Michael Martin Murphey

Biography

Michael Martin Murphey (born March 14, 1945) is an American singer-songwriter. He was one of the founding artists of progressive country. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums including Cowboy Songs×Cowboy Songs13 August 1990 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 21 tracks1Cowboy Logic3:352I Ride an Old Paint / Whoopee Ti-Yi-Yo, Git Along Little Doggies3:013Tumbling Tumbleweeds2:214Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail3:075The Old Chisholm Trail4:476Home on the Range3:317What Am I Doing Here3:038Wild Ripplin’ Waters1:489The Yellow Rose of Texas3:0010Spanish Is the Lovin’ Tongue5:4111Cowboy Pride2:5112Red River Valley3:3113Let the Cowboy Dance3:0114Jack of Diamonds1:1315Texas Rangers3:2116When the Work’s All Done This Fall3:1817The Streets of Laredo4:0718O Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie3:0219Where Do Cowboys Go When They Die / Reincarnation3:4320Goodbye Old Paint2:1321Happy Trails2:17, the first album of cowboy music to achieve gold status since Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs by Marty Robbins in 1959. He has recorded the hit singles "Wildfire", "Carolina in the Pines", "What's Forever For", "A Long Line of Love", "What She Wants", "Don't Count the Rainy Days", and "Maybe This Time". Murphey is also the author of New Mexico's state ballad, "The Land of Enchantment". He has become a prominent musical voice for the Western horseman, rancher, and cowboy.

Early life

Michael Martin Murphey was born on March 14, 1945, to Pink Lavary Murphey and Lois (née Corbett) Murphey, in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas where he grew up. He has a brother, Mark, who is three years younger. When he was six years old, he began riding horses on his grandfather and uncle's ranches. Years later, he recalled sleeping on his grandfather's porch under the stars, listening to his grandfather's stories and cowboy songs.
He enjoyed being around these men of the land as they went about their work. These experiences made a deep impression on the young boy. During these early years, he developed a special love for cowboy songs and stories. He was also an avid reader, especially drawn to the books of Mark Twain and William Faulkner. As a youth, he enjoyed writing poetry and loved listening to his uncle's old 78 rpm records, particularly the music of country and folk artists such as Hank Williams, Bob Wills, and Woody Guthrie.
In junior high school, he began performing as an amateur, and later as a counselor at a summer camp called Sky Ranch. At the age of 17, he took his first "professional" music job, playing western songs around a campfire at a Texas ranch. By the early 1960s, Murphey was playing the clubs in Dallas, performing country music, folk music, and rock music. He won over Texas audiences with his charm and talent, and soon formed a band that developed a significant following in the Dallas area.

Songwriting success

After graduating from W. H. Adamson High School. Murphey studied Greek at North Texas State University in Denton. As a member of the institution's Folk Music Club, he befriended Steven Fromholz, Hubbard, Shiva's Headband fiddler Spencer Perskin, and Armadillo World Headquarters co-founder Eddie Wilson. Murphey then moved to California, where he studied creative writing and majored in medieval history and literature at the University of California, Los Angeles. He signed a publishing contract with Sparrow Records, and soon he made a name for himself in the Los Angeles folk-music scene. By 1964, he formed a musical group with an old Texas friend, Michael Nesmith, John London, and John Raines, under the name the Trinity River Boys.
Murphey's first big break came through Nesmith, who had become part of the popular television musical group, the Monkees. Nesmith asked Murphey to write them a song for the next Monkees album, and with Owens Castleman, Murphey composed "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round" (under the pseudonyms Travis Lewis and Boomer Clarke). The album Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. sold over five million copies.
Murphey and Castleman formed the Lewis and Clarke Expedition, and recorded one self-titled album for Colgems Records, the company that also released the Monkees' LPs. They had a modest hit with "I Feel Good (I Feel Bad)". Castleman went on to find success with his controversial song "Judy Mae" and as the writer and producer of the million-selling novelty hit "Telephone Man" for singer Meri Wilson.
In 1968, Murphey moved to Wrightwood, a village in the San Gabriel Mountains adjacent to the Mojave Desert of California, to work on his songwriting. Based on the success of his songs, he signed a contract with the Screen Gems company, the publishing arm of Columbia Pictures. Some of his songs were recorded by Flatt and Scruggs and Bobbie Gentry. Kenny Rogers and the First Edition recorded an entire album of Michael Murphey songs called The Ballad of Calico, about a Mojave Desert ghost town.
Murphey wrote some additional songs for the Monkees, but he grew disillusioned with the poor financial rewards and the Southern California music scene.

