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Gary Griffin (born October 26, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an

American musician, best known for performing as a keyboardist and

vocalist with The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Jan and Dean and the

Surf City Allstars.[1] Griffin grew up in Cincinnati and attended Miami

University and the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of

Music, where he majored in piano and music theory.[2]

In 1977, Griffin moved to Los Angeles where he was hired as an

organist by The Beach Boys, joining them for the recording of

their Warner Bros. album MIU. [1] as well as several other related

productions, “Almost Summer” by spin-off group Celebration and

“Weavings” by jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd.

Griffin toured and recorded with Jan and Dean throughout the 80's

and 90’s,[2] and has appeared as a regular on several television

shows, most notably General Hospital and Full House. [1] In 2000,

Griffin served as music director for the Emmy-nominated television

mini-series, The Beach Boys: An American Family, for ABC. He

also appeared in two roles in the film, which was produced by John

Stamos. [2]

Griffin has produced an eclectic roster of artists, including Micky

Dolenz of The Monkees, political satirist Harry Shearer[3][4] ,

comedian Dave Coulier, singer Sandra Stephens, Laura Hall of

television’s “Whose Line Is It, Anyway”, and longtime Beach Boys

band member Jeffrey Foskett. He also co-produced the music for the

PBS television series, Edens: Lost and Found, And Thou Shalt Honor

and Designing Healthy Communities. [5][6]

In 2008, Griffin was featured prominently in the best-selling book,

When We Get To Surf City, by Bob Greene, an account of life on the

road with the Jan and Dean band in the 90’s.[7] He has continued to

work with various members of The Beach Boys, most recently as a

keyboardist and engineer for their 50th anniversary CD, That’s Why

God Made the Radio. [1] Griffin also has toured and recorded with

Brian Wilson in recent years, contributing to his CD’s “That Lucky

Old Sun”, “Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin” and “In the Key of

Disney”.

Additionally, Griffin performs with The Surf City Allstars.[1] He co- produced their CD’s ”Acoustic Vibrations” and “Live” with the band’s

drummer David Logeman.

In July, 2013, Griffin appeared with John Stamos on Late Night with

Jimmy Fallon at the host’s request. He performed as part of a reunion

of Jesse and the Rippers, the fictitious band from Full House.[8]

Griffin has engineered several recent recordings by legendary pop

music notables such as Petula Clark, Jimmy Webb, Christopher

Cross, Al Kooper, Rod McKuen and Mark Lindsay.

Recent productions include “The Bamboo Trading Company”

(2013), a group consisting of surf music cohorts Randell Kirsch,

Phil Bardowell, Matt Jardine and Dean Torrence and “Keep a

Little Christmas” (2014), his third CD collaboration with singer Nita

Whitaker.

Griffin will appear as a session musician in the forthcoming Brian

Wilson biopic, “Love and Mercy”, starring John Cusack, Paul Giamatti

and Paul Dano to be released summer, 2015.

Family:

Gary is the son of famed WWII navigator, Thomas Griffin, a member

of the Doolittle Raiders, and has been married since 2011 to

Elizabeth Fogle Griffin.