Chuck Murphy

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Blue Ribbon Boogie, 1951

Chuck Murphy (born March 8, 1922 in Montgomery , Alabama , as Charles Hurt Murphy, Jr ; † August 18, 2001 in Charleston , North Carolina ) was an American country and rockabilly musician .

Life

Childhood and youth

Chuck Murphy was born in Montgomery, Alabama, but grew up in Decatur . The date of his birth is controversial as some sources also give March 8th as the date of birth. Although Murphy believed he was born on March 8th, his birth certificate says March 7th. Since Murphy's mother played the piano , so did Murphy and his brother Huel. Strongly influenced by Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong , he made his first appearances with a pop band in the 1930s.

Career

During the war, Murphy moved to the west coast, where he played in a Dixieland group . Shortly thereafter, he went back to Alabama. In 1950 he got a record deal with Bama Records, where hard rock Gunter was already under contract. Murphy released the single Blue Ribbon Boogie there , on the B-side of which was the well-known track They Raided the Joint . Manley Pearson, owner of the Bama label, sold Murphy's contract to Decca's sub-label Coral Records , where Murphy released other records.

By mid-1953 Murphy had recorded eight singles for Coral, including Boogie Jackson , One Beer and I'd Like to Break Your Neck . In 1954 he moved to Columbia Records . His songs there were mainly dominated by his piano playing and were based on the early rockabilly, which was made famous at the time by the young Elvis Presley . The best known example of this is Murphy's Rhythm Hall . The song was recorded in 1954 at the Tulane Hotel in Nashville , Tennessee , with hard rock Gunter and Murphy's brother Huel on guitar , Ernie Newton on bass and Farris Coursey on drums . Murphy was later signed to MGM Records .

In 1957 Murphy gave up his musical career because he had wanted to become a pastor for several years. He then enrolled at Samford University in Birmingham and in 1963, after graduating from Virginia Theological Seminary, pastor. Murphy pursued this profession until his death in 2001.

Discography

year title Record company
1951 Blue Ribbon Boogie / They Raided The Joint Bama Records
1951 My Bucket's Been Fixed / Honky Tonk Blues Coral Records
1951 They Raided The Joint / Blue Ribbon Boogie Coral Records
1951 Boogie Jackson / A Woman Is The Strangest Thing Coral Records
1951 The Honeymoon Is Over / A Thousand Times Coral Records
1954 Hocus Pocus / Hard Headed Columbia Records
1954 Rhythm Hall / Riding The Sunshine Special Columbia Records
1954 Let's Have An Old Fashioned Christmas / Santa Plays The Trombone Columbia Records
195? I'm Gonna Run Not Walk / Friday Night Free For All Columbia Records
195? ? /? MGM Records

swell

  1. Colin Escott: That'll Flat Git It !, Vol. 23: Rockabilly From the Vaults of Columbia Records , Liner Notes; Bear Family Records 2006

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