Austin years

In 1971, Murphey returned to Texas and played a pivotal role in launching the progressive country genre with a unique sound that combined his country, rock, and folk influences. During this period, Murphey co-wrote "Geronimo's Cadillac" with lyricist Charles John Quarto, a song about Native American rights that later became an unofficial anthem for the American Indian Movement in the early 1970s.
In 1971, Murphey was signed to A&M Records by Bob Johnston, who discovered him in a Dallas club, the Rubaiyat. Johnston had produced some of the country's most popular recording artists, including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Simon and Garfunkel. In 1972, Johnston produced Murphey's first album Geronimo's Cadillac in Nashville, Tennessee. The sound of the album reflects Murphey's love of country, folk, and blues music. Murphey's early gospel influences are also evident throughout the album. The title track was released as a single, and reached the top 40 on the US pop charts. In addition to the title track, the album included "Boy from the Country", "What Am I Doin' Hangin' Around?", and "Michael Angelo's Blues". Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed, "On the strength of his first album alone, Michael Murphey is the best new songwriter in the country."
In 1973, Murphey followed up with the album Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir×Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir1973 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Cosmic Cowboy, Part One3:54A2Alleys of Austin5:05A3South Canadian River Song7:14A4Blessing in Disguise3:43B1Temperature Train3:54B2Drunken Lady of the Morning4:22B3Prometheus Busted3:40B4Honolulu4:22B5Rolling Hills4:25, which continued the urban cowboy theme of the first album. The album included "Cosmic Cowboy, Pt. 1", "Alleys of Austin", and "Rolling Hills".
Throughout this period, Murphey's band included Bob Livingston and Gary P. Nunn, the author of "London Homesick Blues". He performed a number of times at the Armadillo World Headquarters, and his photo was even used for the original cover of Jan Reid's book, The Improbable Rise of Redneck Rock. Michael Murphey's musical vision was expanding, though, beyond the confines of the outlaw country sound and moving toward a much more ambitious musical tapestry.

"Wildfire" and the Epic years

In 1973, Murphey signed to Epic Records and released the album Michael Murphey that same year. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album included the orchestra anthem "Nobody's Gonna Tell Me How to Play My Music", and "Southwestern Pilgrimage".
In 1975, Murphey released his seminal album, Blue Sky – Night Thunder, also produced by Bob Johnston. The album generated two hit singles: "Carolina in the Pines" and his platinum-certified signature song "Wildfire", a sentimental song about the ghosts of a woman and her horse. As a boy, he first heard from his grandfather the story of a ghost horse rescuing people in the desert. Years later, Murphey had a dream about this ghost horse and wrote the words and music the same day with songwriter Larry Cansler.
In the summer of 1975, "Wildfire" became a chart-topping hit, reaching number two on Cash Box and number three on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as number one on the Adult Contemporary chart, giving Murphey a new level of commercial success and exposure. It immediately sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in July 1975. It eventually surpassed two million in US sales and was awarded a platinum disc by the RIAA in September 2001. The song's harmonies were supplied by Jeff Hanna and Jimmy Ibbotson from the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the piano introduction and ending coda was played by jazz pianist Jac Murphy. The introduction is based on a piece by the Russian classical composer Alexander Scriabin.
During the late 1970s, he recorded four albums: Swans Against the Sun×Swans Against the Sun1975 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Swans Against the Sun3:52A2Renegade6:11A3Rhythm of the Road2:10A4Pink Lady4:56A5Mansion on the Hill2:57B1Dancing in the Meadow3:28B2Temple of the Sun3:52B3Buffalo Gun3:19B4Wild West Show3:12B5Natural Bridges3:10B6Seasons Change4:15 (1975), Flowing Free Forever×Flowing Free Forever1976 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Flowing Free Forever4:11A2A North Wind and a New Moon4:51A3Cherokee Fiddle3:28A4See How All the Horses Come Dancing4:32A5Yellow House5:11B1Changing Woman4:03B2High Country Caravan (aka “Song for Stephen Stills”)4:33B3Running Wide Open3:22B4Our Lady of Sante Fe2:25B5The Wandering Minstrel5:24 (1976), Lone Wolf (1978), and Peaks, Valleys, Honky Tonks and Alleys (1979). The album Swans Against the Sun produced his first country hits: "A Mansion on the Hill" and "Cherokee Fiddle", which became a top-10 hit for Johnny Lee. Murphey's friends, John Denver, Willie Nelson, Charlie Daniels, and Steve Weisberg appeared on the album. In 1981, Murphey made his first film appearance in Hard Country, which he co-wrote.
To distinguish himself from actor Michael Murphy, the singer began using his middle name for film and music credits. To this day, he is known as Michael Martin Murphey.

