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Shirley Murdock | |
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| Birth name | Shirley Murdock |
| Born | May 22, 1957 Toledo, Ohio, U.S. [1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
| Labels | Elektra Records Dexterity Sounds/EMI Gospel Tyscot Records |
Shirley Murdock (born May 22, 1957) [1] is an American R&B singer-songwriter. She is best known for her guest appearance alongside Charlie Wilson on Zapp and Roger's 1986 single "Computer Love", as well as her 1986 single, "As We Lay". [2] The latter peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spawned from her self-titled debut album (1986), released by Elektra Records.
Murdock was born on May 22, 1957 in Toledo, Ohio. She attended and graduated from St. Ursula Academy. [3]
Murdock started out singing gospel music in her native Toledo. [2] Singer/musician Roger Troutman hired Murdock as a backing vocalist for his family's band Zapp, which had several hits on Warner Bros. (and its Reprise Records imprint). [2] Based on this success, Troutman began recording tracks with Murdock and lead singer Sugarfoot of the Ohio Players, among others, at his Dayton-based recording studio, Troutman Sound Labs. [2] Murdock and Troutman's first charted single was a Warner Bros. single issued as Roger (featuring Shirley Murdock), "Girl, Cut It Out", which charted at number 79 R&B in early 1985. [4]
Murdock signed with Elektra Records and released "No More", written by Shirley Murdock and Gregory Jackson (Cincinnati, Ohio funk keyboardist and member of Zapp), which made it to number 24 R&B in early 1986. [5] Then came her signature hit, "As We Lay", written by Zapp's Larry Troutman and keyboardist Billy Beck (of the Ohio Players). The tender, melancholy ballad made it to the R&B Top Ten in 1986 and peaked at number 23 pop and number 21 on the adult contemporary chart in early 1987. [5] Her debut album was certified gold, also helped along by the follow-up hits "Go on Without You" and "Be Free." She also released albums in 1988 (A Woman's Point of View) and 1991 ( Let There Be Love! ). In early 2000, Murdock toured in the inspirational/gospel play Be Careful What You Pray For with Cuba Gooding, Sr. and David Peaston. [1] Murdock appeared on T.D. Jakes' 1997 project Woman Thou Art Loosed, nominated for Grammy, as well as Jakes' 1999 release Sacred Love Songs. [6]
In 2002, Murdock released Home, her debut gospel-music album, on T.D. Jakes' Dexterity Sounds record label, and peaked at No. 9 on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums chart on March 16, 2002. [7] The album is produced by a list of music engineers, alongside Murdock's husband, Dale Degroat. AllMusic review singled out album's highlights, such as: "We Need a Word From the Lord" (giving a "powerful, message-driven" performance); "Never Let You Down" ( "beautiful song of encouragement"; and inspirational song "The Dream That Would Not Die". [6]
She made her acting debut in the movie Sweating in the Spirit. Most recently, Murdock has signed with Tyscot Records and released her most recent album in March 2007. [8]
In 2009, Murdock collaborated with Teena Marie on the song "Soldier", from Marie's album Congo Square . [9] She also appeared in the 2009 stage play A Mother's Prayer, with Johnny Gill, Robin Givens, and Jermaine Crawford. She also appeared in "A Mother's Love" a stage play produced by Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker in 2014.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [10] | US R&B | US Gos | ||||||||||||
| 1986 | Shirley Murdock!
| 44 | 9 | — | ||||||||||
| 1988 | A Woman's Point of View
| 137 | 19 | — | ||||||||||
| 1991 | Let There Be Love!
| — | 22 | — | ||||||||||
| 2002 | Home
| — | — | 9 | ||||||||||
| 2007 | Soulfood
| — | 71 | 7 [12] | ||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| Year | Album details | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| US Gos | ||
| 2011 | Live: The Journey
| 24 [13] |
| Year | Album details |
|---|---|
| 2001 | The Very Best of Shirley Murdock |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [5] | US R&B [5] | US A/C [5] | US Dan [5] | US Gos | UK [14] | |||||||||
| 1986 | "No More" | — | 24 | — | 27 | — | — | Shirley Murdock! | ||||||
| "Truth or Dare" | — | — | — | — | — | 60 | ||||||||
| "As We Lay" | 23 | 5 | 21 | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1987 | "Go on Without You" | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | |||||||
| "Be Free" | — | 86 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1988 | "Husband" | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | A Woman's Point of View | ||||||
| "Oh What a Feeling" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "Found My Way" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1991 | "In Your Eyes" | — | 7 | — | — | — | — | Let There Be Love! | ||||||
| "Stay with Me Tonight" | — | 34 | — | — | — | — | ||||||||
| 1992 | "Let There Be Love!" | — | 89 | — | 47 | — | — | |||||||
| 2007 | "I Love Me Better Than That" | — | — | — | — | 22 [15] | — | Soulfood | ||||||
| 2011 | "Dream" | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | Live: The Journey | ||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
| International | |
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