Organist

Paul Griffin, 62, organist and pianist who played on the albums of such stars as Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin. Griffin played in thousands of recording sessions and was a keyboardist on albums by Dylan and Franklin as well as Steely Dan, Don McLean, the Isley Brothers, the Shirelles and all the albums that Burt Bacharach and Hal David made with Dionne Warwick. Griffin's piano is clearly heard in "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head."

Concert organist and recording artist Chris Elliott will perform the accompaniment for a screening of "Steamboat Bill Jr.," a classic silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton, at 2 p.m. Sunday in Plummer Auditorium. The Fullerton Joint Union High School District, the district's educational foundation, the Orange County Theatre Organ Society and the local chapter of the American Guild of Organists are co-sponsoring the screening.

Pastors, music directors and congregation members have come and gone over the years, but one staff member at First Presbyterian Church has had the same job since 1945: organist Susan Talevich. The 71-year-old Anaheim native, who will be honored by the church Sunday, has played for countless worship services, weddings and funerals, filling the Gothic-style structure with the resonant strains from an Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ. The Rev.

American organist Michael Murray impressively pulled out his Romantic stops when he came to town Friday night. A recital of mostly 19th-Century organ music skillfully balanced the drama of a gigantic, loud instrument with the intricacies of expert musicianship.

A few months back, organist Joey DeFrancesco wandered into Fullerton's Steamers Cafe to hear keyboardist Bill Cunliffe's organ trio with drummer Jeff Hamilton. At one point, DeFrancesco, who had previously performed at the club with his trio, was coaxed from the crowd to sit in with Hamilton. That spontaneous session went so well that Hamilton and DeFrancesco resolved to work together again.

With due respect to Mae West, too much of a good thing is not always wonderful. Organist Anthony Newman, that champion of keyboard excess, confirmed this conclusion as he relentlessly rattled the rafters of San Diego's First United Methodist Church on Sunday night. One toccata may be thrilling, but five in a row devalues the form and numbs the ear. Even Newman acknowledged that his program as printed was unbalanced when he announced that he would interpolate the modestly scaled J. S.

Joyce Jones opened the Discovery Series on Monday evening at El Camino College with an organ lecture/demonstration. Unfortunately, Marsee Auditorium does not have an organ. Enter electronics. The delicate shudders of purists notwithstanding, electronic organs are probably the simplest way to get an intimation of the power and glory of the real thing in a large hall. But it should be borne in mind that the three-manual Rodgers instrument Jones played is really a synthesizer.

For someone who didn't start studying the organ until his junior year in college, Mark Thallander has made some significant tuneful strides. "Actually, I'm an adequate organist," said the assistant director of music at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove. He is also the newly elected dean of the Orange County chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

It was intended to be a "throwaway" song, the seldom-played B-side of a 45-rpm record produced in a New York recording studio in 1969. Instead, it became an A-side No. 1 hit single for a band called Steam, a song whose simple but catchy chorus became an enduring sports anthem chanted by sports fans around the world to taunt an opposing team: "Na Na Na Na. Na Na Na Na. Hey Hey Hey. Goodbye. " Paul Leka, 68, a composer who co-wrote and produced "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye," died of lung cancer Oct. 12 in a hospice near his home in Sharon, Conn., said his sister, Evelyn Kreta.

Lloyd Holzgraf, organist at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, will give his final recital on the massive organs at the church Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. After 38 years as resident organist, Holzgraf will retire on Jan. 1. His program on Dec. 7 will include music by Holst, Saint-Saens, Yon, Daquin, Hancock, Buck, Guinaldo and Vierne. Information: (213) 385-1345, Ext. 203.