In 2021, the music industry lost one of its finest talents: singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Nanci Griffith. The Texas-born, GRAMMY Award-winning artist, who would have celebrated her 70th birthday next week, was revered for her compelling storytelling, her distinctive vocals, and her special brand of Americana (which she dubbed “folkabilly”). During her nearly 45-year career, Griffith released 18 studio albums, placed multiple singles on Billboard’s country charts, made regular appearances on The David Letterman Show and Austin City Limits, and saw many of her songs become hits for other artists (Dolly Parton, Kathy Mattea, and Suzy Bogguss among them). Along her journey, she amassed countless fans – several of whom, including Darius Rucker, the Indigo Girls, and R.E.M.’s Peter Buck, were lucky enough to collaborate with her.
Griffith’s trailblazing legacy will be honored through two special releases arriving this September. The first, Working in Corners, reissues Griffith’s earliest – and long out-of-print – albums, including her 1978 debut, There’s a Light Beyond These Woods, 1982’s Poet in My Window, 1984’s Once in a Very Blue Moon, and 1986’s GRAMMY-nominated The Last of the True Believers (featuring “Love at the Five and Dime” and “Goin’ Gone”). Rounding out the collection are rare photos and ephemera, plus liner notes by Holly Gleason (Rolling Stone, Spin, New York Times) and producer Jim Rooney, who worked closely with Griffith during this period. Rooney, who co-produced the box set, also weaves in memories from a myriad of Griffith’s friends, peers, and collaborators. Set for release on September 8 via Craft Recordings, Working in Corners will be available as 4-CD and 4-LP vinyl box sets, while There’s a Light Beyond These Woods, Poet in My Window, and Once in a Very Blue Moon will make their long-awaited return to digital platforms. Click here to pre-order Working in Corners
Griffith’s music will also be celebrated through the all-star tribute, More Than a Whisper: Celebrating The Music of Nanci Griffith. Arriving September 22 via Rounder Records on vinyl, CD, and digital, the album features Griffith’s friends, collaborators, and fans interpreting her most beloved songs, including Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett and Kathy Mattea, Shawn Colvin, John Prine and Kelsey Waldon, Sarah Jarosz, Steve Earle, and Mary Gauthier, who also shares her admiration for Griffith in heartfelt liner notes. Recorded over several years in studios across America, More Than a Whisper also includes stirring contributions from Brandy Clark, Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle, Iris DeMent, Todd Snider, and Aaron Lee Tasjan, while Ida Mae and The War and Treaty both appear exclusively on the expanded CD, digital, and HD versions of the album. All proceeds from More Than a Whisper will benefit Nashville’s Cumberland Heights, a non-profit treatment facility offering hope and healing to those affected by drug and alcohol addiction. Click here to pre-order More Than a Whisper: Celebrating The Music of Nanci Griffith.
