Dick Griffey

Biography Richard Gilbert Griffey was born on November 16, 1938. He was engaged to Carolyn Willis of the group in 1971.

Griffey worked as talent coordinator on Soul Train, the musical variety show created by Don Cornelius. Together they established The Soul Train Club in 1974 and Soul Train Records in 1975. After purchasing Cornelius' share in the Cornelius-Griffey Entertainment Company, encompassing Soul Train Records, artists and publishing catalog Griffey reconstituted the label into SOLAR Records (an acronym for Sound of Los Angeles Records) in 1977. SOLAR acts included Shalamar, which produced such hits as "The Second Time Around" and "This Is for the Lover in You". With The Whispers, SOLAR released such hits as "And the Beat Goes On" (co-written by Griffey) and "Rock Steady". Other acts signed by SOLAR during the 1980s were The Deele, Dynasty, Klymaxx, Lakeside, Midnight Star and The Whispers.

After Jon Gibson was signed to Griffey's subsidiary label, Constellation Records, Griffey would have fun tricking a number of his artists with Gibson's demo tape (with people thinking it was Stevie Wonder). Gibson's debut came as a guest vocalist for three songs on Bill Wolfer's album, Wolf. During the process of making the album, Gibson met his musical idol, Wonder. They worked with a crew of other musicians, including Michael Jackson. Wolfer then produced Gibson's debut album, Standing on the One (1983). The debut showed that Gibson was more than a Wonder-clone, and that he had talented song-writing skills to go with his strong vocals.

Babyface, who had been frustrated in his role as a background singer with The Deele, credited Griffey with encouraging him to step out on his own and pursue a solo career. Babyface said that Griffey told him "If they don't want you to sing all the time, you should be doing your own thing". In a statement released after Griffey's death, producer Quincy Jones said Griffey's "fingerprints were on some of the biggest hits of the '80s". Stevie Wonder, one of the artists Griffey promoted, said that "Professionally, I could not talk about my life without there being a chapter on how Dick Griffey, as a promoter, helped to build my career".

In the early 1990s, Griffey had a hand in launching the rap label Death Row Records, which was co-founded by ex-N.W.A star Dr. Dre and one-time bodyguard Suge Knight. It was Griffey's SOLAR studios in which portions of Dr. Dre's seminal album, The Chronic, was recorded. However, in July 1997, Griffey along with one-time N.W.A associate and rapper Tracy "The D.O.C." Curry sued Death Row claiming they were "pushed out" of their share in ownership and profits from the record label by Knight and Dre.

Death and legacy Griffey died at the age of 71 on September 24, 2010. He had been recuperating after undergoing quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery, at a rehabilitation center in Canoga Park, Los Angeles. He was survived by his wife Carrie Lucas, a singer he married in 1974; four children and five grandchildren.

Griffey is featured in the documentary series, Profiles of African-American Success. In 2018, Lucas, Carolyn Griffey, Lucas Griffey and Chinese music promoter Jessie Tsang relaunched the Solar Records and Soul Train Records in the UK. The relaunch was covered in the UK magazine Soul Survivors. Jessie Tsang is CEO with Sonia Damney as Vice President. Carrie Lucas also owns trade mark rights to Shalamar in the UK and Europe. In 2022 Carrie Lucas participated with US cable channel TV One for a special episode of the Unsung TV series on Dick Griffey and Solar Records. The episode aired on November 6 2022.