Nanci Griffith – Her Bio, Husband, Career, Life, Death, 5 Unknown Facts

Nanci Griffith was a famous American singer and songwriter who was active in her career from the 1970s until 2013. Within those years, she had an impressive solo career and she also joined some bands. She died on August 13, 2021 at the age of 68, leaving behind a rich legacy in her music.

Biography of Nanci Griffith

It was on July 6, 1953 that the singer was born Nanci Caroline Griffith in Seguin, Texas, in the United States. It was also there that she was brought up. She was raised as the third of three kids by her parents Ruelen Strawser Griffith who worked as an estate agent and her father Marlin Griffith who was a book publisher. He was also a singer who was into traditional folklore. He sang in barbershop quartets. This means that he was the first person to introduce his daughter to music.

Nanci was only 12 years old when her talent was already ripe to not only sing, but also write songs. This made it possible for her to sing in clubs in Austin, where he parents later moved to. As regards her education, Griffith went to the University of Texas after she was done with her high school education.

Before settling to do music on full time, she once worked as a kindergarthen teacher after graduating from the University with a degree in education.

A Close Look At Her Career

As indicated, Nanci Griffith started her music career at a very young age of 12 after she was introduced by her father. By 1978, she released her first album, There’s a Light Beyond These Woods. That was followed in 1982 by Poet in My Window and the Once in a Very Blue Moon in 1984. In the years that followed, she released the following albums:

Apart from these, she also has two live albums One Fair Summer Evening (1988) and Winter Marquee (2002), as well as many compilation albums.

She once formed the group The Blue Moon Orchestra and has also worked with others such as The Crickets, Darius Rucker, The Kennedys, and James McMurtry.

Was She Ever Married? 

As regards her love life, the singer walked down the aisle only once in her lifetime. She got married to fellow singer and song writer, Eric Taylor in 1976. Unfortunately, the marrige was not one that lasted a long time as by 1982, it came to an end in divorce. Neither of them openly got married again since the divorce. Taylor died in March 2020 as a result of a liver disease.

He was not the only man that was in Nanci’s life as she was revealed to have dated a young man named John when she was in high school. Unfortunately, John lost his life in a motorcycle accident after he took her to the senior prom. For years to come, he became a strong inspiration behind some of her songs.

She came close to getting married again in the 1990s when reportedly got engaged to singer-songwriter Tom Kimmel. However, they did not later get married.

There is no report that she has ever had any child, hence it is believd that she did not have children even after she was married for six years.

The Death Of Nanci Griffith

Nanci lost her life on August 13, 2021. 68 years old at the time of her death, there was no further details given regarding the cause of her death because she did not want any further statement to be made in relation to her death for at least a week after she died.

Facts You Didn’t Know About Nanci Griffith

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1. She claimed that parents were very irresponsible

Speaking about the kind of family from which she came, Griffith revealed that her family was one that was dysfunctional to the core, and she described her parents as irresponsible people. In 1960, just 7 years after her birth, the marriage between her parents ended in divorce. Many years later, she would address her father in her song Bad Seed, in which she spoke about her darkness and pains that she can’t hide.

2. She taught herself how to play the guitar

After she fell in love with music at an early age, Nanci taught herself to play the guitar thanks to Laura Weber’s series on PBS TV. She was always watching the show and through that, she learned how to play the musical instrument.

3. Nanci defeated cancer twice

The best moments for Griffith as far as her career was concerbed came in 1993 and 1994 when she recorded her highest success thanks to the release of albums, Other Voices, Other Rooms and Flyer respectively. The 1990s also happened to be her scariest moments healthwise.

This is because she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1996 and thyroid cancer in 1998 both of which she defeated. She also had a Dupuytren’s contracture because of which her fingers lost their flexibility.

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4. She was once told she would never be a success

Accoridng to the singer who would later be regarged as one of the most gifted songwriters as far as country music was concerned, she was once told by a radoio presenter at MCA Nashville that she was never going to be on radio because her voice hurt people’s ears.

5. Nanci Griffith has many awards to her name

The career of the late singer and songwriter is one that has recorded many sales and accolades. She won some important awards in her career including the following: