New Music Video From Cody Johnson and Michael Martin Murphey - "Wildfire"

Michael Martin Murphey To Release Austinology: Alleys of Austin in October

Artist: Michael Martin Murphey
Album: Austinology: Alleys of Austin
Label: Soundly Music
Release date: October 5, 2018

Fifty years after Murphey helped pioneer the Austin Music Scene (along with Jerry Jeff Walker, Gary P. Nunn and more) , his latest offering is a look at the seminal period of Austin’s music history that set the stage for the “Outlaw” movement with Nelson and Waylon Jennings, among others, and the live music scene that is still thriving there.

“Murphey was a key player in the Austin, TX phenomenon,” wrote noted journalist Craig Havighurst for WMOT — The String. “He was a regular at the Armadillo World Headquarters, the iconic venue at the heart of the live scene, where a diverse audience heard a diverse array of roots music, from hard country to traditional blues. Murphey, along with Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker and others forged a country-rock hybrid that became the foundation for the progressive folk music field we now call Americana.”

For Austinology, Murphey chose songs — including some by the likes of Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt and Jerry Jeff Walker — that were important to the late 1960s and 1970s when he lived in Austin and created the “Cosmic Cowboy” era.

Murphey is joined on the project by several artists who were integral to that era as well as those influenced by the work they created.

The songs are given a fresh reading by Murphey and his special guests, including Willie Nelson (on “Alleys of Austin” and “Cosmic Cowboy”), Steve Earle (on “Geronimo’s Cadillac”), Lyle Lovett (on “Alleys of Austin,” “Cosmic Cowboy” and “Drunken Lady of the Morning”), Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison (on “Little Bird”), Jerry Jeff Walker (on “Cosmic Cowboy”), Amy Grant (on “Wildfire”), Randy Rogers (“Backslider’s Wine”), The Last Bandoleros (on Guy Clark’s “LA Freeway”) and more.

Murphey, who plays and sounds better than ever, also enlisted some of the finest players in the world, including guitarist Kenny Greenberg (Nelson, Bob Seger, Etta James), dobroist Rob Ickes (Earl Scruggs, Alison Krauss, Vince Gill), keyboardist Tim Akers (Dolly Parton, Bruce Hornsby, Jimmy Webb) and more. The album is co-produced with Christopher Harris (CeCe Winans, Amy Grant). 

Michael Martin Murphey To Release High Stakes In April

Artist: Michael Martin Murphey
Album: High Stakes: Cowboy Songs VII
Label: Murphey Kinship Recordings
Release date: April 22, 2016

Perhaps more than any other living artist today, Michael Martin Murphey is hell-bent on keeping alive the great lost artistry of cowboy music and the great romantic life of the Old West. Those efforts culminate in the upcoming release of his newest album of cowboy music entitled High Stakes: Cowboy Songs VII. The project will be released on his Wildfire/Murphey Kinship Recordings label on April 22.

This project has a bit of political overtones, in particular the “struggles of people in the cattle business and some of the environmental issues that we’ve had.”

“That’s why I love the Cowboy Poetry Gathering. If you want to know what the Cowboy Poetry Gathering means to me, that’s what it means to me. It’s a gathering of people who truly, truly understand the land and truly understand the importance of agriculture in our culture,” said Murphey.

His new album is about the “renegades and rebels,” who “stood up and said ‘no, we’re not going to be denigrated as people who are destroying the environment. We are actually helping the environment.’”

“Once people buy into the fact that it’s a beautiful culture, they’re going to save it,” he said, explaining if one goes to the Cowboy Poetry Gathering, he or she will walk away with a love and respect for cowboy culture."

“The main message I’m trying to tell everyone is agriculture is the issue. Agriculture is the most important issue in our world that we need to think about. Technology isn’t going to feed people. Technology will help feed people by being applied to agriculture. That’s my main goal right now, trying to get people to have a positive view,” he concluded.

