Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. Hey, diddle, diddle! The cat and the fiddle—The cow jumped over the moon The little dog laughed to see such sport—And the dish ran away with the spoon – English nursery rhyme. Author unknown. c. 1765 Man, those early nursery rhyme writers surely must've been high o

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. Over the course of my life, I've listened to a lot of music. In the early years, it was my daddy's expansive record collection—albums by Hank Williams, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Patti Page, and Guy Lombardo; 45 rpm records of Marty Robbins, Webb Pierce, Johnny Cash, an

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. Of all the things she could give me—to outlast all time It was the joy of a sweet boy so fine – “Mother of my Son” by Uncle Dave Griffin During the Christmas season of 1998, I wrote a song dedicated to my wife, who five years earlier had given birth to my one and on

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. Dear Lovelorn, I advise you to turn back. You can catch him later. No, wait—that's what Mister Fletcher said to Captain Red Legs in The Outlaw Josie Wales; and, we all know how that turned out. Why anyone would ask me—a two-time divorcee—for answers about love is

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. Countless country music records—George Jones, Lynn Anderson, Tammy Wynette—and more than a few rock recordings—Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, George Harrison—have featured the melodic stylings of a steel guitar impresario whose early work contributed to the success of a la

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. After The Beatles' commanding debut performance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, throwing a band together in American neighborhoods was about as common as learning how to crawl underneath your school desk during a Civil Defense nuclear drill. Ten years later, Billy

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. It's hard to imagine life without cellphones and computers nowadays. There are whole generations—including my three grandkids—who roll their eyes and yawn when I begin to expound on my boring childhood with its rotary dial telephones tethered to the wall, black and

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. Clothes make the man...naked people have little or no influence on society. —Mark Twain, quoted in More Maxims of Mark. Johnson, 1927 I've heard the opposite—clothes don't make the man; though, it seems, growing up in the Fifties and Sixties, I was exposed to music

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. From the time I can remember, I have loved everything having to do with Walt Disney. At the age of three, I was a devoted, t-shirt wearing fan of TV's The Mickey Mouse Club. I memorized the immortal words to the Davy Crockett theme song and wore the coonskin cap

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. I've said it before; but it bears repeating. Waycross, Georgia songwriters have a unique 'something' that sets them apart from others. It's not that I think we're better than anyone else. I don't quite know what it is; but, I can tell you when I hear it. In 2003

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. I dedicate this Tail of the Weak to the memory of one of my earliest heroes who passed away November 12, 2018. May you rest in peace, Stan Lee. Excelsior! By 1964, I had lived in Tripoli, Libya —where I'd had my Christmas cowboy suit swiftly and systematically rem

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. Throughout my musical years, people have constantly reminded me who I remind them of. Back in the 70s, it was Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees—I'll take that. In 1976, I strolled into Hoagie's Bistro, across from Valdosta State College; and the owner, Mickey Gilbert,

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. From the time I was old enough to utter the word, Hank—I was listening to the haunting sounds of the King of Country on my daddy's record player. Daddy had a varied collection—Vic Damone, Guy Lombardo, Patti Page—but it was his country music records that still reso

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. I was used to gettin' up early in the morning—the 3:00 to 11:30 a.m. graveyard shift at the Waycross Post Office from 1985-1993 had prepared me for that. So, when tickets for Paul McCartney's “New World Tour” went on sale, I volunteered to motor up to Atlanta's Geo

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. It's the dream of every parent for their children to have more and better opportunities for success in life than they themselves had. My son, Connor, 25 years ago today, came into our lives as a preemie baby, guided by angels on a wing and a prayer. Weighing in at

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. From the halls of Montezuma – to the shores of Tripoli —“Marines' Hymn” That's the opening lines to the “Marines' Hymn”, introduced by Francesco Maria Scala, the first director of the United States Marine Corp Band. Adapting the song to my own personal history—livi

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. I used to be a child—a long, long time ago—living in a pink mobile home parked on Lot 48 of B&S Trailer Park in Albany, Georgia, back when Daddy was stationed at Turner Air Force Base. Many wondrous childhood memories happened over there in the city known for pecan

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. Happy 90th Birthday to Joseph R. Griffin—the man who made me who I am! In the summer of 1966, we were in the final countdown to Daddy's retiring from the U.S. Air Force. For 20 years, he had been stationed all over the world—from Guam and Goose Bay, Newfoundland to

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. The Summer of Love, 1967, was in full swing. Filled with the swingin' sounds of avant garde rock groups, bohemian poets, and psychedelic guitar slingers, we steadfastly followed our old heroes and boldly discovered new artists to idolize. The music was all o

Tail of the Weak is a series of insights and musical memories from the mind of Uncle Dave Griffin, singer/songwriter and founder of the Annual Gram Parsons Guitar Pull and Tribute Festival, from Waycross, Georgia. The day was June 4, 1992. It was a sobering experience to know that we had been “illegal aliens” for three days in Funky Nassau. So, as we prepared to leave the island, I bought two more expensive cans of Coke and we proceeded to the shoreline rocks, where we open