Performer Information

Were it not for Ken & Nora Griffis, probably there would be no Western Music Association, and the Sons of the Pioneers (and the Reinsmen and Sons of the San Joquin) might not have a written history. We probably wouldn’t have the Pioneers’ discography, film history, Nolan & Spencer’s composer credits and the Pioneers’ (and many others) transcriptions in our libraries. There are other important Western music historians, but Ken & Nora Griffis pave the way with Ken’s personal contacts, extensive interviews an writing, and Nora’s painstaking research. They blazed the trail.

When he moved from Missouri to California in 1940, Ken Griffis found that Country & Western music was very popular in the greater Los Angeles area. In addition to the newly formed Spade Cooley group, there were dozens of bands appearing in almost every city of any size in the area. Burt (Foreman) Phillips a leader in promoting Country & Western music, had several bands operating throughout Southern California. In this setting, Ken became acquainted with many of the artists.

By the early fifties, Ken had become a Bob Wills fan and collector. Nora was the Roy Rogers and Sons of the Pioneers fan, and it was she who got Ken interested in their music. In the process, he and Nora became friends with Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers. This led to an association that lasted the rest of their lives. They loved to take their young son, Alan, to visit with Roy and Dale and delighted in seeing the joy in his eyes at being in the living room of every child’s hero. In later years, Roy would often ask Ken to receive awards on his behalf.

In the early 1970s, Ken became associated with the non-profit educational organization The John Edwards Memorial Foundation (JEMF), housed at the time at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). The central purpose of the JEMF is to gather recordings and written material, as well as to record the history of participants in folk, country, and Western music. For some 15 years, Ken was responsible for raising funds to the keep the organization alive.

Through his activities on behalf of the JEMF, he made friends with a large number of Western artists. Feeling the contributions of these legendary performers were of great importance, Ken began to assemble a collection of personal interviews, It was through these efforts that a vast amount of background information on these artists was collected and the contributions they made were painstakingly documented. It has become apparent that had Ken not recorded so much of the history of a number of artists, an important segment of this history would have been lost forever.

This interest in the history of Western music led Ken to write numerous articles and books that have proved to be of interest to fans and musicians alike. His book, Hear My Song-The Story of the Celebrated Sons of the Pioneers, first published in 1974, was the first full history of this legendary group. Two additional books, The Reinsmen-Painters of the West in Song and Sons of the San Joaquin-The Songs, The Music, The Men, provide insight into the contributions made by two more of Western music’s most impressive singing groups.

The articles and books resulting from Ken’s interviews and Nora’s research on the details of dates, recordings, films, and the songs in the films, etc., probably did more than anyone else’ contributions to renew interest in not only the Sons of the Pioneers but other Western musicians and the musical Western films themselves.

Sensing the need for an organization where fans and artists could come together to express their mutual admiration for each other, in August 1988 Bill Wiley and Ken Griffis laid the foundation for the Western Music Association. Without question, the outgrowth of their efforts resulted in many enjoyable, informative gatherings for artists and fans alike.

Two anecdotes from their son Alan offer some insight into the personalities of Ken and Nora Griffis. Western wildlife and scenery are important features of many Western songs, and the preservation of these things was dear to Ken and Nora. Alan tells one story: “In Colorado, there are no laws on the extermination of the Black Tailed Prairie Dog, Living in the same fields with the prairie dogs are the Black Footed Ferret and the Ground Owls. The inhumane treatment in their extermination was more than Mom and Dad could take, so here were Mom and Dad in their 60s, on their hands and knees going from field to field collecting them. Working with a couple of organizations, they went to field after field putting soapy water down one hole and then catching them at another. Then cleaning out their eyes and ears, putting them in a cage, and taking them to the Army Arsenal, where they were cared for. The Arsenal is a natural habitat for them now, along with bison and deer.”

And there’s a musical anecdote that Alan will always remember: “I wasn’t much of a guitar player, but one Saturday when I was maybe 17 or 18, Dad said ‘Grab your guitar, we’re going to see a friend.’ We arrived at a hotel west of LA and went directly to a hotel room. Dad knocked on the door. A very nice lady opened the door and Dad said to me, ‘You first Al.’ I walked in and there sitting on the bed, playing his guitar, was Merle Travis! My feet couldn’t move! He got up and said, “Come on in, Al, let’s play guitar.’ Dad had set it all up in advance. That’s who Dad was.”