# Roni Griffith

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**Roni Griffith** is an American former 1980s [disco](/source/Disco) musician and model from [Bloomington, Indiana](/source/Bloomington,_Indiana).

## Career

She was one of the original Coconuts in the popular 1980s group [Kid Creole and the Coconuts](/source/Kid_Creole_and_the_Coconuts). They opened up for [the B-52's](/source/The_B-52's), [Huey Lewis and the News](/source/Huey_Lewis_and_the_News) and appeared on *[Saturday Night Live](/source/Saturday_Night_Live)* in 1981. Finding success as a musician the same year she appeared on *SNL* with Kid Creole and the Coconuts, Griffith decided to go solo, signing a [recording contract](/source/Recording_contract) with [Vanguard Records](/source/Vanguard_Records) and producer, [Bobby Orlando](/source/Bobby_Orlando).[1] By the end of 1982 she had a [platinum](/source/Music_recording_sales_certification) and [gold record](/source/Music_recording_sales_certification) for her [hits](/source/Hit_record) "[(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up](/source/(The_Best_Part_of)_Breakin'_Up)" and "Desire". "(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up" reached #63 in the [UK Singles Chart](/source/UK_Singles_Chart) in July 1984.[2] In addition, she was also featured in the first national [Clairol](/source/Clairol) commercial shot in 35 mm film for [Nice 'n Easy](/source/Nice_'n_Easy_(hair_coloring)).

She lived in New York from the age of 19 until she was 23 years old, finding an amount of success within a short period of time. On the eve of her first music video and her launch on the new music media outlet [MTV](/source/MTV), Griffith decided to walk away from everything based on her morals and values as a Christian in the secular [music industry](/source/Music_industry).

In 1983, Griffith pursued a career as a [Christian contemporary](/source/Christian_contemporary) artist. She appeared on *[The 700 Club](/source/The_700_Club)* and was also featured numerous times in her hometown newspaper, *[The Herald-Times](/source/The_Herald-Times)*. In 2004, she released her second Christian contemporary album, entitled *Only You*.

After giving up her fame in the secular music industry and becoming a Christian contemporary artist, in 1994 Griffith became a professional photographer, opening up her talent production company Integrity Productions. Griffith has been working as a photographer for over 10 years. She has worked with many companies in Indiana such as the [Boy Scouts of America](/source/Boy_Scouts_of_America), the Helen Wells Agency, and celebrity clients.[3]

## Discography

### Albums

- *[Roni Griffith](/source/Roni_Griffith_(album))* (1982)
- *Only You* (2004)

### Singles

- "Mondo Man" (1980) (US Dance #36)
- "Desire" (1981) (Canada #34 / Germany #17 / Switzerland #2 / US Dance #30)
- "Voodoo Man" (1982)
- "[(The Best Part of) Breakin' Up](/source/(The_Best_Part_of)_Breakin'_Up)" (1982) (UK #63 / US Dance #2)
- "Love Is the Drug" (1982)
- "Breaking My Heart" (1983) (Belgium #38)
- "[Dancing Machine](/source/Dancing_Machine)" (1984)

## References

1. ["Roni Griffith music, videos, stats, and photos"](https://www.last.fm/music/Roni+Griffith). *Last.fm*. December 8, 2023.

1. Roberts, David (2006). *British Hit Singles & Albums*. 19th ed. London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 236. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

1. ["Model: Evie Phillips, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110201230115/http://eviephillips.com/). *Evie Phillips*. Archived from [the original](http://eviephillips.com/) on February 1, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2022.

## External links

- ["Desire" – 198's TV performance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRMN4IDJomQ/)
- [Roni Griffith at Discogs](http://www.discogs.com/artist/Roni+Griffith)
- [Official Music VF – Billboard Charts Positions](http://www.musicvf.com/Roni+Griffith.art)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roni Griffith](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roni_Griffith) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roni_Griffith?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.