43-704: James Arthur Griffin (August 10, 1943 – January 11, 2005) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s soft rock band Bread . He won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1970 as co-writer of " For All We Know ". Griffin was born in Cincinnati , Ohio and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee . His musical training began when his parents signed him up for accordion lessons. He attended Kingsbury High School in Memphis and Dorsey and Johnny Burnette were his neighbors and role models. After
86-444: A BMI award for "Apologize" sung by Ames in 1968. Griffin met Robb Royer through Maria Yolanda Aguayo (Griffin's future wife). The two hit it off immediately and became life-time collaborators both as performers and writers. Griffin was a staff writer with Viva Publishing and managed to get them to hire Royer as his co-writer in 1967. Viva was resistant to hiring Royer and instead wanted Griffin to write with another staff writer with
129-574: A "mellow rock" format in 1971. Albert Hammond scored a major hit single with " It Never Rains in Southern California " in 1972, which went top 10 in at least six countries including Canada and the U.S. at numbers 2 and 5, respectively. In the spring of 1972, Neil Young scored his only number-one single with " Heart of Gold ", from the album Harvest . Topping the charts in both the U.S. and Canada, this soft rock ballad featured backing vocals from Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor , heard near
172-531: A Colorado sounding station." By 1977, some radio stations, notably New York's WTFM and NBC -owned WYNY , had switched to an all-soft rock format. Chicago's WBBM-FM adopted a soft rock/album rock hybrid format in 1977 and was known as "Soft Rock 96" presenting the "Mellow sound of Chicago". Five years later, they would flip to a "Hot Hits" top 40 format. By the 1980s, tastes had changed and radio formats reflected this change, including musical artists such as Journey . A prominent counterpart of soft rock in
215-503: A No. 1 hit for Poco written by Ronnie Guilbeau. GYG was performing at numerous Nashville venues including the 2004 CRS Conference and making further plans to shop the CD to indie labels and take the act on the road at the time of Griffin's sickness and death. In early 2004, Griffin recorded a duet with Holly Cieri of his Oscar-winning song "For All We Know". During that same year, Griffin also collaborated with Michael Z. Gordon and Griffin recorded
258-424: A climber, as if releases ahead of it decline in sales sufficiently, they may slip below it. By the same metric, not all week-to-week sales increases result in a climber, if other releases improve by a sufficient amount to keep it from climbing. The term highest climber is used to denote the release making the biggest leap upwards in the chart that week. There is generally not an equivalent phrase for tracks going down
301-409: A lawsuit from Griffin. The dispute was not resolved until 1984. Griffin and Gates put aside their past differences for a Bread reunion tour in 1996–1997 with Botts and Knechtel. In 1977, Griffin released a third solo album, James Griffin , also on Polydor, with tracks recorded in 1974 and 1975. He teamed with Terry Sylvester (formerly of The Hollies) on the album Griffin & Sylvester in 1982 and
344-468: A music/entertainment chart or the performance of a release thereon. A new entry is a title which is making its début in that chart. It is applied to all charts, for instance a track which is outside the Top 40 but which later climbs into that level of the chart is considered to be a 'new entry' to the Top 40 that week. In most official charts, tracks have to have been on sale for a period of time in order to enter
387-414: A particular geographical location. The most common period covered by a chart is one week with the chart being printed or broadcast at the end of this time. Summary charts for years and decades are then calculated from their component weekly charts. Component charts have become an increasingly important way to measure the commercial success of individual songs. A common format of radio and television programs
430-454: A runaway seller. Most charts that are used to determine extant mainstream popularity rely on measurable data. Record chart performance is inherently relative, as they rank songs, albums, and records in comparison to each other at the same time, as opposed to music recording sales certification methods, which are measured in absolute numbers. Comparing the chart positions of songs at different times thus does not provide an accurate comparison of
473-402: A song's overall impact. The nature of most charts, particularly weekly charts, also favors songs that sell very well for a brief period; thus, a song that is only briefly popular may chart higher than a song that sells more copies in the long range, but more slowly. As a result, a band's biggest hit single may not be its best-selling single. There are several commonly used terms when referring to
