Keith O'Conner Murphy (Keith Murphy) is an American songwriter, singer and recording artist. His contributions to the
rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...
genre of rock and roll music were recognized in 2002 when he was inducted into the
Rockabilly Hall of Fame
The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly.
Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...
. He is a voting member of the
Recording Academy
The Recording Academy (formally the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences; abbreviated NARAS) is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is famous for its Grammy Aw ...
, the organization which awards the
Grammys
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
, and a voting member of the CMA
Country Music Association
The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...
.
Early life
Keith Edward Murphy was born on November 9, 1944 in the small town of
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, Indiana, (also birthplace of
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
) to Edward William and Vivian Marcella (Martin) Murphy. He and his brother Brent, 20 years younger, were the only two children in the family. At the time of his birth, his father was serving in the US Army Air Corps in World War II.
As a child, Murphy loved music, and sang in church and school choirs. His primary family musical influence was his grandmother, Dora Collins Martin, who played piano professionally in local clubs, mostly honky tonk and popular music. His father, Ed, sometimes played harmonica for his own enjoyment, and his mother, Marcella, sang in school and church.
Murphy's formative years were spent in the Indiana towns of Peru, Wabash and Sweetser, all in adjoining counties. He graduated from
Oak Hill High School, Marion College (now
Indiana Wesleyan University
Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana.
The university system includes IWU—Ma ...
) and
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universit ...
, where he earned an MBA.
When Murphy was in the 4th grade, his family moved to
Wabash, Indiana
Wabash is a city in Noble Township, Wabash County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 10,666 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Wabash County.
Wabash is notable as claiming to be the first electrically lighted cit ...
. His first instrument was an Arthur Godfrey plastic ukulele with a plastic box on the fretboard that allowed a chord to be played by pushing one button. Murphy took it off and figured out which strings to push to play his own chords. When he was in junior high at Chippewa school in 1958, he saved his newspaper money and bought a $25 tangerine-and-white Harmony Caribbean H-1005 flat top from the local music store. It had a strip of aluminum cabinet trim to divide the colors on the front and the strings were not the easiest to press down, but it was a start.
When he was a sophomore, the family moved to
Sweetser in Grant County, close to the larger city of
Marion Marion may refer to:
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*Marion (given name)
*Marion (surname)
*Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion"
*Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992)
Places Antarctica
* Mario ...
, where his father worked at the local Fisher Body plant. He began to take guitar lessons at Butler's music store from an old vaudeville performer, Art Oliver, and later Sy Cantrell, a local barber by trade. Murphy started playing rhythm guitar and was lead singer in a rock and roll band he helped form, and later used his guitar for song writing.
Music career
Two of his earliest influences were
Ritchie Valens
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed i ...
and
Buddy Holly
Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...
. His first band was The Torkays,
[Osborne, Jerry (2012). ''Rockin' Records''. Port Townsend, Washington, USA: Osborne Enterprises p.1045. ] formed after he answered a newspaper ad placed by Jim Aguilar, looking for a guitarist, and met with him at Venable's café in Sweetser, Indiana on Monday, January 30, 1961. Aguilar had a 1960
Gibson Les Paul Standard cherry sunburst guitar. Murphy bought an identical one from Aguilar's former guitarist, serial number 0-1485, and these guitars years later were valued at around $250,000 each. Their first paying gig was Saturday, April 22, 1961 at the Van Buren, Indiana Conservation Club. They were hired by Bill Rock Sr. for $25 each to play at a party to celebrate the 15th birthday of his sister, Brenda Rock, who Murphy married six years later.
Aguilar and Murphy wanted to be recording artists, so they wrote some songs, recorded them on a small home tape recorder with one microphone, and took the demo tape around to several record companies. Their first trip was to Nashville and Memphis where they auditioned the songs with such companies as
Decca Decca may refer to:
Music
* Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label
* Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group
* Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label
* Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...
, and the famous
Sun Records
Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny C ...
, without success.
Next they drove to Chicago toward the end of 1962, where they scored a contract with Stacy Records, after John Dolan heard their teen age tragedy song "Little Loved One".
