James Griffin

Best known for co-founding soft rock hitmakers Bread, singer/songwriter James Griffin also won an Academy Award for co-authoring 1970's smash "For All We Know." Born in Cincinnati on August 10, 1943, Griffin was raised in Memphis, growing up in the neighborhood that housed rock & roller siblings Dorsey and Johnny Burnette; after the Burnettes relocated to Los Angeles, Griffin traveled west for a visit, and with their help he signed with Frank Sinatra's Reprise label in 1962. The covers collection Summer Holiday followed a year later, and in 1965 Griffin co-starred in the big-screen feature None But the Brave; he also wrote songs for Lesley Gore, Bobby Vee, and Ed Ames. In 1967 Griffin began collaborating with singer/keyboardist Robb Royer, a member of the harmony pop quartet Pleasure Fair. The group's 1968 self-titled LP was produced by in-demand L.A. session musician David Gates, and when the Pleasure Fair dissolved soon after, Gates recruited Griffin and Royer to form Bread. Bolstered by Griffin/Royer songs like "Friends and Lovers," "Could I," and "Any Way You Want Me," Bread's eponymous 1969 debut was first and foremost a showcase for Gates, whose "It Don't Matter to Me" proved a massive radio hit. Favoring lush harmonies and gentle arrangements that contrasted sharply with the harder-edged sounds then dominating FM radio, the album was instrumental in midwifing the soft-focus melodicism that would enjoy commercial supremacy throughout the decade to follow, and made Bread superstars. In 1970 Griffin and Royer were asked to set lyrics to Fred Karlin's music for the film Lovers and Other Strangers; "For All We Know," performed on the soundtrack by Larry Meredith, went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song, later becoming a massive radio hit when covered by the...