Mainstream success

In 1982, Murphey signed with Liberty Records and produced two original albums, Michael Martin Murphey and The Heart Never Lies×The Heart Never Lies1983 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracksA1Will It Be Love by Morning2:23A2Don’t Count the Rainy Days3:30A3Disenchanted4:33A4Goodbye Money Mountain3:39A5Radio Land5:28B1Maybe This Time3:15B2Showdown3:25B3Scared Heart5:11B4Crazy Blue3:17B5The Heart Never Lies3:28, as well as a compilation of rerecorded versions of his A&M, Epic, and Liberty hits called The Best of Michael Martin Murphey.
In the early 1980s, Murphey had significant commercial success with hits like "Still Taking Chances", "Disenchanted", "Don't Count the Rainy Days", "Will It Be Love by Morning", "Radio Land", "Maybe This Time", and the number-one hit "What's Forever For", written by Rafe Van Hoy, which also crossed over to number three at AC Radio and number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart. In 1983, Murphey was voted Best New Male Vocalist of the Year by the Academy of Country Music. In 1985, his rerecorded version of "Carolina in the Pines" reached the Top 10.
In 1985, Murphey signed a new recording contract with Warner Bros. Records and continued his streak of successful recordings. In 1986, he released the album Tonight We Ride×Tonight We Ride1986 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Tonight We Ride3:44A2Rollin’ Nowhere2:54A3Innocent Hearts4:19A4Close to My Heart3:40A5Face-To-Face With the Night4:06B1Building Bridges3:10B2Fiddlin’ Man4:44B3I’ll Break Out Again Tonight3:30B4The One That Got Away3:51B5Santa Fe Cantina3:51B6Ghost Town (Messages From the Ghost Ranch)3:10, which included "Rollin' Nowhere", "Fiddlin' Man", and "Santa Fe Cantina". In 1987, he released the album Americana×Americana1987 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1A Face in the Crowd4:092A Long Line of Love3:273Once Upon a Time5:254Out of Touch2:535Almost Free3:276Worlds Apart3:577No One Else but You3:568You're History3:239My Darling Wherever You Are4:0110I'm Never Gonna Let You Go3:04, which included "Once Upon a Time", "My Darling Wherever You Are", and another number-one country hit with the song "A Long Line of Love". That same album produced the hit single "A Face in the Crowd" with Holly Dunn, which was nominated for a Grammy Award.
In 1988, Murphey released the album River of Time×River of Time1988 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1From the Word Go3:162Talkin’ to the Wrong Man3:283River of Time4:554Vanishing Breed4:275Pilgrims on the Way (Matthew’s Song)4:076The Running Blood4:327Children of the Wild World4:518I'm Gonna Miss You, Girl3:549What Am I Doin’ Hangin’ ’round?3:1910Still Got the Fire3:58, which produced three hit singles that reached number three on the charts: Jesse Winchester's "I'm Going to Miss You, Girl", his own "From the Word Go", and "Talkin' to the Wrong Man", which featured his son Ryan. In 1989, Murphey closed out a successful decade of recording with the album Land of Enchantment×Land of Enchantment1989 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Never Givin' Up on Love4:472Got to Pay the Fiddler4:033Route 662:484Land of Enchantment3:125Jukebox3:276Woodsmoke in the Wind4:197The Heart Knows the Truth3:588Land of the Navajo4:269Desperation Road4:1910Family Tree3:50, which contained "Never Givin' Up on Love", "Got to Pay the Fiddler", "Route 66", and "Land of Enchantment", which became New Mexico's state ballad.

