Dee Murray

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Dee Murray , actually David Murray Oates , (born April 3, 1946 in Gillingham , Kent , † January 15, 1992 in Nashville , Tennessee ) was a British bass player who achieved fame especially as a member of the Elton John band.

Life

In the program of the Elton-John-Jump-Up! -Tour Murray remembered when he first played on a bass guitar during his school days: “Someone put this heavy thing over my shoulder and said, 'Here, you play this!'” ( “Someone hung this heavy thing over my shoulders and said: 'Here, you play this!'”). Murray learned to play the bass by replaying recordings made by the Beatles and popular R&B artists at the time. He quickly gained recognition in handling this instrument. In the remarks of the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road on the occasion of the re-release in 2001, producer Gus Dudgeon praised Murray's musical skills and said he had never heard such a good bassist.

Murray started his musical career in 1965 with a band called The Mirage . At first he chose Skiffle as his style of music. However, two singles released under the CBS label were unsuccessful. With his move to Philips , he also changed his music style to the then popular Psychedelic Rock . In 1968, Murray contracted with The Mirage to Page One Records , owned by Dick James, Elton John's music publisher. During this time Murray and also the drummer Nigel Olsson became known as a studio musician with Elton John.

Murray left The Mirage in 1969 and joined The Spencer Davis Group with Nigel Olsson , toured America and played on the 1969 album Funky .

For the 1970 tour following the release of his album Elton John, John needed a band. Together with Murray and Olsson he formed a trio, inspired by groups like Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience . The live album 17-11-70 gives a good impression of the group presence at that time. Initially only on stage due to contractual reasons, Murray and Olsson were from the album Honky Château together with Davey Johnstone in the studio of the Elton John Band.

While on a diving vacation in the Caribbean in 1975, Murray received a call from London. Murray recalled, “It was Elton. I could tell right off that he was embarrassed about something. He said, 'I've decided to change the band. I think you, Nigel and I have gone as far as we can together. '"(" It was Elton. I noticed immediately that he was embarrassed. He said:' I have decided to change the band. I think You, Nigel and I went together as far as we could. '”) That was the end of the successful collaboration.

In the years that followed, Murray worked as a studio musician with Rick Springfield , Procol Harum and many others, until he became part of the Alice Cooper Live Band in 1978 .

In 1980 he played again with Elton John in front of 500,000 fans in New York's Central Park and then as a touring and studio musician. Murray appeared with John for the first time on April 21, 1970 and last on November 18, 1984 a total of 776 times together on a stage. After 1984, Murray moved to Nashville, Tennessee and started working as a studio musician again, this time focusing on country music . The last collaboration between Murray and John is his participation as backing singer for the album Reg Strikes Back .

In the last years of his life, Murray played a number of Nashville sessions for artists such as Beth Nielsen Chapman and John Prine .

death

In mid-1991, Murray was diagnosed with skin cancer for the second time in eight years. As a result of chemotherapy, he suffered a stroke and died on January 15, 1992.

Two months later, Elton John put on two benefit concerts in one day at the Grand Ole Opry . The proceeds went to support Dee's family. Among other friends, Nigel Olsson and Gus Dudgeon took part. Nigel Olsson recorded the album Peachtree Road with Elton John in 2004 and stated regarding the absence of his long-term bandmate: “We will never again create anything as wonderful - as inspirational - without Dee's presence.” (“We will never again be something so wonderful, so inspiring without having Dee there. ")

Web links


Individual evidence

  1. a b c d http://www.eltonjohn.com/band/dee-murray/
  2. ^ Philip Norman: Elton John. Harmony Books, New York 1992, ISBN 0-517-58762-9 , p. 296.
  3. http://www.eltonjohnitaly.com/dee.html