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#1732869443864516-424: Is a materially different recording or is significantly repackaged (such as Michael Jackson's "Thriller 25"), where the release would normally be considered separate and thus a "new" entry. A climber is a release which is going higher in the chart week-on-week. Because chart positions are generally relative to each other on a week-to-week basis, a release does not necessarily have to increase sales week-to-week to be
559-460: Is to run down a music chart. The first record chart was founded in 1952 by Percy Dickins, who was working at New Musical Express at the time. Dickins would telephone roughly twenty UK record stores and ask what their best-selling records were that week. Several similar charts followed after the success of the NME chart, including Melody Maker and Record Retailer . According to Joel Whitburn ,
602-413: The music industry , also called a music chart , is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include record sales , the amount of radio airplay , the number of downloads , and the amount of streaming activity. Some charts are specific to a particular musical genre and most to
645-561: The 1990s, with artists from previous decades continuing to release new music, such as Genesis , whose 1992 soft rock single " Hold on My Heart " topped the Canadian singles chart and Billboard Adult Contemporary chart . Extreme 's 1991 single " More Than Words " was internationally successful, topping the national singles charts in at least five countries, including Canada and the United States. Mr. Big 's 1992 single " To Be with You "
688-641: The American trade publication Billboard introduced the Hot 100 on August 4, 1958. It was the first chart in the US to "fully integrate the hottest-selling and most-played pop singles." From 1958 until 1991, Billboard compiled the chart from playlists reported by radio stations, and surveys of retail sales outlets. Before 1958, several charts were published, including "Best Sellers in Stores", "Most Played by Jockeys" (later revived under
731-595: The Beatles and " I Love My Dog " by Cat Stevens , both from 1966. By 1968, hard rock had been established as a mainstream genre. From the end of the 1960s, it became common to divide mainstream rock music into soft and hard rock, with both emerging as major radio formats in the US. The Bee Gees were considered soft rock in the late 1960s. Major artists of that time included Bread , Carly Simon , Carole King , Cat Stevens and James Taylor . The Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts became more similar again toward
774-693: The Burnette brothers moved to Los Angeles, California to further their music careers, Griffin went there to visit them, and managed to secure a recording contract with Reprise Records . His first album, Summer Holiday , was released in 1963. He had small roles in two films, For Those Who Think Young (1964) and None but the Brave (1965). In the 1960s, Griffin teamed with fellow songwriter Michael Z. Gordon to write songs for such diverse singers as Ed Ames , Gary Lewis , Bobby Vee , Brian Hyland , The Standells , Lesley Gore , Sandy Nelson and Cher . The pair won
817-446: The Hot 100). A "Top 40" is used by radio to shorten playlists. A re-entry is a track which has previously entered a chart and fallen off of that chart, and then later re-appears in it; it may come about if a release is reissued or if there is a re-surge of interest in the track. Generally, any repeat entry of a track into a chart is considered a re-entry, unless the later version of the track
860-565: The United States. New bands and artists emerged such as the Danish band Michael Learns to Rock , who saw massive popularity in Asia, with many singles becoming commercially successful in the continent starting with their 1991 hit " The Actor ", and Australian band Southern Sons , who enjoyed success on the ARIA Charts with three top 10 singles. Bibliography Record chart A record chart , in
903-470: The albums Blue Frontier (1992) and Aim for the Heart (1993). Their single, " A Long Time Ago " went Top 10 on Billboard'' s country chart in 1992 with "Two-Timin' Me" cracking the Top 20 later that year. Beginning in 1994 Griffin and Robb Royer collaborated with Grammy-nominated songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Todd Cerney to write songs and perform in local venues. Larry Knechtel also participated in
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#1732869443864946-602: The band's permanent drummer, first appearing on their second album, On the Waters . In 1970, Griffin and Royer – under the pseudonyms Arthur James and Robb Wilson – wrote the lyrics for Fred Karlin 's music for the song " For All We Know ", featured in the film Lovers and Other Strangers . It won the Academy Award for Best Song .This song was later covered by The Carpenters on their third album. In 1971 Royer left Bread, but continued to provide songs co-written with Griffin for
