| The Best of Michael Martin Murphey | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 49:20 | |||
| Label | EMI America | |||
| Producer | Jim Ed Norman | |||
| Michael Martin Murphey chronology | ||||
| ||||
The Best of Michael Martin Murphey is the first compilation album by the American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. It was released in 1985 via EMI America Records. The album includes the singles "What She Wants" and "Carolina in the Pines". [1]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Carolina in the Pines" | Michael Martin Murphey | 4:08 |
| 2. | "Geronimo's Cadillac" | Murphey, Charles John Quarto | 5:25 |
| 3. | "Cherokee Fiddle" | Murphey | 5:36 |
| 4. | "Still Taking Chances" | Murphey | 4:40 |
| 5. | "What's Forever For" | Rafe Van Hoy | 2:49 |
| 6. | "Wildfire" | Murphey, Larry Cansler | 5:06 |
| 7. | "What She Wants" | Kerry Chater, Renee Armand | 3:44 |
| 8. | "Love Affairs" | Murphey, Mike d'Abo | 3:32 |
| 9. | "Disenchanted" | Murphey, Jim Ed Norman, Chick Rains | 4:33 |
| 10. | "Don't Count the Rainy Days" | Wayland Holyfield, Jerry Careaga | 3:23 |
| 11. | "Will It Be Love by Morning" | Lewis Anderson, Fred Koller | 2:24 |
| 12. | "Radio Land" | Murphey, Norman, Rains | 4:00 |
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [2] | 20 |
Michael Martin Murphey is an American singer-songwriter. He was one of the founding artists of progressive country. A multiple Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums, including Cowboy Songs, the first album of cowboy music to achieve gold status since Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs by Marty Robbins in 1959. He has recorded the hit singles "Wildfire", "Carolina in the Pines", "What's Forever For", "A Long Line of Love", "What She Wants", "Don't Count the Rainy Days", and "Maybe This Time". Murphey is also the author of New Mexico's state ballad, "The Land of Enchantment". Murphey has become a prominent musical voice for the Western horseman, rancher, and cowboy.
Heartland Cowboy: Cowboy Songs, Vol. 5 is the twenty-seventh album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, his fifth album of cowboy songs. The album includes the hit song "Long and Lonesome Ride to Dalhart", which won the 2006 Wrangler Award for Outstanding Original Western Composition. The album was inspired by Murphey's life on his ranch and his real experiences working as an activist and artist in American Ranching and Farming.
Cowboy Christmas III is the twenty-fifth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and his third album of Christmas music. The album features traditional music and poetry performed by Michael Martin Murphy and cowgirl poet, Sarah Rische. Also included is a new Michael Martin Murphey song "The Kill Pen". All the poems were recited by Michael Martin Murphey except "Are You Going Home for Christmas", which was recited by Sarah Rische.
Playing Favorites is the twenty-third album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. Released August 21, 2001, the album features completely new recordings of eleven of the artist's country, cowboy, and popular crossover classics, as well as one new song. In his liner notes, Murphey writes that "songs are like children; they grow, evolve, change with time." The concept behind Playing Favorites was to document the growth and evolution of his best-loved tunes, using many new musicians and modern recording techniques not available when the original recordings were done.
Geronimo's Cadillac is the debut album of American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, released on May 25, 1972 by A&M Records (4358). Recorded at Columbia Recording Studios in Nashville, Tennessee and London, England, the album is considered one of his finest albums. The title track was Murphey's first Top 40 hit, and was also recorded by Cher and Hoyt Axton. Geronimo's Cadillac peaked at number 160 on the Billboard 200.
Cosmic Cowboy Souvenir is the second album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. According to AllMusic, this album established Murphey as a progressive country musician. Murphey's impact on the genre was as such that one of the many names for the genre, "Cosmic Cowboy music", was taken from Murphy's "Cosmic Cowboy, Pt. 1", a song that appears on this album. The album peaked at number 196 on the Billboard 200.
Michael Murphey is the third album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and his first for Epic Records, released in 1974.
Cowboy Songs Four is the twenty-first album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, his fourth album of cowboy songs, and his first album produced by his son, Ryan Murphey. The album features a guest performance by Lyle Lovett on "Farther Down the Line".
Sagebrush Symphony is the nineteenth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, his second live album since his 1979 live/studio album Peaks, Valleys, Honkytonks and Alleys, and his first album with a symphony orchestra. Recorded live with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra, this ambitious album, which presents cowboy songs and poems in a symphonic setting, contains a selection of Murphey's most popular songs, as well as traditional cowboy music. Murphey turns in "an impassioned performance" and the inclusion of guest artists Sons of the San Joaquin, Ric Orozco, Herb Jeffries, and Robert Mirabal "adds to the musical diversity and richness of the album."
Cowboy Songs is the sixteenth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and his first album of cowboy songs. The album peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Michael Martin Murphey is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and his first for Liberty Records. The album peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Hard Country is the ninth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey and his first soundtrack album. The 1981 film Hard Country stars Jan-Michael Vincent and Kim Basinger.
Flowing Free Forever is the sixth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. The album establishes Murphey's love of wide open spaces and his "desire to let his soul roam freely." The album was not as commercially successful as a few of his earlier releases, but "Murphey's visions and persona remain intact." The album contains the song "Cherokee Fiddle", which was later recorded by Johnny Lee for the film soundtrack for Urban Cowboy. Flowing Free Forever peaked at number 130 on the Billboard 200.
"Cherokee Fiddle" is a song written by Michael Martin Murphey. Murphey's version of the song went to number 58 on the Hot Country Singles chart in 1977. The story is based on a fiddle player named "Scooter"; his real name was Dean Kirk. He was of Choctaw Indian and Irish descent. Having taken lessons as a child from Clayton McMichen, he played the fiddle his entire life. He once worked with the country music and movie star, Rex Allen. In his later years he played at the narrow gauge train station in Silverton, Colorado.
"Carolina in the Pines" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Michael Martin Murphey. It was released in August 1975 as the second and final single from the album Blue Sky - Night Thunder. It peaked at number 21 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and number 25 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart in late 1975. The song was re-recorded with John McEuen on banjo and released in May 1985 from his compilation album The Best of Michael Martin Murphey. The re-release peaked at number 9 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart and at number 11 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart in mid-1985. Bluegrass band The Special Consensus recorded the song on their 2002 album, Route 10.
"What She Wants" is a song written by Renee Armand and Kerry Chater and recorded by American country music artist Michael Martin Murphey. It was released in November 1984 as the lead single from his compilation album The Best of Michael Martin Murphey. The song peaked at number 8 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and at number 6 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks chart.
Buckaroo Blue Grass is the twenty-eighth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, and his first album of bluegrass music.
Tall Grass & Cool Water is the thirty-first album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, his third album of bluegrass music, and his sixth album of cowboy music.
The Michael Martin Murphey discography consists of 33 albums and 46 singles. Having first charted with "Geronimo's Cadillac" in 1972, he did not chart again until "Wildfire" three years later. Initially a pop singer, Murphey shifted to country music in 1982 with "What's Forever For", a number 1 country hit. On his earlier works he was billed as simply "Michael Murphey", adding his middle name with the 1982 album Michael Martin Murphey.
High Stakes is the thirty-fourth album by American singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey, released on April 22, 2016.
