Dee Murray (born David Murray Oates; 3 April 1946 – 15 January 1992) was an English bass guitarist. He was best known for his long-time collaboration with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

as a member of the

Elton John Band The Elton John Band is the band that backs singer, composer and pianist Elton John on both studio and live recordings. The various lineups of the band have consisted of both English and American musicians. The band is often not recognised as a fo ...

Biography

Murray was born in

Gillingham, Kent Gillingham ( ) is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in the ...

, England on 3 April 1946. Before joining Elton John as his touring sidemen, Murray and drummer

Nigel Olsson Nigel Olsson (born 10 February 1949) is an English rock drummer and singer best known for his long-time affiliation with Elton John. A dynamic drummer and backing vocalist, Olsson helped establish the Elton John sound as a member of the Elton J ...

were members of the

Spencer Davis Group The Spencer Davis Group were a British band formed in Birmingham in 1963 by Spencer Davis (guitar), brothers Steve Winwood (keyboards, guitar) and Muff Winwood (bass guitar), and Pete York (drums). Their best known songs include the UK numbe ...

in 1969. In Murray's musician bio in the programme book for 1982's "Jump Up!" tour, Murray recalled when he first took up the bass guitar during his high school years: "Someone put this heavy thing over my shoulder and said, 'Here, you play this!'" Murray quickly established a solid reputation on the instrument. In the

Classic Albums ''Classic Albums'' is a British documentary series about pop, rock and heavy metal albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music. Format The TV ser ...

documentary on ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'', producer

Gus Dudgeon Angus Boyd "Gus" Dudgeon (30 September 1942 – 21 July 2002) was an English record producer, who oversaw many of Elton John's most acclaimed recordings, including his commercial breakthrough, "Your Song". Their collaboration led to seven US No ...

lauded Murray's musical ability, and said he hadn't heard a bassist quite as good as him. Murray and Olsson joined John as his road sidemen in 1970, and first appeared together on disc with John on "Amoreena" from the 1970 studio album ''

Tumbleweed Connection ''Tumbleweed Connection'' is the third studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John. It was recorded at Trident Studios, London, England in March 1970, and released in October 1970 in the United Kingdom and January 1971 in the United Sta ...

''. The following year, they were featured on the live album '' 17-11-70''. While they were John's constant touring bandmates, his record company initially only allowed them to play on just one track per studio album. This changed with ''

Honky Château ''Honky Château'' is the fifth studio album by English musician Elton John. It was released in 1972, and was titled after the 18th century French chateau where it was recorded, Château d'Hérouville. The album reached number one in the US, t ...

'' in 1972 when John exerted some of his skyrocketing popularity at the time to convince DJM to allow Murray and Olsson to also become full-time recording members of his band. Along with new recruit

Davey Johnstone David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a British rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in ...

on guitar, Murray and Olsson played on John's hit albums, including the milestone album ''

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John, first released on 5 October 1973 as a double LP. The album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is widely regarded as John's magn ...

'', singles, and world tours for several years. In 1975, after recording '' Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy'', Murray and Olsson were released from the band because John wanted to achieve a different sound. Murray and Olsson continued working together as

session musicians Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and they played on

Rick Springfield Richard Lewis Springthorpe (born 23 August 1949), known professionally as Rick Springfield, is an Australian-American musician and actor. He was a member of the pop rock group Zoot from 1969 to 1971, then started his solo career with his debut ...

's first United States album, '' Wait for Night'' (1976). In 1977, Murray briefly joined

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single " A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have sold over 10 million copies. Although noted for ...

on a North America tour promoting their last 1970s album, ''

Something Magic ''Something Magic'' is the ninth studio album by Procol Harum, and was released in 1977. Electing to work with producers Ron and Howie Albert when Leiber and Stoller (who had produced the band's preceding album) were not available, Procol Har ...

'', although he never recorded with the group. Between 1978 and 1979, Murray worked as part of

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

's backing band. According to music site

AllMusic.com AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, he played on Cooper's hit album '' From the Inside'', and joined Olsson backing

The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, world music, ...

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

on his solo album ''Heaven Help the Fool'' in 1978. Other artists he worked with during the 1970s and early 1980s include

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

England Dan & John Ford Coley England Dan & John Ford Coley were an American soft rock duo composed of Dan Seals, Danny Wayland "England Dan" Seals and John Ford Coley, John Edward "John Ford" Coley, active throughout the 1970s. Native Texas, Texans, they are best known for t ...

Shaun Cassidy Shaun Paul Cassidy (born September 27, 1958) is an American singer, actor, writer, and producer. He has created and/or produced a number of television series including '' American Gothic'', '' Roar'' and ''Invasion''. Cassidy currently serves as ...

, Allan Clarke, Bernie Taupin,

Kiki Dee Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records. Dee is best known for h ...

, Stefanie Gaines,

Barbi Benton Barbi Benton (born Barbara Lynn Klein; January 28, 1950) is an American retired model, actress, television personality, and singer. She is known for appearing in ''Playboy'' magazine, as a four-season regular on the comedy series ''Hee Haw'', an ...

, and

Jimmy Webb Jimmy Layne Webb (born August 15, 1946) is an American songwriter, composer, and singer. He has written numerous platinum-selling songs, including " Up, Up and Away", "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", "MacArthur Park", "Wichita Lineman", "Worst ...