989-545: The chart had to be physically available as a single . A chart hit is a recording, identified by its inclusion in a chart that uses sales or other criteria to rank popular releases, that ranks highly in popularity compared to other songs in the same timeframe. Chart-topper and related terms (like number one , No. 1 hit , top of the charts , chart hit , and so forth) are widely used in common conversation and in marketing, and are loosely defined. Because of its value in promoting recording artists and releases, both directly to
1032-505: The chart; however, in some retailers' charts, new releases are included in charts as 'new entries' without a sales history in order to make them more visible to purchasers. In the UK, the official published chart is a Top 100, although a new entry can take place between positions 101–200 (also true of the Billboard Hot 100, which has a " Bubbling Under " addendum for new songs that have not yet made
1075-593: The chart; the term "faller" is occasionally used, but not as widely as 'climber'. A one-hit wonder is an act that appears on the chart just once, or has one song that peaks exceptionally higher, or charts for exceptionally longer than other chart entries by the act. The term true one-hit wonder was the term given by the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles & Albums (and also the Billboard book Top Pop Singles ) for an act that has one top 40 hit and nothing else on
1118-475: The collaboration and the group called themselves Toast (an obvious reference to Bread ). Griffin, Royer and Cerney began this collaboration when they wrote "Kyrie" in 1994. Knechtel also joined songwriting credits on the 1995 song "Slow Train". The group wrote, recorded and performed together at various Nashville Venues including the Bluebird Cafe , 3rd & Lindsley, and 12th & Porter. In 1998 they changed
1161-543: The company. According to Royer, Griffin convinced Viva to hire Royer by threatening "I will be writing with him. Do you really want to give away half the publishing on all those songs?". James Griffin sang songs that were featured in a few episodes of the TV series Ironside in the late sixties. In 1968, Griffin and Royer teamed with David Gates to form the band Bread using session drummer Jim Gordon for their first album and their initial gigs. Mike Botts soon replaced Gordon as
1204-413: The consumer, and by encouraging exposure on radio, TV, and other media, chart positioning has long been a subject of scrutiny and controversy. Chart compilation methodology and data sources vary, ranging from "buzz charts" (based on opinions of various experts and tastemakers ), to charts that reflect empirical data such as retail sales. Therefore, a chart-topper may be anything from an "insiders' pick" to
1247-462: The end of the 1960s and into the early and mid-1970s when the texture of much of the music played on top 40 radio once more began to soften. The adult contemporary format began evolving into the sound that later defined it, with rock-oriented acts as Chicago , the Eagles and Elton John becoming associated with the format. The Carpenters' hit version of " (They Long to Be) Close to You " was released in
1290-478: The end of the song. In 1973, Paul McCartney and Wings had a U.S. number one with " My Love ", which also reached No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary charts of both the U.S. and Canada. Soft rock reached its commercial peak in the mid-to-late 1970s with acts such as Toto , England Dan & John Ford Coley , Air Supply , Seals and Crofts , America and the reformed Fleetwood Mac , whose Rumours (1977)
1333-502: The era such as Rupert Holmes and Hall & Oates , leading to the conflation. In the early 1980s, the radio format evolved into what came to be known as " adult contemporary " or " adult album alternative ", a format that has less overt rock bias than its forebear radio categorization. In Los Angeles, KOST 103.5 FM, under program director Jhani Kaye, debuted its soft adult contemporary format in November 1982. Soft rock persisted in
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1376-469: The group. He was replaced by keyboardist/guitarist Larry Knechtel . They had a number one Billboard Hot 100 hit with the song, " Make It With You ". Other hits by Bread included " Baby I'm-a Want You ", " If " and " Everything I Own ". Although Griffin was a significant contributor to Bread's albums as a writer and singer, every one of the group's thirteen songs that made the Billboard Hot 100 chart
1419-476: The late 1970s and early 1980s came to be known as yacht rock ; its name coined in 2005 by the makers of the online video series Yacht Rock . Originating from California's session musicians, yacht rock only partially overlapped with soft rock; it could include soft to mid-level (but rarely ever purely hard) rock. Much of the "West Coast sound" of yacht rock bore similarity to some of the East Coast soft rockers of