Cowboy songs

Despite the impressive critical and commercial success he achieved throughout the 1980s, Murphey's authentic creativity began to gravitate towards the Western music that appealed to him as a child coming of age in Texas. As early as 1985, Murphey performed with the New Mexico Symphony in a show called A Night in the American West, which led to many subsequent performances with American and Canadian symphonies, including the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington, DC. These Western shows, and the songs he was writing and recording at the time, presaged a major change in Murphey's career.
In 1990, he released the album Cowboy Songs×Cowboy Songs13 August 1990 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 21 tracks1Cowboy Logic3:352I Ride an Old Paint / Whoopee Ti-Yi-Yo, Git Along Little Doggies3:013Tumbling Tumbleweeds2:214Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail3:075The Old Chisholm Trail4:476Home on the Range3:317What Am I Doing Here3:038Wild Ripplin’ Waters1:489The Yellow Rose of Texas3:0010Spanish Is the Lovin’ Tongue5:4111Cowboy Pride2:5112Red River Valley3:3113Let the Cowboy Dance3:0114Jack of Diamonds1:1315Texas Rangers3:2116When the Work’s All Done This Fall3:1817The Streets of Laredo4:0718O Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie3:0219Where Do Cowboys Go When They Die / Reincarnation3:4320Goodbye Old Paint2:1321Happy Trails2:17. The album contained Murphey's versions of old cowboy songs from the public domain such as "Tumbling Tumbleweeds", "The Old Chisholm Trail", the beautiful "Spanish is the Loving Tongue", the classic "The Streets of Laredo", and his tip of the hat to Roy Rogers, "Happy Trails". The album contained Murphey's own "Cowboy Logic".
Murphey was reluctant to promote the project, but he eventually released "Cowboy Logic" as a single, and it quickly became a hit. Soon after, the album caught on and sold much better than expected. Cowboy Songs earned widespread praise from country and folk music critics, such as Jack Hurst, from the Chicago Tribune, who wrote, "[This is] not only one of the finest albums of [the] year, but also one of the finest of the last decade. Its 22 riveting cuts represent a labor of not only love, but also scholarship; it raises a cult musical genre to the level of mainstream art. Cowboy Songs went on to achieve gold status, the first Western album to do so since Marty Robbins' No. 1 Cowboy in 1980.
In 1991, Murphey followed up with two additional albums of cowboy songs. His innovative concept album, Cowboy Christmas: Cowboy Songs II, contained versions of traditional and original Western Christmas songs, including "The Christmas Trail", "The Cowboy Christmas Ball", and "Two-Step 'Round the Christmas Tree". An accompanying video was later released of one of Murphey's Cowboy Christmas Ball concerts, which included many of these songs. Cowboy Songs III contained a mix of traditional and original cowboy songs, including a virtual duet with Marty Robbins, "Big Iron", which used an early Marty Robbins' vocal track.
Cowboy Songs and its follow-up albums were so successful that they inspired the formation of Warner Western, a new subsidiary label of Warner Bros. Records devoted to Western music and cowboy poetry. In 1992, Warner Western issued albums by Don Edwards, Waddie Mitchell, and the Sons of the San Joaquin. All three records were produced by Murphey.
In 1995, Murphey further demonstrated his musical ambitions with the concept album Sagebrush Symphony×Sagebrush Symphony12 September 1995 · Album · LiveSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 21 tracks1Sounds of the Range1:022Cowboy Overture / Backward, Turn Backward4:173Cowboy Logic4:434The Old Chisholm Trail2:575Down in the Valley1:516Red River Valley3:217Tumbling Tumbleweeds0:498Cool Water0:569Timber Trail2:2210Back in the Saddle Again3:3811I’m a Happy Cowboy1:2812Texas to a ''T''2:0713Storm on the Prairie0:5914Riders in the Sky2:4915Wildfire5:4316Wind Message5:2917Geronimo’s Cadillac3:1518Adobe Walls3:3519Yellow Rose of Texas1:1220San Antonio Rose3:3321Happy Trails4:27, recorded live with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, Herb Jeffries, and the Sons of the San Joaquin. In 1997, he released the album The Horse Legends×The Horse Legends8 July 1997 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Tennessee Stud4:122Running Shadow4:363Ponies3:544Wildfire5:095The Running Blood4:156See How All the Horses Come Dancing5:107Palomino Days3:478Run for the Roses4:269The Pony Man3:4610Quarter Horse Rider (America's Horse)4:05, a musical tribute to this majestic animal. The album included several new Murphey songs, a new version of "Wildfire", and covers of some well-known songs, such as Dan Fogelberg's "Run for the Roses" and Gordon Lightfoot's "The Pony Man".
