The Steel Guitar Forum

There were some killer videos of Jim with Carl Smith on youtube but I think they were removed. Must have been from the 60's. Jim was ripping it up on C6 on a ZB Custom and sounded a lot like Chalker. Wish I could find those videos. Most inspiring playing I've heard in a long time. Other than that I don't know much abut him.

Here's an E9th tune called Big Murph, and another Murph tune with some hot C6/Sax picking that Wade Ray used to sing a lot (and a lot slower):


Big Murph


My Mother's Eyes


I was 17 years old when I saw Murph play with Hank Thompson in Grand Isle at a bowling alley with all of 8 people in the audience. No guitar picker, no fiddle player, just drums, bass, Hank and Murph who played the Merle Travis parts on his steel and lots of guitar stuff too and all the classic Hankisms. Seeing Murph cut loose in a club setting was unreal. He also plays some great stuff on Hank's Mills Brothers tribute album.


Cab Driver


I've Come Awful Close

I bought a used copy of Carl Smith's "The Carl Smith Anniversary Album - 20 Years of Hits". It's a 2 LP record set of some of Carl's very best songs. Most of the Steel playing is Big Jim Murphy with a few cuts featuring Curly Chalker and a few snippets of Johnny Siebert.

I spent a few hours extracting just the steel solos into two mp3 streaming tracks so everyone can hear some of this great picking. There's a ton of really good backup steel not on these tracks but you can quickly get the idea that this is a great album.

The only weak point of this album so far is that the cut of "She Called Me Baby" has the steel part much lower in the mix in the LP arrangement than what was on the YouTube showing posted a while back.



CD Solos 1

CD Solos 2


I've since learned that it might be Chalker and not Murph on Cab Driver.

Greg

back in the 80's..i had a cassette of johnny paycheck live. murph was playing steel. the back was called, i think, the west texas sound machine. great band...does anyone know if that would be available today? lost the cassette long ago. i remember the band flat played their butts off!

Bill Flores,
I saw Murph a couple of times with Vassar Clemmetts. He played steel and sax with finger picks. I dont't remember if he kept his thumb pick on or not. It would have been hard to see it behind the sax. Great player and great guy. Also a hot band with Vassar an Murph. Also saw him several times with the Wheel. He played pedal and non-pedal with them. He used an old walker for a stand for his Gibson non pedal instead of legs. He also played some sax with them as well.

Thanks Mark, that's great to know.

Greg, thanks so much for posting those clips and that info!!! that bowling alley story is amazing!

Hey, nice that you showed up here cause it gives me a chance to thank you - I just bought a D11 ZB, first time I've ever played C6 and I learned Nightlife off your arrangement and it was exhilarating! Thanks so much - eager to go through more stuff on your site!

OH DAVE!!! I KNOW!!! that clip of Deep Water!??!!? I just inquired about it here a week ago and a nice chap sent me the AUDIO from that - it was amazing to hear - some of my fav steel playing! totally wiped off the internet =(

baxter vaughan wrote:back in the 80's..i had a cassette of johnny paycheck live. murph was playing steel. the back was called, i think, the west texas sound machine. great band...does anyone know if that would be available today? lost the cassette long ago. i remember the band flat played their butts off!

Baxter, The album I'm about to try and describe was not recorded live, but it the back cover resembles what you described in your post. I think the first album that Producer Billy Sherrill let Johnny Paycheck use his own band on was an lp entitled: Everybodys Got A Family...and This Ones Mine. On the back of the lp it had a picture of Paycheck, Sherrill and the band - The West Texas Music Company. One of the hits that came from this album was a Gary Gentry penned song titled: "Drinkin' And Drivin". Murph and drummer Johnny Barber were a part of Pay's band at this time.

EVERYBODY'S GOT A FAMILY... Johnny Paycheck, one of the best steel albums I've ever heard. I was told that maybe Weldon Myrick played the unbelievable ending on Rollin' In My Sweet Baby's Arms.



Album Cover On Amazon


Track Listing


Drinking And Driving Driving on YouTube


Fifteen Beers on YouTube

Another plug for possibly the best raw sound country song ever recorded (Early D. Young/Paycheck):

Early Paycheck



Greg

Bill Flores wrote:A total sax geek question, did any of you who got to see Big Jim play sax and steel notice if he kept his finger picks on?...it appears he does in one of the videos,...I have tried this, but metal on pearl key buttons is very slippery, accurate fingering a bit difficult on the right hand, 'tho it didn't seem to faze him at all! Such a great player on both instruments
Thank Bill

I swas him with Asleep At The Wheel here in Seattle about 10 years ago. He had his D10 ShoBud, a brown double 8 Stringmaster and his tenor sax. He played them all amazingly well. He put his picks on the steel when he played tenor. He didn't have to switch quickly when he went from steel to tenor. - Jack

Murph and I shared a Sunday-night gig for two years at the Continental Club here in A-town, when James Hand (with yours truly) would open for HeyBale with Murph. Always a great time with him, since he was super friendly and we had many mutual friends. I had in-laws all over Missouri and that was his home turf, so we always had good conversations and many laughs. It was so sad when his health started to decline but he kept his game on up to the end.

If you're interested, Mike Siler recorded an album called Man of Clay with Big Jim on steel. It really shows how killer an E9th player Jim was. Here is a cut off the album. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2RUab8Bo5Y

Big Jim & his bro.
Wally are from St.Charles ,Mo.

No, they're from around
the Jeff' City area. After
Wally come around the St.
Louis area, he stayed out
in St Peters & St Charles.
~Rw

Russ Wever wrote:

Big Jim & his bro.
Wally are from St.Charles ,Mo.

No, they're from around
the Jeff' City area. After
Wally come around the St.
Louis area, he stayed out
in St Peters & St Charles.
~Rw

OK,thanks Russ,I wasn't really sure if they hailed from Jeff or St.Charles.

Hey Russ,I sent you a PM.

I had the pleasure of doing a CD with Murph several years back. Murph played steel and I played dobro on it, Johnny Barber was also on it, we all had a great time. If anyone is interested in them I still have them for sale. Terry

Speaking of being from Jefferson City area, Murph told me that his mother's side of the family were Gerbes', as in the MO supermarket chain.

Just a side note, go back to y'all's regularly scheduled posting.

I believe that Carl Smith's version of "Deep Water" had Big Jim on it and it is a really great cut of the song.
If memory serves me right.............

The best I ever heard Jim was with Clinton Gregory. Redd Volkert on lead and Keven Grant on bass. I can't remember the drummer's name but that was a killer band.
Jim also played sax in that band. What a talent and a great guy. RIP Jim.

A MUST CD is Heybale Live From 1-A..REdd & Murph!!!!!!!!!!

i saw jim with vassar at the great american music hall in sf. that may have been when i realized what a crappy player i was, in comparison.
after seeing him with paycheck and long hair, i expected him to be a badass biker (which he was, i'm sure)
but...
i met him years later at gabe's in n'ville and he was very kind to me. i treasure that brief encounter.

Hey Chris,

I was at that show too! I became a Murph fan for life. What a great picker.

Here's a "Tune Of The Week" I did (with Curley Chalker also) featuring two tunes they each did with Carl Smith. Murph plays "Red Door." http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopi ... tunes+week

Joe

Chris & Joe. I was there too (or at least one time if they played there more than once). What an awesome show.

richard and joe...that's funny! small world,eh?
and now we're all forum buddies.....right?

Yes, and getting a little long in the tooth!