1462-577: The name Hot 100 Airplay ), and "Most Played in Juke Boxes", and, in later collations of chart hits, the record's highest placing in any of those charts was usually reported. On November 30, 1991, Billboard introduced a new method of determining the Hot 100: "by a combination of actual radio airplay monitored electronically by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS), additional playlists from small-market stations, and actual point-of-sale information provided by Nielsen SoundScan ." Until 1998, any songs placed on
1505-428: The name to "Radio Dixie" in an effort to be more commercially viable. The group disbanded in 1998, although Royer and Cerney continued to collaborate on song-writing. In 2003, Griffin, Rick Yancey and Ronnie Guilbeau began writing and performing as GYG, recording a CD of the same name. The CD included new material and well-known tunes like "Who's Gonna Know", a Remingtons tune recorded by Conway Twitty, and "Call It Love"
1548-467: The song, "Something Else Altogether" which was slated to be the title song for the film, "The Devil and Daniel Webster". However, the film went into bankruptcy and the song was never used in the movie but was recently posted on YouTube and dedicated to Griffin. Griffin died of complications from cancer on January 11, 2005, at his home in Franklin, Tennessee , after undergoing treatment for several months; he
1591-636: The summer of 1970, followed by Bread 's " Make It with You ", both early examples of a softer sound that was coming to dominate the charts. The soft rock album Tapestry by Carole King, released in February 1971, became one of the best-selling albums of all time. The lead double-sided single from the album, " It's Too Late "/" I Feel the Earth Move ", spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 beginning in mid-June 1971. Los Angeles station KNX-FM , under program director Steve Marshall, introduced
1634-526: Was 61 years old. He was survived by his wife Marti, daughters Katy and Alexis, sons Jamey and Jacob, granddaughters Laura and Lilli and grandsons Gryffyn and Max. Soft rock Soft rock (also known as light rock ) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock , relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. Soft rock
1677-551: Was a member of Black Tie with Randy Meisner and Billy Swan , which released When The Night Falls in 1985, co-produced by T-Bone Burnett . Robb Royer was also credited as a musician on the album. The album was remixed and reissued in the early 1990s, with Griffin's voice more prominent on some songs. The Black Tie single "Learning The Game" peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard country chart in 1991. In 1991 Griffin formed The Remingtons with Richard Mainegra and Rick Yancey. They released their first single that same year, followed by
1720-506: Was a number one hit in at least twelve countries. Eric Clapton 's 1992 single " Tears in Heaven " was also successful, topping the national singles charts in Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and six other countries. Richard Marx 's 1994 single " Now and Forever " topped the Canadian adult contemporary chart and peaked in the top ten of the national singles charts in that country, Norway, and
1763-425: Was prevalent on the radio throughout the 1970s and eventually metamorphosed into a form of the synthesized music of adult contemporary in the 1980s. The genre was pioneered by such artists as Fleetwood Mac , Elton John , James Taylor and Hall & Oates . Softer sounds in rock music could be heard in mid-1960s songs, such as " A Summer Song " by Chad & Jeremy (1964) and " Here, There and Everywhere " by
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1806-468: Was the best-selling album of the decade. Denver station KIMN-FM introduced a "mellow rock" album format in 1975. Program director Scott Kenyon told Billboard magazine, Michael Murphey's " Wildfire " is a perfect example; it feels like Colorado, you can tell it came from this part of the country. There's a sound of the Rockies... the best description is mellow rock. Take that kind of music and make it into
1849-641: Was written and sung by Gates, a situation that created friction between the two. After the release of Guitar Man in 1972, Bread went on hiatus. Griffin released a solo album, Breakin' Up Is Easy on Polydor Records in 1973, credited to 'James Griffin & Co'. Neither the album nor the singles, "Breakin' Up Is Easy", and "She Knows", made the Billboard charts . Bread reformed in 1976 for one final album, Lost Without Your Love . Gates, Botts, and Knechtel continued to record together on Gates's solo albums, and initially toured as 'David Gates & Bread', which led to
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