. Murray and Olsson returned to tour and play sessions with John, starting with '' 21 at 33'' in 1980. He and Olsson backed John during his landmark concert in New York City's

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

before more than 400,000 fans on the Great Lawn on 13 September 1980, and appeared on '' The Fox'' in 1981. Murray went on to contribute all the bass tracks on '' Jump Up!'' in 1982, and joined Olsson and guitarist Davey Johnstone for the Jump Up! Tour, followed by albums and tours for ''

Too Low for Zero ''Too Low for Zero'' (stylised as ''2 ▼ 4 0'') is the seventeenth studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in 1983, the album marked a comeback for John, whose previous four albums had failed to yield many enduring international ...

'' (1983) and ''

Breaking Hearts ''Breaking Hearts'' is the eighteenth studio album by English musician Elton John. It features the quartet of John, Davey Johnstone, Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson. There were four top-40 singles from the album: "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" (US ...

'' (1984). The group then disbanded, reuniting once more to record backing vocals on ''

Reg Strikes Back ''Reg Strikes Back'' is the 21st studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in 1988, it was his self-proclaimed comeback album, and his own way of fighting back against bad press. The "Reg" in ''Reg Strikes Back'' refers to John's b ...

'' in 1988. In the 1980s, Murray played on numerous Nashville sessions for artists such as Michael Brown, Lewis Storey, Beth Nielsen Chapman, and

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

, amongst others.

Death

Battling

skin cancer Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...

for a number of years, Murray died in 1992 at the age of 45, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, after suffering a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. According to Murray's obituary, that March, John performed two tribute concerts at the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...

to raise money to support Murray's family. In a 2011 interview, Olsson, who in 2004 rejoined John as a full-time band member to record '' Peachtree Road'', reflected upon the absence of his longtime band mate: "I think about him every single day. Brilliant bass player. Wonderful guy. Dear, dear, dear friend. A musical genius across the board."

believes Murray's musical skills were not fully appreciated, and in March 2011, said he was working on a documentary about Murray.

Collaborations

With

* ''

'' (Uni Records, 1970) * ''

Madman Across the Water ''Madman Across the Water'' is the fourth studio album by English musician Elton John, released in 1971 through DJM and Uni Records. The album was his third album to be released in 1971, at which point John had been rising to prominence as a p ...

'' (Uni Records, 1971) * ''

'' (Uni Records, 1972) * ''

Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player ''Don't Shoot Me I'm Only the Piano Player'' is the sixth studio album by English musician Elton John. Released in January 1973 by DJM Records, it was the first of two studio albums he released in 1973 (the second was ''Goodbye Yellow Brick ...

'' (MCA Records, 1972) * ''

'' (MCA Records, 1973) * ''

Caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

'' (MCA Records, 1974) * '' Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy'' (MCA Records, 1975) * '' 21 at 33'' (Rocket, 1980) * '' The Fox'' (Geffen, 1981) * '' Jump Up!'' (Geffen, 1982) * ''

'' (Geffen, 1983) * ''

'' (Geffen, 1984) * ''

'' ( MCA, 1988) With Beth Nielsen Chapman * '' Beth Nielsen Chapman'' (Reprise Records, 1990) With

* ''

Land's End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

'' (Asylum Records, 1974) * '' El Mirage'' (Atlantic Records, 1977) With

* '' Aimless Love'' (Oh Boy Records, 1984) With

* ''Night Flight'' (RSO Records, 1978) With

Ronnie Hawkins Ronald Cornett Hawkins (January 10, 1935 – May 29, 2022) was an American singer-songwriter, long based in Canada, whose career spanned more than half a century. His career began in Arkansas, United States, where he was born and raised. He ...

* ''The Hawk'' (United Artists Records, 1979) With

* ''

Born Late ''Born Late'' is the second studio album released by pop singer, Shaun Cassidy. The album was released in 1977 following the success of Cassidy's self-titled debut album. The album yielded two hit singles. The first, "Hey Deanie", was written b ...

'' (Curb Records, 1977) * '' Under Wraps'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1978) With Bernie Taupin * ''

He Who Rides the Tiger ''He Who Rides the Tiger'' is a 1980 solo album by longtime Elton John lyricist, Bernie Taupin. It is his second effort following his 1971 spoken word album ''Taupin''. Taupin co-wrote all the songs in the album with the Buckinghams former guitari ...

'' (Elektra Records, 1980) With

Brian Cadd Brian George Cadd AM (born 29 November 1946) is an Australian singer-songwriter, keyboardist, producer and record label founder, a staple of Australian entertainment for over 50 years. As well as working internationally throughout Europe and the ...

* ''

White on White ''Suprematist Composition: White on White'' (1918) is an abstract oil-on-canvas painting by Kazimir Malevich. It is one of the more well-known examples of the Russian Suprematism movement, painted the year after the October Revolution. Part ...

'' (Capitol Records, 1976) With

* '' Dr. Heckle and Mr. Jive'' (Big Tree Records, 1979)

References

External links

Fan website
*
Obituary on APNews.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Dee 1946 births 1992 deaths 20th-century English musicians English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists English songwriters English session musicians English rock musicians British rhythm and blues boom musicians People from Gillingham, Kent Musicians from Kent Procol Harum members Alice Cooper (band) members Elton John Band members English male singers English expatriates in the United States The Spencer Davis Group members 20th-century English bass guitarists 20th-century British male singers