Every year at the World of Bluegrass conference sponsored by the International Bluegrass Music Association, they present Momentum Awards for musicians and people in the industry that have had an impact on the progress of the music format. One person who definitely deserves an award (albeit posthumously) is television star Andy Griffith.
Andy Griffith was a legend. He was a great actor who could do both comedy and drama, serve as both the hero and villain, and made all of his characters believable. Of course, what he is best remembered for is the role of Sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show. While he continually helped keep the peace in Mayberry along with a number of comedic characters, he also had a charm that could put anyone at ease. A good friend and I will continually text each other to say that we are in one of those moods that only an episode or two of The Andy Griffith Show can cure.
What I respect Griffith the most for, and what so many people seem to forget about him, is his love for music, particularly roots-based music like bluegrass and Gospel. Throughout the series of the television show, there was hardly an episode where at the very least Andy could be found strumming a guitar on the porch in the evening.
Griffith was seeped in music as much as in acting. He graduated from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Music and was the president of the glee club. One of his first great roles in film was as the guitar-slinging bum turned political influencer “Lonesome” Larry Rhodes. Previous to that, he had released a comedy album and appeared on Broadway. Then came the role of Sheriff Andy Taylor. It seemed he had a guitar to his side more than a pistol. He brought forth a persona that made everyone wish that he was the sheriff of their town.
But the love of music went beyond strumming a guitar. Early episodes included appearances of the West Coast bluegrass group The Country Boys, which included brothers Clarence and Roland White and would eventually become The Kentucky Colonels. One of these shows revolved around a city-slicker record executive coming to Mayberry to record local bands, which included Griffith performing a few tunes with the band. Other episodes included Gospel singing by fellow Broadway actor Jack Prince (who portrayed moonshiner Rafe Hollister), and Andy promoting a rockabilly guitar player named Jim Lindsey (portrayed by James Best, better known later as Sheriff Rosco Coltrane on The Dukes of Hazzard). Even the show’s theme song was a catchy tune, still with us today in a Lincoln SUV commercial with Matthew McConaughey.
However, the most popular musical episodes involved the arrival of the Darling family to town. Denver Pyle was the father figure and did the talking, while his four silent sons were the members of the bluegrass band The Dillards. Every episode they appeared usually had two songs, with either Rodney Dillard, Griffith, or sister Charlene (played by Maggie Peterson) singing lead. While Pyle playing a jug with the band was laughable, those appearances helped not only The Dillards, but folk and bluegrass music in general at a time when bluegrass was found mostly on college campuses.
Yes, one can say that The Beverly Hillbillies show, with its theme song “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” and appearances by Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs was more prominent. The theme song was a hit on the Billboard charts and, along with “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” appearing in the movie Bonnie & Clyde, got Lester & Earl back into the spotlight. However, those appearances on The Beverly Hillbillies seemed much more comical and hokey compared to the music on The Andy Griffith Show. Both shows were comedy, but music performances on TAGS seemed much more part of the storyline, and never seemed like it was promoting something else.
Even after that show went off the air, and Griffith went on to Matlock as well as a number of film roles, he still had a passion for music. He put out a number of Gospel and folk-style albums in the 80s and 90s. He also made appearance on a number of variety shows singing folk and Gospel songs. In 2003, Martin Guitar Company showed its appreciation for him by issuing a limited-edition Martin D-18 Andy Griffith Acoustic Guitar. If a company like Martin can see how important Griffith was for roots music, then a whole lot of other people and organizations should as well.
Andy Griffith was as American as apple pie and baseball. If a fifth face was to go on Mount Rushmore, it should be his.
Luegra 