Blues Matters! Issue 97

One of the most celebrated singer/songwriters of her generation, Nanci Griffith had a gift for writing songs that were literate and emotionally complex while also sounding thoroughly universal, even when they most often reflected small-town Texas life. A proud daughter of the Lone Star State, Griffith liked to call her music "folkabilly," reflecting her influences in folk, country, early rock & roll, and the Texas songwriting community that for her was both an inspiration and a home base. Though her music was steeped in tales of ordinary lives, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind about social and political matters, and injected a progressive sound and feeling into music that embraced traditionalism. 1984's Once in a Very Blue Moon, her third album, was the creative breakthrough where she hit her stride as a songwriter and performer, 1993's Other Voices, Other Rooms was a celebration of her influences and was a critical and commercial success, and 2004's Hearts in Mind was an ambitious collection of politically oriented songs. Collection includes: There's A Light Beyond These Woods (1978), Poet In My Window (1982), The Last of the True Believers (1986), Other Voices, Other Rooms (1993), Flyer (1994).