James McMurtry

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James McMurtry live in Eppstein near Frankfurt a. M. (2017)
James McMurtry live in Eppstein near Frankfurt a. M. (2017)
Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Albums
Too Long in the Wasteland
  US 125 10/14/1989 (9 weeks)
Just Us Kids
  US 136 05/03/2008 (1 week)
Complicated game
  US 102 03/14/2015 (1 week)

James McMurtry (born March 18, 1962 in Fort Worth , Texas ) is an American folk rock guitarist and singer-songwriter . He is the son of the writer Larry McMurtry .

Life

James McMurtry was born in 1959 when Larry McMurtry married Josephine Ballard, an English teacher. After his parents divorced in 1966, he grew up in Leesburg , Virginia . At the age of seven, his father gave him a guitar. His mother taught him three chords, and McMurtry did the rest himself. He wrote his first songs as a teenager and performed his own songs while studying English and Spanish at the University of Arizona in Tucson . After a short time in Alaska , he returned to his father in Texas and then made his way as a painter, actor, bartender and singer in San Antonio . In 1987 a friend encouraged him to take part in the New Folk songwriter contest . He was one of the six winners of the year. Around the same time there was the opportunity to pass on a demo tape to John Mellencamp , which impressed him so much that he co-produced McMurtry's debut album Too Long in the Wasteland in 1989 . This was followed by the soundtrack for the film Falling in Grace , which he recorded with Mellencamp, John Prine , Joe Ely and Dwight Yoakam under the band name "Buzzin 'Cousins".

McMurtry's 2005 album, Childish Things , received critical acclaim. The album is the most political that he recorded. In it he criticizes George W. Bush and his foreign policy, especially in Iraq, as well as the supermarket chain Wal-Mart .

In 2015, McMurry's ninth studio album , Complicated Game , came out on the market, which stood out from his previous releases due to the largely acoustic arrangements. It is one of his most successful albums and received mostly positive feedback from critics. In 2017 he also presented it live in Germany after many years of touring in Europe.

James McMurtry lives in Austin , Texas.

Discography

  • Too Long in the Wasteland (1989)
  • Candyland (1992)
  • Where'd You Hide the Body (1995)
  • It Had to Happen (1997)
  • Walk Between the Raindrops (1998)
  • Saint Mary of the Woods (2002)
  • Live In Aught-Three (2004)
  • Childish Things (2005)
  • Just Us Kids (2008)
  • Live in Europe (2009)
  • Occupy This Album (2012)
  • Complicated Game (2015)

swell

  1. ↑ James McMurtry in the US charts (Billboard)
  2. ↑ metacritic: Overview of reviews of the album "Complicated Game". metacritic.com, accessed February 26, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Christian Düringer: The criminally underrated James McMurtry is finally back in Europe. popspots.de, accessed on February 26, 2017 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME McMurtry, James
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American folk rock guitarist and singer-songwriter
DATE OF BIRTH March 18, 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Fort Worth , Texas