In 1998, Murphey left Warner Bros. Records and started his own record label, WestFest/Real West Productions. That year, he released Cowboy Songs Four, which contained both traditional and original cowboy songs, including "Utah Carroll", "Little Joe, the Wrangler", and Murphey's "Song from Lonesome Dove". In 1999, he released Acoustic Christmas Carols: Cowboy Christmas II, which included Murphey's quiet renditions of traditional Christmas songs, and featured his son Ryan and daughter Laura.
In 2001, Murphey released a compilation of some of his best-loved songs, Playing Favorites×Playing Favorites2001 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Carolina in the Pines4:352Adobe Walls3:433Cherokee Fiddle4:094Long Line of Love3:265All the Dancing Horses4:216Fiddlin’ Man3:587Cowboy Logic3:408I'm Gonna Miss You Girl4:099From the Word Go3:1410Geronimo’s Cadillac5:0511What’s Forever For2:5512Wildfire5:00, which included rerecorded versions of such songs as "Carolina in the Pines", "Cherokee Fiddle", "Cowboy Logic", "What's Forever For", and "Wildfire". He followed this up in 2002 with Cowboy Classics: Playing Favorites II, which again included rerecorded versions of some of his best-loved cowboy songs. That same year, Murphey released Cowboy Christmas III, which contained a new original song "The Kill Pen", as well as original cowboy poetry written and recited by his daughter Karen. In 2004, Murphey released Live at Billy Bob's Texas, and in 2006, he released Heartland Cowboy: Cowboy Songs, Vol. 5.
Murphey has championed Western cowboy culture and the wilderness. In 1986, he founded WestFest, an annual music festival held at Copper Mountain, Colorado, that celebrates Western art and culture. Molly Carpenter, writing in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, noted, "Murphey's love for the American West clearly comes through in his songs, painted with vivid images of the rugged mountains and vast deserts of southwest landscapes, all evidence of his travels from his native Texas to California's Mojave Desert, Colorado's Rockies, and the wild diversity of New Mexico, his home for the past 10 years."
During the 1990s, in a further effort to preserve the traditions of the West, Murphey led a group of performers—including cowboy poet Waddie Mitchell and Western music historian and troubadour Don Edwards — in a series of improvisational concerts called Cowboy Logic, which toured throughout the United States, including such unlikely locations as New York City and Las Vegas. Waddy Mitchell is the co-founder of the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. Murphey met Mitchell there in 1986, the first such event he had ever attended. He later described the transforming event as "a religious experience ... I'd been collecting cowboy music and performing it among my friends. But when I saw a lot of other guys like me and also women performing this music and enjoying each other's company, it was the most important thing that had happened to me in years in my musical life."
On May 22, 2007, he made a rare appearance in New York City to perform "Wildfire" on the Late Show with David Letterman. The song had become one of Letterman's favorites and was included regularly on the show. That same month, Murphey organized and performed for John Wayne's 100th Birthday Celebration, with the approval of the John Wayne family. Murphey was commended by the White House for his activities. Later that year, he released three DVDs detailing his love of the cowboy ways, life, and preservation of the American West traditions. The DVDs document his trail rides, cattle drives, and cowboy poetry gatherings. One of Murphey's Cowboy Christmas Ball concerts, recorded in Oklahoma City, was included as a fourth DVD in the combination CD/DVD set.
In December 2007, Murphey released "A Soldier's Christmas" based on a poem by Michael E. Marks, a soldier serving in Iraq. Marks sent the poem to Murphey, who was so moved by the poem, he sought permission to set it to music, which he did. He started including the song in all his concerts, including his Cowboy Christmas Ball concerts, to long standing ovations after its performance, which prompted its release in December 2007.

