Elliott Murphy | |
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 Murphy in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Elliott James Murphy, Jr. |
| Born | (1949-03-16)March 16, 1949 (age 76) Rockville Centre, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1973–present |
| Website | Elliott Murphy Official Website |
Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, record producer, and journalist.
Elliott Murphy was born inRockville Centre, New York,[1] grew up inGarden City, Long Island and began playing the guitar at age twelve. His band The Rapscallions won the 1966 New York State Battle of the Bands.[2] In 1971 he travelled to Europe and appeared in theFederico Fellini filmRoma[3] Returning to New York, in 1973 he secured a record contract withPolydor Records after being noticed by rock criticPaul Nelson.[4] In 1988, he returned to college studies he had given up in the 1960s, and completed his bachelor's degree atEmpire State College.[5]
His debut albumAquashow (1973) was critically acclaimed[6] and favorably reviewed inRolling Stone,Newsweek andThe New Yorker. Follow up albums includedLost Generation (1975) produced by Doors ProducerPaul A. Rothchild,Night Lights (1976) andJust a Story from America (1977). Special guests on Murphy's albums have includedBruce Springsteen,Mick Taylor,Billy Joel,Phil Collins,Sonny Landreth,David Johansen,Gene Parsons,The Violent Femmes,Cindy Bullens andShawn Colvin. To date, he has released over thirty-five albums including,Affairs (1980),Murph the Surf (1982). In 1985Jerry Harrison ofTalking Heads produced the albumMilwaukee.Selling the Gold (1995) featured a duet, "Everything I Do", withBruce Springsteen. The album also has a collaboration with theViolent Femmes: all three original membersGordon Gano,Victor DeLorenzo,Brian Ritchie appear on the track "King of the Serpentine".
The albumsBeauregard,Rainy Season,Soul Surfing, andLa Terre Commune, a duo with Iain Matthews, followed.Never Say Never...The Best of 1995–2005, a CD and DVD of performances was released in 2005. The year ended withMurphy Gets Muddy, an album of 9 classic blues covers and 5 Murphy blues originals. In early 2007 the albumComing Home Again was released in Europe. Murphy's 30th studio album,Notes from the Underground, came out in 2008 and he returned to the United States. A live CD/DVD-set "Alive in Paris" was released in the fall 2009 followed by the self-titled "Elliott Murphy" (2010), "Just A Story from New York" (2011) and "It Takes A Worried Man" which was produced by his son Gaspard Murphy.[7] All Music Guide has rated over fifteen of his albums with 4 stars or more[8]
In addition to his music and song lyrics Murphy has written forRolling Stone,Spin,Mucchio Selvaggio,Jam and various European magazines and has publishedCold & Electric, a semi-autobiographical novel, in French, German and Spanish editions, as well as two short story collections (The Lion Sleeps Tonight andWhere the Women Are Naked and the Men Are Rich) and in 2003Café Notes (Hachette, France). In 2012 the complete version ofCold & Electric re-titled "Marty May" was published by Joelle Losfeld/Gallimard.[9]
On October 1, 2012, Elliott Murphy was awarded the Médaille de Vermeil de laVille de Paris in a ceremony at theHôtel de Ville presided by Paris MayorBertrand Delanoë for recognition of his career as a musician and author.[10]
On November 4, 2015 Elliott Murphy was decorated with the ChevalierOrdre des Arts et des Lettres in a ceremony at the Mairie of the 4th Arrondissement in Paris.[11]
In 2018 he was inducted into theLong Island Music Hall of Fame byBilly Joel[12]
A biography of Elliott Murphy, "Hardcore", written by Charles Pitter, was published in 2013.[13]
In 2015, the documentary film,The Second Act of Elliott Murphy, by Spanish directorJorge Arenillas, detailing the transition of Murphy's career from the US to Europe was released on Mirabal Films. The film won the Audience Prize award at the 2016 Dock of the Bay film festival[14] in San Sebastian, Spain and included interviews with bothBruce Springsteen andBilly Joel.[15]
In 2018, Elliott Murphy starred in the film,Broken Poet, by Spanish directorEmilio Ruiz Barrachina, adapted from the Elliott Murphy short-story The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Also starring in the film areMarisa Berenson,Michael O'Keefe,Joana Preiss and a cameo appearance byBruce Springsteen andPatti Scialfa.[16]
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