Entertainment

Family responsibilities and a thriving construction business couldn't keep Jeff Griffith from his passion for traditional country music.

David Clements

Jeff Griffith: 'I stand for good country music.'

In fact, the 42-year-old singer with the reedy, penetrating baritone has turned his love for the vintage style into a crusade. He's out to make sure audiences don't forget the no-frills, honky-tonk power of George Jones, Vern Gosdin and the late Gary Stewart. Via a debut CD, If It Ain't One Thing It's Another, and about five gigs a month, Mr. Griffith spreads the country gospel.

"You've got to stand for something, and I stand for good country music," he says by phone from his San Antonio home. "I'm not going to let nobody come in and mold me into what I should do. I can only sing and do what I feel. Every time I travel and perform, people are starved to death for that traditional sound."

He's eager to feed.

"There are people out there loving this. It ain't got nothing to do with the money. It ain't got nothing to do with being a star. It's about Jeff Griffith being known for doing traditional country music."

If It Ain't One Thing It's Another teams Mr. Griffith with producer Joe Stampley, of Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley fame, as well as traditionalist songwriters such as Tony Stampley (Joe's son), Wayne Carson, Dean Dillon and Kevin Denny. Mr. Griffith goes for quiet emotions on the ballad "She Reminds Me of You," clever wordplay on "I'm Your Radio," beer-soaked lament on a cover of Mr. Stewart's "Drinkin' Thing," and good-ol'-boy humor on "Fishin' Forever" and "If It Ain't One Thing It's Another."

"I have kids at my show – 18, 19 years old – that come up to me and ask if I wrote that 'Drinkin' Thing' song," he says. "They've never heard of Gary Stewart. I can't get mad at them. I feel sorry for them. It goes to show you even the younger generation love that style of music. They are never going to know it unless somebody goes out there and gives them that."

Don't get Mr. Griffith started on today's contemporary country, mainly the slick pop brand delivered by Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood.

David Clements

"There's a market for everybody out there, I guess," he says. "But people can't dance to Keith Urban and Rascal Flatts. They can dance to my music."

Mr. Griffith grew up with the music of Mr. Jones, Mr. Gosdin, Mr. Stewart, Hank Williams Jr. and Ricky Skaggs. He especially shares a musical kinship with Mr. Jones and Mr. Gosdin.

"When you hear a song and the artist can make you cry, or when it gives you chills, that's a gift," says Mr. Griffith, who was born in La Marque, Texas, and raised in nearby Santa Fe. "Vern Gosdin and George Jones could make me cry, run chills up my bones. I lived and breathed Vern Gosdin and George Jones. I never wanted to copy their voices – you need to have your own style – but what I did want to copy by them is the way you presented your songs. There's nothing like looking out in your audience and seeing a grown man with a handkerchief. That is what country music is all about."

But Mr. Griffith is no fool. He knows that independently released traditional country music presents an up-the-mountain challenge in today's youth-targeted market. That's why the father of three makes a comfortable living with Griffith Construction, the business in Spring Branch, Texas, that he started 15 years ago.

"I have guys that run it for me when I go out on the road," he says. "That's my bread and butter. But I believe I was put here on Earth to deliver my music. I've been blessed that I've been able to do that. Music is not a hobby. It's a passion to change something. I'm on a mission to help change country music."

Jeff Griffith performs at 9 p.m. Friday at Pearl's Dancehall & Saloon, 302 W. Exchange St., Fort Worth. $5 cover at the door. For more information, call 817-624-2800.