He was the uncle of renowned African-American gospel singer Bessie Griffin (July 6, 1922 – April 10, 1989).
[5][obsolete source] His singing talents were first locally recognized in New Orleans when he was a teenager, where Narcisse won five radio auditions.
He found a job in Hunter's Point Shipyards in San Francisco, California as an electrical worker earning $85 a week.
He lived at a Hunter's Point World War II Housing Project.
As his popularity grew, he presided over several churches in Oakland, Sacramento, Houston, and Detroit, and travelled between them.