Bluegrass years

In February 2009, Murphey released Buckaroo Blue Grass, which marked a return to his bluegrass musical roots. Murphey's love of bluegrass music dates back to when he sang lead vocals with the Earl Scruggs Band. Over the years, his songs have been recorded by bluegrass artists such as Flatt and Scruggs, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, the Country Gentlemen, and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.
On Buckaroo Blue Grass, Murphey offers new versions of his famous bluegrass songs, such as "Carolina in the Pines", "Fiddlin' Man", "Lost River", and "What Am I Doing Hanging Around". Murphey also includes new bluegrass versions of several of his classics, such as "Boy from the Country", "Dancing in the Meadow", and "Healing Spring". The album includes two new songs, "Close to the Land", the theme song of the PBS documentary television series America's Heartland, and "Lone Cowboy", a song that reflects Murphey's experiences as a solo artist performing throughout the West at music festivals, cowboy gatherings, historical theaters, and trail rides. Michael's son, Ryan, produced the album, and added acoustic guitar and vocals.
In February 2010, Murphey released a follow-up album, Buckaroo Blue Grass×Buckaroo Blue Grass2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Lone Cowboy3:122What Am I Doing Hanging Round3:103Lost River3:174Carolina in the Pines4:365Cherokee Fiddle4:226Dancing in the Meadow3:457Healing Spring4:578Fiddlin’ Man4:259Boy From the Country4:2410Wild Bird2:5711Close to the Land (America’s Heartland)4:26 II – Riding Song, which follows the production approach of the first album.
In May 2011, Murphey gave a benefit concert at the Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper near Benton, Kansas, to help save the cabin where Brewster Higley wrote the song "Home on the Range", Kansas' state song. "He might have been living anywhere," Murphey noted, "but he was inspired by that place. This song gives focus to the heritage of the American West, to the prairie and its songs, poems, and literature." Murphey made his first pilgrimage to the cabin prior to the concert, where he performed the song.

In June 2011, Murphey released Tall Grass & Cool Water, subtitled Cowboy Songs VI and Buckaroo Blue Grass III. The CD includes two classics from the Sons of the Pioneers, "Cool Water" and "Way Out There", as well as other Western classics such as "Texas Cowboy", "Santa Fe Trail", and "The James Gang Trilogy". Murphey closes out the album with a duet with Carin Mari, "Springtime in the Rockies".
On September 4, 2011, Murphey performed at the wedding of long-time friend David Lauren and Lauren Bush, the niece of former President George W. Bush, at Ralph Lauren's Double RL Ranch near Ridgway, Colorado. The event was called "America's Royal Wedding". Murphey, who helped Ralph Lauren find the ranch they now call home, has been friends with the Lauren family for nearly 30 years. "I go there to write songs from time to time", Murphey noted, "It's the most spectacular ranch in the Rockies." At David Lauren's request, Murphey performed "Vanishing Breed" for the couple's first dance. Murphey wrote the song at a cabin on the Lauren ranch in the 1980s. Murphey and his Rio Grande Band played nearly six hours for the Lauren and Bush families.
In January 2012, Tall Grass & Cool Water became the number-one album on the Top 20 Western Music Albums chart of the Western Music Association.
In July 2013, Murphey released Red River Drifter, his first album of all new original songs in 20 years. The album reached number three on the Billboard Top Bluegrass Albums chart. He was named among the top 50 Greatest Country and Western singers by American Cowboy magazine.

