Editing Nanci Griffith (section)

==Early life and career==
Griffith, the youngest of three siblings, was born in [[Seguin, Texas]], and grew up in [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], where her family moved shortly after her birth.<ref name="texasmonthly">[https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/nanci-griffith-more-loved-than-she-knew/  Nanci Griffith Was More Loved Than She Knew ], texasmonthly.com, August 16, 2021</ref><ref name="popdose" /> Her mother Ruelene was a real estate agent and amateur actress; her father, Marlin Griffith, was a graphic artist and barbershop quartet singer.<ref name="globemediawire">[https://www.globemediawire.com/world/2021/08/14/nanci-griffiths-death-grammy-winning-singer-dies-at-68/ Nanci Griffith’s death: Grammy-winning singer dies at 68 ], globemediawire.com, Aug 14, 2021</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/nanci-griffith-death-age-songs-b1902443.html Nanci Griffith: Grammy-winning singer dies aged 68], independent.co.uk, August 14, 2021.</ref> Griffith began her music career at age 12, singing in a local coffeehouse.<ref name="globemediawire"/> When she was a teenager, her father took her to see [[Townes Van Zandt]]. At 14, she performed her first professional gig at the Red Lion Cabaret in downtown Austin.<ref>[https://statesman.com/story/entertainment/music/2021/08/27/nanci-griffith-obituary-austin-singer-songwriter-dead/8188421002/ ''Remembering Nanci Griffith, the greatest Austin-raised singer-songwriter ever''], statesman.com, Aug 27, 2021</ref> Her debut album, ''[[There's a Light Beyond These Woods]]'', was released in 1978; the cover was designed by her father.

Griffith's career spanned a variety of musical genres, predominantly [[country music|country]], [[folk music|folk]], and what she termed "folkabilly."<ref name="Larkin"/> She won a Grammy for [[Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album|Best Contemporary Folk Album]] in 1994 for her 1993 recording, ''[[Other Voices, Other Rooms (Nanci Griffith album)|Other Voices, Other Rooms]].''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-58212802|title=Nanci Griffith: Folk and country singer-songwriter dies aged 68|publisher=BBC|language=English|date=14 August 2021|access-date=16 August 2021}}</ref> The album features Griffith covering the songs of artists who were her major influences. One of her better-known songs is "[[From a Distance]]," which was written and composed by [[Julie Gold]]. Similarly, other artists have occasionally achieved greater success than Griffith herself with songs that she wrote or co-wrote. For example, [[Kathy Mattea]] had a country music top-five hit with a 1986 cover of Griffith's "[[Love at the Five and Dime]]" and [[Suzy Bogguss]] had one of her largest hits with Griffith (and [[Tom Russell]])'s "[[Outbound Plane]]".<ref name = people1/>{{citation needed|date=August 2021}}

In 1994, Griffith teamed with [[Jimmy Webb]] to contribute the song "If These Old Walls Could Speak" to the [[AIDS]] benefit album ''[[Red Hot + Country]]'' produced by the [[Red Hot Organization]]. She survived [[breast cancer]] which was diagnosed in 1996, and [[thyroid cancer]] in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nancigriffith.com/biography.php |title=Biography |access-date=January 13, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070113061945/http://www.nancigriffith.com/biography.php |archive-date=January 13, 2007 }} originating from nancigriffith.com Retrieved January 31, 2013</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/nanci-griffith-s-irish-hit-cancer-history-and-really-dysfunctional-family-1.4648298 | title = Nanci Griffith's Irish hit, cancer history and 'really dysfunctional' family | last = Sweeting | first = Adam | date = August 16, 2021 | newspaper = The Irish Times | access-date = July 9, 2022 | quote = She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996 and thyroid cancer in 1998.}}</ref>

[[Christine Lavin]], a singer and songwriter, remembers the first time she saw Griffith perform:<blockquote>I was struck by how perfect everything was about her singing, her playing, her talking. I realized from the get-go that this was someone who was a complete professional. Obviously she had worked a long time to get to be that good.<ref>Deitz, Roger (May/June 1995). "Home at Last". ''Acoustic Guitar''. No. 30. p. 52.</ref></blockquote>

Griffith contributed background vocals on many other recordings.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.grantguerrero.com/nanguest.html |title=Comprehensive Nanci Griffith Discography |access-date=September 5, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181109/http://www.grantguerrero.com/nanguest.html |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Nanci Griffith Cambridge Festival 2007 (966579201).jpg|260px|thumb|right|Griffith performing at the [[Cambridge Folk Festival]], 2007]]
Griffith performed four songs, "The Day the Earth Stopped Cold", "Gravity of the Situation", "So Strange", and "Hold My Hand" with [[Hootie & the Blowfish]] during their  ''[[MTV Unplugged]]'' performance in 1996 in Columbia, South Carolina, to raise awareness for [[Sweet Relief Musicians Fund]].

Griffith suffered from severe [[writer's block]] after 2004, lasting until the 2009 release of her ''[[The Loving Kind (Nanci Griffith Album)|The Loving Kind]]'' album, which contained nine selections that she had written and composed either entirely by herself or as collaborations.<ref>"Her songs were an extension of her literary interests – she wrote long-form and short-form fiction that sometimes became songs, and vice versa – and when songs wouldn't come (she suffered from songwriter’s block between 2004 and 2009), she would use prose to try and keep the words flowing." [https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/19517475.obituary-nanci-griffith-grammy-winning-singer-songwriter/ ''Obituary: Nanci Griffith, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter''], by Rob Adams, heraldscotland.com,  August 16th, 2021</ref> After several months of limited touring in 2011, Griffith's bandmates [[The Kennedys (band)|the Kennedys]] ([[Pete & Maura Kennedy]]) packed up their professional [[Manhattan]] recording studio and moved it to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], installing it in Griffith's home. There with her backing group including the Kennedys and Pat McInerney, she co-produced her album ''[[Intersection (album)|Intersection]]'' over the summer. The album included several new original songs and was released in April 2012 on [[Proper Records]].<ref name="Proper Records">{{cite web |url=http://www.proper-records.co.uk/artists/nanci-griffith |last=Griffith |first=Nanci |title=Intersection|website=Proper-records.co.uk|date=December 20, 2011 }}</ref>