Michael Martin Murphey’s musical journey has taken many unpredictable paths over the past 50 years.
Topping the Pop, Country, Western and Bluegrass charts, Murphey has never been one to rest on his
laurels. A loyal American son from Texas, Murphey is best known for his chart-topping hits “Wildfire,” Carolina In
The Pines,” “What’s Forever For,” “Long Line of Love,” “Geronimo’s Cadillac”, “Cowboy Logic,” and many
more across his 35 albums released to date.
Murphey’s long-running incarnation as a purveyor of the music, lifestyle, and values of the American
West is one of many musical mantles he has worn over the years. To track his career path is to span the
country itself, from coming of age in the Texas folk music scene, to Los Angeles to Colorado to Nashville
and then back to his native Texas.
Murphey’s original songs have been recorded by The Monkees, Kenny Rogers, The Nitty Gritty Dirt
Band, John Denver, Hoyt Axton, Johnny Cash, Tracy Byrd, Lyle Lovett, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dolly Parton,
Johnny Rivers, Billy Ray Cyrus, and many others.
During the early 1970s in Austin, TX along with artists like Jerry Jeff Walker and Gary P. Nunn, Murphey
created the “Cosmic Cowboy” movement, which was pivotal in drawing artists like Willie Nelson to the
scene and helped birth the “Outlaw” Country movement. In 1972, Murphey signed a major label deal.
Discovered by renowned producer Bob Johnston (Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan), Murphey released his
pivotal debut, Geronimo’s Cadillac. “On the strength of his first album alone,” proclaimed Rolling Stone
Magazine, “Michael Murphey is the best new songwriter in the country.” In 1975 he topped the pop charts
with his hit singles, “Wildfire” and “Carolina In the Pines” from the RIAA Certified Gold album Blue Sky –
Night Thunder.
Then, in the early 1980s, Murphey recorded a watershed country album for Capitol Records produced
by Jim Ed Norman. He topped the Country Charts with the “Still Taking Chances” single, which solidified
his relationship with country radio as a hit singer-songwriter, and exposed him to an entirely new audience.
Twelve years after his first hit in Pop music, Murphey was awarded “Best New Artist” by the Academy of
Country Music (beating out George Strait).