  1. High Stakes
  2. Campfire On The Road
  3. Running Gun
  4. Emila Farewell
  5. Masters Call
  6. The Drover Road To Amulree
  7. The Betrayal of Johnnie Armstrong
  8. Three Sons
  9. I've Got The Guns
  10. Honor Bound
  11. The End of The Road

 

New Music City Roots Performance From Michael Martin Murphey - "Wildfire"

Michael Martin Murphey performing "Wildfire" at Music City Roots Live From The Factory in Nashville, TN on 2.17.2016.

Slacker Album Reviews- Michael Martin Murphey and Justin Haigh

As I’m playing catch-up with about 100 different album releases this summer, That Nashville Sound is doing some album reviews we’ve affectionately called Slacker Album Reviews. They’re not short, they’re just “petite.” Five smiley faces is an A. One smiley face is an AMC Gremlin.

Michael Martin Murphey- Tall Grass & Cool Water- Buckaroo Blue Grass III

In addition to providing one hell of an entertaining western-themed album, Murphey is obviously attempting a higher calling. On his sixth in this series of traditional cowboy songs, he is committed to keeping these classic tales alive for generations to come and preserving the stories and history of this music genre like no other. His fascinating “James Gang Trilogy” is a three-song collection about the legendary group of robbers who met their demise in various degrees of adventure. The stand-out track on the album is fantastic and funny story-song “Trusty Lariat.” Attributed to Harry “Haywire Mac” McClintock in the 20’s, it tells the tale of a cowboy fireman who leaves his post shoveling coal on the SP train he’s on, to save the life of a young girl on the tracks- and in the process derails the train killing near all the passengers.

☺☺☺ & a half

Justin Haigh- People Like Me

With a voice that consistently reminds of Tracy Lawrence, Justin Haigh’s People Like Me delivers up an incredible collection of 12 exceptional neo-traditional songs that make it easily one of the top ten albums thus far this year. With a collection of writers on board that any artist would cross deserts for- Randy Houser, Jerrod Niemann, Bobby Pinson, Kelley Lovelace, Erv Woolsey (George Strait’s manager), Mary Gauthier, and Jamey Johnson- the tracks worth mentioning are almost too many. “Monahans” and “In Jail” are detailed evocatively with a just enough humor to be stars. “All My Best Friends (Are Behind Bars), is solid country jukebox gold. Indie Texas music isn't supposed to be this good.

☺☺☺☺☺

New Music Around Corner For Michael Martin Murphey, Patty Griffin, Chris Cagle & Allison Moorer

With 2010 just around the corner, we look ahead to some upcoming releases the first 45 days or so. We know there's a new Lady Antebellum and new Jessica Harp album forthcoming, but there are four additional albums that are very worthy of mention as well.

Michael Martin Murphey and his Bluegrass friends Ride Again on Buckaroo Blue Grass II (release date of 2/9/10)expanding on the passions of the first "Buckaroo Blue Grass" album, creating fully acoustic Bluegrass versions of songs about the region to which "Murph" has been deeply connected for a lifetime - the American Southwest. "Buckaroo Blue Grass II" reprises many of his classic songs performed with a stellar cast of top musicians and singers.

With Buddy Miller at the help producing the new album entitled Downtown Church, Patty Griffin's new album (1/26/10)will be a country artist's take on gospel. Mostly Buddy records in his living room, some blocks removed from Music Row in Nashville. Not this time. "One of the first things she said was she wanted a room where she could kind of feel her voice coming back to her," he says. "And my place doesn't necessarily fall in that category. So I thought of this downtown Presbyterian church. I'd just done a couple songs as part of a benefit there. It's the wildest looking thing, and it sounded beautiful," Buddy says. "So I thought it couldn't hurt to ask. The pastor said, `We're Presbyterians, we're very efficient, we only need it once a week.'" Buddy, too, is efficient; Downtown Church was cut live over the first week of January, 2009, with Patty Griffin singing from the pulpit.