[Kreiter, Jeff A. (2007). ''Teen Collectors Record Guide'' (2nd ed.) Bridgeport, Ohio, USA. p.331.] The song describes a marriage and a car accident on the way home from the honeymoon, in which the bride dies. Stacy Records was a small but well-funded label owned by Gaylord Products, who made Gayla hair accessories and advertised on ''
American Bandstand
''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...
''.
[Murphy, Keith.(1995). Liner notes from CD ''Jivin' Around'' by Al Casey. Ace Records (UK) CDCHD 612.] Their biggest artist was
Al Casey, who had records on the charts and was a member of
Duane Eddy
Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel- ...
and
Lee Hazlewood
Barton Lee Hazlewood (July 9, 1929 – August 4, 2007) was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s ...
groups.
Since band members Murphy and Aguilar's brother Frank were underage, John Dolan came down from Chicago by train to Murphy's home. The parents met and signed contracts on January 17, 1963. There were several musicians who came into and out of the Torkays, but the three constant core members and who were on the record were Keith (O’Conner) Murphy on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, and the brothers Jim Aguilar on lead guitar and vocals, and Frank Aguilar on vocals. The four Stacy songs were recorded in a three-hour session in the
Sam Phillips
Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, ...
studio in Nashville, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm on Saturday, February 23, 1963. The other musicians on the record were the Nashville pros they called the "A" team:
*Cliff Parman – arranger and conductor, with many credits including Roy Orbison, Connie Francis, Bobby Vinton; wrote "Pretend"
*
Gordon Stoker
The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, ...
– background vocalist; the leader of the Jordanaires who backed Elvis on record and in films for many years
*Kelso Herston – guitar, bass and banjo; on numerous records including Jerry Lee Lewis; was musical director for the hit TV show ''Hee Haw''
*
Jerry Kennedy
Jerry Glenn Kennedy (born 10 August 1940)Cusic, Don. (1998) "Jerry Kennedy". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 277–278. is an American record producer, songwriter and guitar pla ...
– guitar; four-time Grammy winner; CMA Hall of Fame producer and record executive. He played the guitar licks on such classics as "Pretty Woman", "Harper Valley PTA", and "Stand By Your Man", and was on Bob Dylan's ''Blonde On Blonde'' album as well as Elvis and Ringo records
*
Hargus Pig Robbins – organ and piano; two-time CMA instrumentalist of the year and Hall of Fame member; his credits include nearly every country music star, as well as Bob Dylan, Paul Anka, John Denver, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Neil Young, with whom he toured
*
Willie Ackerman
Willie Ackerman (May 1, 1939 – December 13, 2012) was a professional American drummer whose career began in 1957 and ended in the 2000s. He performed with Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, The Monkees, Keith ...
– drums; played on many Nashville recordings including with Willie Nelson, George Jones, and The Monkees; was the ''Hee Haw'' TV drummer
*Priscilla Ann Hubbard – background vocalist; was on many records including with Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley
*
Margie Singleton
Margaret Louise Ebey (born October 12, 1935), known professionally as Margie Singleton, is an American country music singer and songwriter. In the 1960s, she was a popular duet and solo recording artist, working with country stars George Jones ...
– background vocalist and Murphy's duet partner on "I Don’t Like It"; had solo hit records and duets with George Jones and Faron Young
The first two songs released on Stacy were "Little Loved One", which originally landed the band's contract, and "Cindy Lou!" (Stacy 958). These were released in early March 1963. The company decided to release the first record under Murphy's name and not the Torkays. For reasons never explained, they changed his name to "Keith O'Conner".
The central US east of the Mississippi and the northeast was playing "Little Loved One". In April 1963 the song was in the top 10 on the WABY Albany, New York list, and number 16 on the WISH hit list in Indianapolis. Murphy appeared on TV in several Indiana cities. Meanwhile, the South was playing "Cindy Lou". Aguilar and Murphy went on a promotional tour to New Orleans where "Cindy Lou" was listed as "best of the new releases", and made an appearance on regional TV with The Champs, who played "Tequila" and "Limbo Rock".
