You'd think, for the cultural icon that he is, that Andy Griffith would have a den full of trophies and awards.
Not so."Don Knotts won five Emmys for the show, but I have no television awards," said the man who charmed millions as Sheriff Andy Taylor on "The Andy Griffith Show" from 1960 to '68, while Knotts played bumbling deputy Barney Fife. "The straight man doesn't usually get much attention."
Griffith's publicity lists four awards. The two most prestigious are from 1992: induction into the Academy of Television Arts Hall of Fame and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Television Program Executives.
The two others must have personal significance: a standing ovation he received at Sardi's in New York on opening night of "No Time for Sergeants" in 1955 and inclusion in Tex Ritter's original "Hillbilly Heaven."
So it was a surprise to Griffith when he won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Southern Gospel, Bluegrass Gospel or Country Gospel Album for his "I Love to Tell the Story" album.
"I didn't even go because I didn't think I had a shot at it," Griffith said in a recent telephone call from his home on Roanoke Island, N.C. "I was up against people like Willie Nelson."
But "I Love to Tell the Story," released in 1996 by Sparrow Records and marketed through television ads and retail outlets, prevailed. Sales have topped 2 million.
This past spring, a follow-up album, "Just as I Am," was released. It contains 30 songs, some grouped in medleys by theme.
Griffith said he thinks it's better than the first one. And he's considering putting out a Christmas album.
Songs on "Just as I Am" include many hymnal standards, such as "Onward, Christian Soldiers," "There's Power in the Blood" and "Beautiful Isle." There also are more commercial songs popularized on radio or on the Southern gospel circuit a couple of generations ago. Those include "Beulah Land," "I'll Fly Away" and "It Is No Secret."
The album recently hit No. 6 on Billboard magazine's chart of Top Christian Albums. It also appeared on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, which includes all music genres. On that chart, Griffith's album fell at No. 192, between Ozzy Osbourne and Ben Folds Five.
Music has interested Griffith since his youth. He majored in music at the University of North Carolina and taught high school choral music at Goldsboro, N.C., for three years.
"I wasn't very good," he said.
The stage lured the young man, who performed for civic clubs, telling stories that made audiences laugh.
"What It Was Was Football," a monologue in which a hillbilly describes his first football game, and "Hamlet," a similar take on Shakespeare, landed him a record deal and a guest shot on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
"I got huge laughs, and I never taught school again," Griffith said.
In his youth, Griffith was fascinated by big bands and swing music, but before that were the hymns he heard in the Baptist church in which he was reared in his hometown of Mount Airy, N.C.
As Sheriff Andy Taylor, Griffith sometimes hummed hymns that swirled in his head. It was only natural that he would someday share them with the rest of the world.
But it took producer Steve Tyrell and arranger David Hunt-sing-er to get the ball rolling. Griffith also helped with the arrangements of both albums.
Now he and his wife, Cindi, listen to the albums as they go about their daily business.
"I like the sound of my voice, and I like the arrangements," he said.