Legacy

Murphey's successful music career has spanned four decades and included such musical genres as folk, country, rock, popular, Western, and cowboy music. His songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Cher, Lyle Lovett, Flatt and Scruggs, Sarah Geronimo, Claire Hamill, Hoyt Axton, Roger Miller, Bobbie Gentry, Michael Nesmith, and the Monkees. Murphey is the narrator of the short film Spirit of the Cowgirl at the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas.
Murphey was so pivotal to the foundation of progressive country that one of the many names for the genre, "Cosmic Cowboy music", was taken from one of Murphey's songs. 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 40 years. His album Cowboy Songs×Cowboy Songs13 August 1990 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 21 tracks1Cowboy Logic3:352I Ride an Old Paint / Whoopee Ti-Yi-Yo, Git Along Little Doggies3:013Tumbling Tumbleweeds2:214Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail3:075The Old Chisholm Trail4:476Home on the Range3:317What Am I Doing Here3:038Wild Ripplin’ Waters1:489The Yellow Rose of Texas3:0010Spanish Is the Lovin’ Tongue5:4111Cowboy Pride2:5112Red River Valley3:3113Let the Cowboy Dance3:0114Jack of Diamonds1:1315Texas Rangers3:2116When the Work’s All Done This Fall3:1817The Streets of Laredo4:0718O Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie3:0219Where Do Cowboys Go When They Die / Reincarnation3:4320Goodbye Old Paint2:1321Happy Trails2:17 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.

Political views

Murphey has long been a champion of the western wilderness and wildlife, and has lent his support to various political causes associated with western culture and ideals. Early in his career, for example, he supported the Native American rights movement, which used his song, "Geronimo's Cadillac", as an anthem. In 1986, he founded an annual festival, WestFest, celebrating western art and culture in an effort to preserve the traditions of the West. He has been a long-time supporter of the conservation movement, attempting to find a middle ground between ranchers and activists on opposite sides of environmental issues.
In the 21st century, Murphey has focused his political energies on the issue of private property rights—especially in the western and southwestern United States. In 2006, he released "The Ballad of Kit Laney" in support of the New Mexico rancher's fight with the United States Forest Service over water rights. Laney was imprisoned for assault after a conflict with federal agents who seized his ranch in 2004. Murphey helped form the Farmers' Freedom Agriculture Alliance and scheduled a benefit—The Farmers' Freedom Concert—to protest contested land acquisitions across the western states. Murphey's opposition to the political forces threatening the American family farmer and rancher transcends political party affiliation. "I can tell you," Murphey observed, "that politics—doesn't matter whether it's Democrats or Republicans—have been involved with big agribusiness for a long, long time."

