Obituary of Musician Beverly Ruthven Griffith

-

 
Beverly Griffith


After a courageously fought battle with several illnesses, Beverly R. Griffith of Deerfield Beach, Florida passed away on April 19, 2022.


Beverly was born on April 18, 1941 in Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago. He was predeceased by his mother Helena (Holder) Griffith, father Herman Griffith and brother Selwyn Griffith.

He leaves behind his devoted and loving wife, Pamela Burns, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, his son Gerrard Griffith of New York, his daughter Tara and granddaughter Victoria Lambe of South Carolina, his beloved step-daughter Alissa Bankert of Rhode Island and his sister June Jensen of Florida.

Beverly graduated from St. Anne’s College in Trinidad and Tobago and Brooklyn College in New York.

Beverly was a Social Worker in New York and Florida. He worked with ailing seniors, needy children and adults addicted to drugs and alcohol.

Beverly’s first and most fervent passion was music. Early on as a pianist, he formed the Clarence Curvan Orchestra. His interest then turned to arranging music for large steel pan orchestras. He was a Champion and Master arranger for Desperadoes Steel Orchestra. He later became a steel pan musician and vocalist and entertained all over the United States.

Beverly was known to one and all as a kind, gentle and loving man.

In his last years he enjoyed “a good plate of food” and spending time at Deerfield Beach with his wife, Pamela and their friends. He will be sorely missed by them all but will live on in their hearts forever.

--

Quote of the Day

"We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results."

– Herman Melville


Related content 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The passing of Gary “Soup” Harrigin

-
Image
Gary “Soup”  Harrigin Condolences on the passing of Master Tuner Roland Harrigin’s brother Gary Harrigin  aka  “Soup.” He was one of the brothers who took all of Roland’s pans to Rudolph Charles to hear once completed. Gary Harrigin was also very good in the making of the steelpan instrument as well. May Gary Rest in peace. Submitted by Lyndon Spencer
Read more

Calypso’s “Kitch” of the Day

-
Image
Calypso’s “Kitch” of the Day by Von Martin written for the “WASHINGTON POST” February 20, 2000 published at the request, and with the expressed permission - of the author If Aldwyn Roberts, the calypsonian known as Lord Kitchener, had been born in a metropolitan country instead of the island republic of Trinidad and Tobago, he might have been considered one of the greatest composers of this century.I wrote for the Washington Post commemorating “Lord Kitchener.” This was done in 2000 using material from an interview I did with Kitch in 1988. I think its a doozy. Cheers, Von But then he would not have contributed so much to calypso music. For more than 50 years, Lord Kitchener, who died Feb. 11 at the age of 77, gave calypso some of its wittiest and most infectious musical compositions. Calypso, a genre grounded in the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Tobago, is both poetry in music and editorial in song. Calypso songs praise or condemn their subjects. The lyrics tell of the life of th...
Read more

When Steel Talks (WST) extends Happy Birthday greetings to scholar and veteran panist Nyana Price

-
Image
Nyana Price  October 14th When Steel Talks extends Birthday Greetings to panist Nyana Price “I remember going to Sesame Flyers’ Saturday program, I was 9 years old. That’s where I met Marc Brooks, K.J., and a few others who are still around now. I started off playing tenor there actually until I started playing with Sonatas. I was too shy to be in the tenor section with people I didn’t know at the time so I went to double tenor with Marc.” -- Nyana Price Although she is young in age she is a veteran panist and represents one of New York’s most talented and finest musicians. In an exclusive interview with When Steel Talks - panist and performing artist Nyana Price shares her reflections, experiences and views on Pan, and the steelpan art form overall. ...
Read more

When Steel Talks (WST) extends Happy Birthday greetings to scholar, director, educator, administrator, drummer, and veteran panist - Matthew Phillip

-
Image
    Matthew Phillip with Mangrove Steelband at Moods of Pan May 2nd When Steel Talks extends Birthday Greetings to panist Matthew Phillip Matthew Phillip is the vice chair of CultureMix Arts, director of the Tabernacle at Carnival Village, CEO of London Notting Hill Carnival, and manager of Mangrove Steel Band The arm of Matthew Phillip Relative content Carnevale Network Interviews Matthew Phillip Engine Room Collective Concerts > Mangrove playing their winning performance of Ben Lion at Panorama 2002 in London UK. Boogsie Sharpe arranger and Matthew Phillip on drums Matthew Phillip
Read more

Who is Clive Zanda? Clive Zanda Speaks...

-
Image
Clive Zanda: Clive Zanda Is Here With 'Dat Kinda Ting' -- from back cover notes Professionally, I am an architect planning consultant; but essentially, a composer/improviser. If there is any truth in the statement that 'architecture is frozen music, then these disciplines naturally complement each other.' I was born in Siparia, County of St. Patrick, South Trinidad, on June 15 , 1939, into a musical environment. My father Richard Alexander, is a shoe-maker by trade, a guitarist and choir master by vocation; my mother Louisa, is a gospel singer. We all sang in the church choir, where I played the guitar. Later I was exposed to the piano.The next phase of my musical development started when I began 'liming' with the Bill Ken Thomas Orchestra. Not long after I got an opportunity to play bongos in the Choy Aming Orchestra where I met trumpeter Erroll Ince and we both planned to migrate to the U.K. with a view to furthering our musical careers. During this period (1...
Read more

When Steel Talks extends a very special Happy Birthday to administrator & organizer - Clyde Durant, president of Moods Pan Groove

-
Image
Clyde Durant April 10th When Steel Talks extends Birthday Greetings to administrator Clyde Durant Clyde Durant is one of the founding members of Moods Pan Groove New York's Moods Pan Groove performs "Ben Lion" as arranged by the great Robert Greenidge See more   Related content: Moods Pan Groove - A New York Original No Wuk for Carnival - Moods Pan Groove - Robert Greenidge - 1994 Moods Pan Groove - ‘Signal for Lara’ - Len “Boogsie” Sharpe - 1995
Read more

Former Steelpan player KEB MO from Compton to multi-Grammy winner

-
Image
  Keb Mo is the first to tell you he was never crazy about school or academics. It was music that came naturally to the young man. Music was his passion. He was intoxicated with the sound of percussion instruments and hypnotized by the rhythm of the drums. So much so, that Keb Mo started playing the steel drums with a local calypso group called, the Young Calitino Steel Drum band. He played steel drums in that band from eleven-years-old to age nineteen. Their group was popular around the South Los Angeles area and at that young age he began working hotel gigs with them and private parties. “I started playing the steel drums because a guy in our Compton, California neighborhood built and played the steel drums. Coincidentally, he was probably the only American making steel drums who came from Trinidad and happened to live on my block. He’s not around anymore. He passed away a few years ago. But his name was Chuck Countee. I’m still really good friends with his son Carlos. I got so g...
Read more