Song:I've Got A Woman Part 1
Album:A Toast To Jimmy McGriff's Golden Classics
Jimmy McGriff is one of the all time greats of the Hammond B-3 organ along with his pals Jimmy Smith and Richard "Groove" Holmes. McGriff's 1962 cover of the Ray Charles classic I've Got A Woman was a top twenty pop hit. He was born Apr. 3, 1936 in the Philadelphia suburb of Germantown, PA. His parents played piano so McGriff learned to play as a child. As a teen, he settled on the bass. He was going to learn organ from Holmes. But then McGriff was drafted and he was an MP in Korea. Upon his return, he became a Philadelphia police officer. He still played bass in clubs especially for Big Maybelle. But McGriff was still interested in the organ so he contacted Holmes again. This time he bought his own organ and studied at Juilliard and with Milt Buckner and Jimmy Smith. He released a single in 1958. McGriff formed a trio with guitarist Morris Dow and former Harry James drummer Jackie Mills. Jell Records owner Joe Lederman saw them in a club and had them record I've Got A Woman. It did well enough that Juggy Murray picked it up for the larger Sue label. McGriff recorded an album and I've Got A Woman Part 1 reached #20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #5 on the R&B Singles chart. Other chart hits included All About My Girl and Kiko. After Murray sold Sue to United Artists in 1965, McGriff moved to UA's Solid State label to begin a long association with producer Sonny Lester. This comp CD covers McGriff's Sue recordings. McGriff recorded for Solid State for the rest of the 60s. He also owned The Golden Slipper club in Newark, NJ. He also toured with Buddy Rich. After McGriff recorded some albums for Blue Note in the early 70s, he retired to become a horse farmer. But Lester started Groove Merchant and McGriff recorded for them for the rest of the 70s including a couple of albums with his old pal Richard "Groove" Holmes. In the 80s, McGriff recorded for Fantasy's Milestone label and he toured and recorded with sax legend Hank Crawford. And he formed The Dream Team with Ray Charles sax player David "Fathead" Newman and legendary session drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. Jimmy McGriff retired in 2002 and died on May 24, 2008 at age 72. Here's a video for I've Got A Woman Part 1 by Jimmy McGriff. Part 2 was on the B side.
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