RIP Matt "Guitar" Murphy

[RPM 26354]

Matt “Guitar” Murphy, best known as one of the stalwarts of the Blues Brothers Band and a renowned sideman with Howlin’ Wolf, Memphis Slim, Muddy Waters, James Cotton and many others, has died. He was 88 and his death was confirmed by his nephew, Floyd Murphy Jr., on Facebook.

Murphy gained his biggest audience as a member of the band in the Blues Brothers movies, appearing as the beleagured husband of cafe owner Aretha Franklin, insisting that he was “the man” when Franklin objected to him re-joining the band.

Murphy appeared in the 1980 film and its follow-up, Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), both directed by John Landis. He played in the Blues Brothers Band when the group played its eventual top 20 pop hit “Soul Man” on Saturday Night Live in 1978 and would perform with the Blues Brothers Band until the early 2000s, when he was slowed by a stroke.

Murphy was born in Sunflower, MI, in December 1929, moving to Memphis with his family when he was a toddler. Murphy and his brother, Floyd, became a fixture on the Memphis blues scene when they were in their teens, and Matt moved on to pick up a legendary résumé as a sideman for some of the greatest blues musicians ever. In the 1970s, he was best known as a sideman with harpist James Cotton before joining John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in the Blues Brothers.

Murphy fronted his own band starting in 1982 and toured up until recently. He played a reunion show with Cotton in 2010, and appeared at the April 2013 Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival at Madison Square Garden in New York.

[Lat22 4017]

Dammit. 

[Equinox 95]

RIP

[dcbc 14509]

RIP, MGM.

 

"Aw, shut up, woman!"

[ScottishHorn 172]

Amazing guitarist.  Saw him at Antone's back around 1990

RIP

Edited June 16, 2018 by ScottishHorn

[Celery Man 20996]

Pretty damn good run.

[Grippe 313]

 

[miguelito 11312]

Sheeit. ( [/Aretha] )

[TexasBeta 1266]

Ran into Matt at airport in mid 80’s. Nicest guy ever. We gave him a ride to Antones in the Drag. Saw him later that night. Csb

[LongestHorn 759]

RIP soul brother

[RoundRobin 828]

The Blues Brothers? Shit! They still owe you money, fool.

[WhatTheBuck 28798]

Damn. RIP. 

[RPM 26354]

[Lat22 4017]

11 hours ago, TexasBeta said:

Ran into Matt at airport in mid 80’s. Nicest guy ever. We gave him a ride to Antones in the Drag. Saw him later that night. Csb

And you didn’t call me? Wait. No phones.