Ken Griffin
b. USA. Griffin was proficient on the violin early in his life, before teaching himself to play the organ, and accompanied silent films in the Rocky Mountains during the '20s. He switched to a portable organ in the '30s, and played hotels in the mid-west. After military service during World War II, he resumed his career, and began recording mostly waltzes and sentimental, nostalgic tunes, many of which were played to accompany skaters at public ice rinks. One of them, a 1935 German tune, Du Kannst Nicht Treu Sein (You Can't Be True, Dear), composed by Hans Otten, was picked up by music publisher Dave Reyer, who arranged for an English lyric to be written by Hal Cotton, and dubbed onto Griffin's original recording by actor-singer Jerry Wayne. The result, one of the first successful examples of over-dubbing, was a US number 1 in 1948, which reputedly sold over three million copies. Although he had no more chart entries, Griffin's releases continued well into the '60s, and included Yes Sir, That's My Baby, Moonlight And Roses, Somebody Loves You and I Get So Lonely.