame, I can’t think of any. It’s just an unbelievable thing and I will take it gracefully and thank the Lord.”
Gospel great says Griffin ‘lives his life with genuine purpose’
Rodney Griffin is not only one of gospel music’s most recognized artists and songwriters but those in the industry say he’s a true friend.
“Communicator, wordsmith, giver, master of his craft, hero, a true friend. All of these terms, and then some, aptly describe Rodney Griffin,” says Alan Kendall, who sings baritone for The Kingsmen Quartet and is very active in promoting Southern Gospel music in America. “I’ve never seen him when he wasn’t working for the greater good. He lives his life with genuine purpose.
“He blesses those who haven’t even had the privilege of knowing him personally. Imagine getting to meet someone you admire from afar and realizing that they were even more than you ever imagined. I’ve discovered that about Rodney. Take every stereotypical good thing that could be said about anybody in our music, multiply it times 3, and you’ll define Rodney Griffin. He has walked the walk and talked the talk.”
KENTUCKY MUSIC HALL OF FAME INDUCTION OCTOBER 26
The Kentucky Music Hall of Fame will be inducting the Class of 2024 on Saturday, October 26 at 7 p.m. The incoming class includes Black Stone Cherry, Rodney Griffin, Bobby Mackey, Paul Martin, Jimmy Mattingly, The McLain Family Band, Billy Moore, Ruble Sanderson, Sturgill Simpson, Charlie Sizemore, and Gary Stewart.
For more information see 2024 KY Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony – Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum
KENTUCKY MUSIC HALL OF FAME CELEBRATES COMMONWEALTH’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO ALL GENRES OF MUSIC
The Kentucky Music Hall of Fame is a place to study and honor the Commonwealth’s deep musical heritage across all genres. A visitor to the Hall will find displays honoring some of those who have impacted various styles, from the 40s and 50s pop of Rosemary Clooney to the father of Bluegrass Bill Monroe, to Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary, to The Everly Brothers to country greats such as Merle Travis, Tom T. Hall and Wynonna and Naomi Judd.
Many of the artists honored have roots in some form of gospel music. For example, Ricky Skaggs, a native of Lawrence County, has been known for his work in Christian bluegrass and country and usually has a heavy dose of gospel in his concerts.
The Hall of Fame has honored several Kentuckians who have had major impacts on Christian music. Those inductees are, with hometowns and classes in parentheses: Vestal and Howard Goodman (Madisonville, 2004), Dottie Rambo (Madisonville, 2006), Larnelle Harris (Danville, 2011), Steven Curtis Chapman (Paducah, 2013), and Jason Crabb (Beaver Dam, 2018).
To learn more of the members of the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, see the Hall of Fame website. Inductees – Kentucky Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