Honors and awards

2026 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum award for Best Original Western Composition for "Burnin' Vein" Michael Martin Murphey, karla k Morton, Alan Birkelbach. (from the album Santa Fe Trail: Chasing the Big West)
2023 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum award for Best Original Western Composition for "Blues for 66" Ryan Murphey and Michael Martin Murphey (from the album Road Beyond the View×Road Beyond the View10 June 2022 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Road Beyond the View3:292La Plaza6:133Carson's Way2:444Riversong3:595Gallery Row3:596Golden Summertime3:217El Dorado3:448Lady Sunhawk4:539Blues for 663:30)
2021 Texas Trail of Fame induction into the Fort Worth Trail of Fame and placement of marker in front of Billy Bob's Texas
2021 Lone Star Film Festival - Stephen Bruton Award Prestigious Lone StarFilm Festival honor for significant impact in film and TV by a musical artist
2019 Wrangler Award induction into the Cowboy Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Awards
2009 Grammy Award nomination for Best Bluegrass Album, for Buckaroo Blue Grass×Buckaroo Blue Grass2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Lone Cowboy3:122What Am I Doing Hanging Round3:103Lost River3:174Carolina in the Pines4:365Cherokee Fiddle4:226Dancing in the Meadow3:457Healing Spring4:578Fiddlin’ Man4:259Boy From the Country4:2410Wild Bird2:5711Close to the Land (America’s Heartland)4:26
2009 Texas Country Music Hall of Fame
2008 National Day of the Cowboy "Cowboy Keeper Award"
2007 National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum Wrangler Award for Best Song, for "Long and Lonesome Road to Dalhart"
2007 Texas Music Award for Best Song, for "Close the Land (America's Heartland)"
2007 Letter of Commendation from the President of the United States, for Murphey's involvement producing John Wayne's 100th Birthday Celebration
2004 Western Music Association Hall of Fame
2000 The New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Lifetime Achievement Award
1999 Academy of Western Artists Award for Best Album, for Cowboy Songs Four×Cowboy Songs Four14 July 1998 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Song From Lonesome Dove4:582Trail Song Medley: Colorado Trail / Twilight on the Trail / Navajo Trail / Riding Down the Canyon / Blue Shadows on the Trail5:473Born to Be a Cowboy5:364Farther Down the Line3:365Born to Buck Bad Luck3:466Easy on the Pain3:537Utah Carroll3:398Free Wheeler3:129Rangeland Rebel4:4310Run Toward the Light4:0311The Bunkhouse Orchestra2:0412Little Joe the Wrangler4:0713Summer Ranges3:3714Old Horse5:1015Night Hawk7:58
1998 The Golden Smokey Award for outstanding service to the U.S. National Park Service
1997 Will Rogers Cowboy Philosopher Award, Will Rogers Memorial Commission
1982 Academy of Country Music Top New Male Vocalist
1972 Rolling Stone Magazine Best New Singer-Songwriter in the Nation, for the album Geronimo's Cadillac
American Quarter Horse Association Lifetime Honorary Member
CMA Award Nominations (three times)
BMI platinum record, for the song "Wildfire"
BMI Gold Record, for the album Cowboy Songs×Cowboy Songs13 August 1990 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 21 tracks1Cowboy Logic3:352I Ride an Old Paint / Whoopee Ti-Yi-Yo, Git Along Little Doggies3:013Tumbling Tumbleweeds2:214Tying Knots in the Devil’s Tail3:075The Old Chisholm Trail4:476Home on the Range3:317What Am I Doing Here3:038Wild Ripplin’ Waters1:489The Yellow Rose of Texas3:0010Spanish Is the Lovin’ Tongue5:4111Cowboy Pride2:5112Red River Valley3:3113Let the Cowboy Dance3:0114Jack of Diamonds1:1315Texas Rangers3:2116When the Work’s All Done This Fall3:1817The Streets of Laredo4:0718O Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie3:0219Where Do Cowboys Go When They Die / Reincarnation3:4320Goodbye Old Paint2:1321Happy Trails2:17, the first gold album in cowboy music since Marty Robbins
RIAA Certified gold records for "Blue Sky, Night Thunder" and "Cowboy Songs"
King of the Cowboys Award for Outstanding Contribution to Western Family Entertainment by the Cody Order of Scouts, State of Nebraska
Nebraska Country Music Hall of Fame
Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame
Western Heritage Awards from the Cowboy Hall of Fame (six-time winner)
International Charley Russell Western Heritage Society Red Sash Award for Outstanding Service in Preservation of Western Heritage, 1999–2000

Archival Materials

Michael Martin Murphey papers, 1982–2014, at Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University