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
took notice and offered to buy the contract from Stacy for around $20,000, but Stacy declined, sensing a hit and not needing the money.
In 2002 Murphy was inductee number 200 into the
Rockabilly Hall of Fame
The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is an organization and website launched on March 21, 1997, to present early rock and roll history and information relating to the artists and personalities involved in rockabilly.
Headquartered in Nashville, Tennesse ...
on the strength of "Cindy Lou", which is collected worldwide and is considered one of the final original era of rockabilly songs issued before the
British invasion
The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...
. Jim and Frank Aguilar were also recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame for their contributions to the recordings.
The next two sides were "Karate" and "I Don't Like It" (Stacy 960) by The torkays, released in late April 1963. Stacy thought both records would be hits, and they wanted to own two acts. To make sure no one caught on that these were the same performers, they changed the songwriter credits on the Torkays' record to Angus (Aguilar) and O'Neil (Murphy). "Karate" was a novelty rocker and marked the first time in the US that a vocal had used martial arts as a theme.
After playing from 1961 through 1963, the Torkays amicably disbanded. Murphy did some work at Jan Hutchens' Tigre Records studio in Indianapolis for the next few years, and gave guidance to local Grant County groups. Murphy's next band was The Daze. The lineup never changed from 1965 to 1968, and consisted of the following members:
*Keith (O'Conner) Murphy, lead vocals, rhythm guitar, tambourine
*John Asher, lead guitar, harmonica and backup vocals
*Jerry Asher (John's younger brother), bass guitar
*Phil Fosnough, organ and backup vocals
*Bill Shearer, drums
The Daze played at many venues throughout Indiana and surrounding states, and was one of the more popular groups in the area. They often performed in the greater Detroit area, including at the Roostertail, as their manager Ray Skop lived there.
In 1967 they landed a contract with the iconic
King Records based in Cincinnati, which was known mostly for rhythm and blues acts such as James Brown, Hank Ballard, Bill Doggett, Wynonie Harris, and Little Willie John. In May 1968 they recorded two of Murphy's songs, which were released on the King label September 19, 1968 (King 45-6171). The songs were "Slightly Reminiscent of Her" and its flip side, "Dirty Ol' Sam". The band members were the only musicians on the record.
Around this time period the owner of King Records,
Syd Nathan
Sydney Nathan (April 27, 1904 – March 5, 1968) was an American music business executive who founded King Records, a leading independent record label, in 1943.
He contributed to the development of country & western music, rhythm and blues a ...
, died March 2, 1968, and promotion efforts were in chaos. This was likely one of the last records released that Nathan approved. It was one of the last 50 or so that was released by King, before the label was purchased by Starday in October 1968, and the records noted "Distributed by Starday-King Records". King historian Chris Richardson noted "Keith Murphy & the Daze would help King Records expand its popular reach into the emerging “psychedelic" rock market May 1968 would find the recording of King's first "psych" 45 with "Slightly Reminiscent of Her", perhaps the only Psychedelic release. The single's recording, however, would take place against the backdrop of (1) label founder Syd Nathan's passing two months prior in March, (2) followed, in April, by civil unrest in the neighborhoods adjacent to Cincinnati's Evanston neighborhood – King's home base – when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis". The King Records headquarters and studio were designated in 2009 with a marker as the second Rock and Roll Hall of Fame historical landmark site.
The record later became a valuable record to collectors, priced up to $1,000
in record books. Again, as in the case of Stacy Records, King decided to release it with Murphy headlining as "Keith Murphy and The Daze". In England
Polydor Records
Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...
released the recordings (Polydor 56542) with a slightly longer end on "Slightly Reminiscent of Her" and designated the "A" side as "Dirty Ol' Sam".
