Matt "Guitar" Murphy

Happy Birthday to another blues guitar legend.  Yours truly, has just discovered, Matt "Guitar" Murphy.  Dig this.

December 29th, 1927: Matt "Guitar" Murphy was born in Sunflower, Mississippi.

Guitar playing ran in the Murphy household (which moved from Mississippi to Memphis when Matt was a toddler). Matt and his brother Floyd both made a name for themselves on the early-'50s Memphis scene (that's Floyd on Little Junior Parker & the Blue Flames' 1953 Sun waxings of "Feelin' Good" and "Mystery Train"). Matt played with Howlin' Wolf as early as 1948 (harpist Little Junior Parker was also in the band at the time). Murphy added hot licks to early sides by Parker and Bobby Bland for Modern before latching on with Memphis Slim's House Rockers in 1952. Normally, the veteran pianist eschewed guitarists altogether, but Murphy's talent was so prodigious that he made an exception.

Murphy's consistently exciting guitar work graced Slim's United waxings from 1952-1954 and his 1958-1959 platters for Vee-Jay. Another solid Memphis Slim LP for Strand in 1961 and dates with Chuck Berry, Otis Rush, Sonny Boy Williamson, Etta James, and the Vibrations at Chess preceded Murphy's memorable appearance on the 1963 American Folk Blues Festival tour of Europe (along with Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters, Lonnie Johnson, Big Joe Williams, Victoria Spivey, and Willie Dixon). On that pioneering tour (promoted by Lippmann and Rau), Murphy commanded the spotlight with a thrilling "Matt's Guitar Boogie" that showcased his ultra-clean rapid-fire picking. Freddie King is said to have once admitted that he based his "Hide Away" on Murphy's playing during this performance.

Harpist James Cotton was the beneficiary of Murphy's prowess during much of the 1970s. Murphy's crisp picking matched Cotton's high-energy blowing on the harpist's 1974 Buddah album 100% Cotton (the guitarist penned a non-stop "Boogie Thing" for the set). From there, it was on to aiding and abetting John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's antic mugging, both on stage and in the Blues Brothers flick (where he played Aretha Franklin's guitarist hubby, convinced to come out of retirement by the boys in black).

Murphy has toured as a bandleader, having recorded an album of his own in 1990, Way Down South, for Antone's (with brother Floyd on rhythm guitar). His repertoire encompasses blues, funk, jazz, R&B, and even a few of those Blues Brothers chestnuts. Murphy has been less active since he suffered a stroke on stage while performing in Nashville in 2003—he finished his set performing with one hand. A benefit was mounted by notable musicians of Memphis and Nashville. He has recently been playing in Florida with two young protégés Tim O'Donnell and Darrell Raines, and performed with his nephew Floyd in the Florida Keys during 2009.

He has been on the comeback trail with a reunion performance with James Cotton at the 2010 Chicago Blues Festival. A September 2011 release took place of a 1986 live recording from the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia. Patton Biddle recorded the show live, and Floyd Murphy Jr., Matt's nephew, played the drums along with Howard Eldridge on vocals. He also recently appeared in April of 2013 at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival at MSG in NYC.