Chris Cagle hasn't been heard from much lately, but Capitol Records will be releasing a new Best Of Chris Cagle album that will hit shelves on 2/9/10.

Oscar and Grammy nominated songwriter and alt-country artist Allison Moorer returns on 2/9/10 with a refined collection of songs that mark a stylistic departure from her previous work. On Crows, Moorer combines an astonishing vocal performance with new material primarily written on piano, rather than guitar.

Neal McCoy, Linda Davis & Michael Martin Murphey Join Texas Music Hall Of Fame

Neal McCoy will join fellow Texan natives Linda Davis and western music singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey as 2009 inductees into the hall of fame venue in Carthage on Aug. 15, according to Carolyn Moore, venue spokeswoman.

McCoy has 10 studio albums to his credit, including 1994's No Doubt About It and 1995's You Gotta Love That, which both reached platinum status. His 1997 greatest hits album was also platinum.

Davis, born in the Dotson community in 1962, recorded five major-label studio albums in her solo career. A 1993 duet with Reba McEntire, "Does He Love You," won both singers a Grammy Award for best country vocal collaboration.

Murphey, born in 1945 in Oak Cliff, is already a Western Music Association Hall of Fame member. He has more than two dozen studio albums to his credit, with two of his singles reaching the top of Billboard country music charts.

Happy Birthday To Michael Martin Murphey

That Nashville Sound wishes Michael Martin Murphey a big birthday wish today- he turns 64.

Michael Martin Murphey has had a successful music career that has spanned four decades and included such musical genres as folk, country, rock, popular, western, and cowboy music. As a singer, songwriter, and producer, he has contributed some of the best-loved songs of his generation. His songs have been recorded by Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Cher, Lyle Lovett, Flatt & Scruggs, Claire Hamill, Hoyt Axton, Roger Miller, Bobbie Gentry, Michael Nesmith, and the Monkees.

Murphey played a major role in the resurrection of the cowboy song genre, recording and producing some of the most successful cowboy music of the past forty years. His album Cowboy Songs inspired a whole series of albums. For his accomplishments in the Western and Cowboy Music field, Murphey received five awards from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, formerly known as the National Cowboy Hall of Fame) in Oklahoma City. His name is now synonymous with Cowboy Music.

Celebrate his big day with a quick watch of him playing his biggest radio hit, "Wildfire," here...

PBS Hosts Songwriters Show Called "Legends & Lyrics"

Darryl Worley, Dwight Yoakam, Guy Clark and Mac Davis are among a long list of talents slated to tape the PBS show "Legends & Lyrics" in Nashville running from February 20 through 24.

The program focuses on singer-songwriters with performances and interview segments. The shows mix it up a bit, too, balancing established legends with newcomers. The first round, taped last summer, airs in April with such names as Kris Kristofferson, Randy Owen, Patty Griffin, Kenny Loggins, Richard Marx, Phil Vassar, Pam Tillis, Charlie Daniels and Michael Martin Murphey.

Michael Martin Murphey To Release New Album In February

I was introduced to Michael Martin Murphey at the age of 17. My wife and I were high school sweethearts and as she knew I was a music crazed boy, she sent me off on a quest to go find a song I hadn't heard of before by an artist I hadn't heard of before, Wildfire. After many trips to local Tower Records and used record stores, I finally found a 45 of this beautiful, yet hauntingly tragic song about a girl getting lost in the snow looking for her beloved horse. You can listen to Murphey play the song live HERE or view the video below.

Murphey will put out a new album on the bluegrass label Rural Rhythm Records called Buckaroo Blue Grass on February 10th. Michael's son, Ryan has produced the album, written all the arrangements, sang harmony vocals and played all rhythm guitar on the album. It includes a mixture of new songs and some Murphey classics and will include backing by bluegrass legends Rhonda Vincent and Ronnie McCoury.