R.I.P. Jimmy Griffin

Not too many people will know this name immediately but he was the co-founder of the Rock and Roll band Bread. A brief obituary can be found at USA Today/AP: bq. Singer-songwriter James Arthur "Jimmy" Griffin, a founding member of the 1970s pop group Bread, has died after a battle with cancer. Griffin, 61, died Tuesday at his home in Franklin, about 25 miles south of Nashville, officials at Crawford Funeral Home in Nashville said Thursday. bq. Griffin won an Academy Award for best song for co-writing The Carpenters' hit For All We Know for the movie Lovers and Other Strangers. He also wrote country hits including Conway Twitty's Who's Gonna Know and Restless Heart's You Can Depend On Me. bq. "He had an amazing voice, and never lost a bit of quality," said longtime friend Terry Sylvester of The Hollies. bq. Griffin did not sing lead vocals on most of Bread's singles � that slot was occupied by David Gates � but his harmony vocals and guitar work were crucial elements in the band's soft rock success. Their hits included Make It With You,Baby I'm-a Want You and Everything I Own. Our connection with this band? The property that Jen and I live on was owned by the Bread keyboard player -- Larry Knechtel -- our house was designed and built by him. Larry's wife, Vicky has bad arthritis and could not take the damp of the winter and spring so they are now living in Eastern Washington. Larry used to do a lot of studio gigs - the classic Simon and Garfunkel "Bridge over Troubled Waters" keyboard part was played by Larry.