The band was together from about 1965 through 1968. The Vietnam War was heating up and Murphy enrolled in the local Marion College, now called Indiana Wesleyan University. He later received an MBA from Indiana University. In later years (1999) he wrote and recorded the theme song for a television series ''Outdoor USA''. In 2008 he wrote the song "Tiddlywink" featured on the ''Rock in Threes!'' album by the noted German rockabilly group
Black Raven. At least three of Murphy's recordings have been re-released on US and European compilation albums. In June 2012 he recorded and released a CD and digital album, ''The Class of 1962'', as "Keith O'Conner Murphy", for his Oak Hill High School 50th class reunion. The album included a new song by the same name, which he wrote and sang, and which was reviewed by the Recording Academy for a Grammy nomination in 2013 in the
Americana
Americana may refer to:
*Americana (music), a genre or style of American music
*Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States
Film, radio and television
* ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...
category. The album also included his original 1960s songs.
[''Wabash Plain Dealer'' newspaper, August 2, front page.] In June 2017, Keith recorded "Tiddlywink",the song he had written for Germany's
Black Raven and replaced their version with his own in a reissued "The Class of 1962". It was reviewed by the Recording Academy for a Grammy nomination in 2018 in the Best Rock Performance category. In April 2018
Black Raven of Germany, again featured one of Keith's songs from the 60's "Karate!" on their album in CD, Vinyl, and even Cassette tape, titled ''Rockbox Revival''.
Black Raven was
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (born June 22, 1936) is a retired American singer, songwriter and actor. Among his songwriting credits are "Me and Bobby McGee", " For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Nig ...
's band for his European tour, and along with Keith, provided one of the few non-band songs on the album.
Personal life
Murphy married Brenda Rock, the girl whose 15th birthday party was his first paying gig. After living in Northern New Jersey for 35 years, they returned to thier native Grant County Indiana in 2021. They have two daughters, Michelle and Monica. He is Top Pop at his marketing research firm Lollipop Research Company.
Discography
Singles
*1963 (US) "Little Loved One/Cindy Lou!", Keith O'Conner, Stacy 958
*1963 (US) "Karate/I Don't Like It", The Torkays with Keith O'Conner, Stacy 960
*1968 (US) "Slightly Reminiscent of Her/Dirty Ol' Sam", Keith Murphy and The Daze,
King Records 6171
*1968 (England) "Dirty Ol' Sam/Slightly Reminiscent of Her", Keith Murphy and The Daze, Polydor 56542
::''The British version of "Dirty Ol' Sam" had a slightly longer ending than the US version.''
Original albums
*2008 (Germany) CD and Vinyl "Rock In Threes!" by
Black Raven, Part Records CD 673-001 and LP 373-002
::''The song "Tiddlywink" written, but not sung by Keith Murphy is featured on this album
*2012 (US) CD "The Class of 1962", Keith O'Conner Murphy, "Tiddlywink performed by
Black Raven, King Label #45-6171
*2017 (US) CD "The Class of 1962" Reissued, Keith O'Conner Murphy, "Tiddlywink" performed by Keith O'Conner Murphy, Roundtuit Label No. 3
*2018 (Germany) CD, Vinyl, Cassette "Rockbox Revival" includes "Karate!" written by Keith Murphy and Jim Aguilar, performed by
Black Raven, Hot Stuff Records HSL −026
Compilation albums
*1998 (US) CD and vinyl ''Chop Suey Rock Vol. 2'', Hot and Sour Records LP and CD HS-002
:: The song "Karate" by The Torkays with Keith O'Conner is featured on this album.
*2004 (US) CD ''Teen Town USA Vol. 5'' Yeaah! Records Y-505
:: The song "Cindy Lou!" by Keith O'Conner is featured on this album.
*2007 (England) CD ''The Electric Coffee House'', Psychic Circle Records PCCD 7011
:: The song "Slightly Reminiscent of Her" by Keith Murphy and The Daze is featured on this album.
Television music
*2000 (US) Theme song "Outdoor USA", written and performed by Keith O'Conner Murphy for nationally syndicated program ''Bill Rock's Outdoor USA'' on outdoor and sportsman channels
*2013 (US) Interview: Bongo Boy Rock n' Roll TV Show Episode 1016 first aired 2013
References
External links
Rockabilly Hall of Fame biography of early career
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Keith OConner
Singers from Indiana
American male songwriters
Living people
1944 births