Earl James "Joaquin" Murphey (often spelled "Murphy", 30 December 1923 in Hollywood, California – 25 October 1999) was an American

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of playing a traditional ac ...

guitarist. Nicknamed "Joaquin" by bandleader

Spade Cooley Donnell Clyde "Spade" Cooley (December 17, 1910 – November 23, 1969) was an American convicted murderer and former Western swing musician, big band leader, actor, and television personality. In 1961 he was arrested and convicted for the Ap ...

to refer to the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

, Murphey was the cutting edge lap steel guitarist of his time due to his clean legato playing and "innovative" chordal style. He was discovered by Cooley in 1943 and was a member of Cooley's organization on and off for the next decade. He also worked with

Tex Williams Sollie Paul "Tex" Williams (August 23, 1917 – October 11, 1985) was an American Western swing musician. He is best known for his talking blues style; his biggest hit was the novelty song, "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)", which held th ...

and the Western Caravan, a band formed in 1946 by Cooley's former vocalist and a number of his musicians. Murphey also recorded with the western band Andy Parker and the Plainsmen. Music historian Andy Volk described Murphey as "a jazz musician disguised as a cowboy". He had a long-lasting friendship with inventor and guitar hardware manufacturer

Paul Bigsby Paul Adelburt Bigsby (1899–1968) was an American inventor, designer, and pioneer of the solid body electric guitar. Bigsby is best known for having been the designer of the Bigsby vibrato tailpiece (also mislabeled as a tremolo arm) and pro ...

, who custom-built at least three lap-steels for him (a standard, a double neck and even a three neck model). Murphey also recorded with various West Coast western swing and honky-tonk acts ( Jimmie Widener,

Johnny Bond Cyrus Whitfield Bond (June 1, 1915 – June 12, 1978), known professionally as Johnny Bond, was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and composer and publisher, who co-founded a music publishing firm, he was active in the musi ...

Smokey Rogers Eugene Rogers (March 23, 1917–November 23, 1993), known professionally as Smokey Rogers, was an American Western swing musician and songwriter active during the 1940s and 50s on the West Coast. Born in McMinnville, Tennessee, Rogers joined ...

and many more) but seldom recorded on his behalf. In 1980, he was inducted into the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame His contemporaries included

Herb Remington Herbert Leroy Remington (1926–2018) was an American lap steel guitarist who played Western swing music with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys from 1946 to 1949. A member of the International Steel Guitar Hall of Fame (1979), Remington is known ...

Leon McAuliffe William Leon McAuliffe (January 3, 1917 – August 20, 1988) was an American Western swing guitarist who was a member of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys during the 1930s. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a me ...

Noel Boggs Noel Edwin Boggs (1917–1974) was an American musician who was a virtuoso on the lap steel guitar and a member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame. He was one of the pioneers in electric steel guitar who helped popularize the instrument beyond i ...

and

Speedy West Wesley Webb West (January 25, 1924 – November 15, 2003), better known as Speedy West, was an American pedal steel guitarist and record producer. He frequently played with Jimmy Bryant, both in their own duo and as part of the regular Capitol ...

. Many illustrious steel guitarists such as West and Buddy Emmons claimed Murphey as their main influence and mentor. * 1947

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

custom-built by

References

* The Story of Paul A. Bigsby: Father of the Modern Electric Solid Body Guitar

External links

obituary in The Independent

Joaquin Murphey, steel guitar, Prt 1 Murph cd

Joaquin Murphey, steel guitar, Prt 2 Murph cd
1923 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American guitarists Guitarists from California American male guitarists 20th-century American male musicians {{US-guitarist-stub