The Steel Guitar Forum

http://westernswing78.blogspot.com/2009 ... rphey.html

This is one of my favorite music blogs, and they've posted a collection of songs featuring Joaquin Murphey. (They also quote from my site and give credit...go figure!)

As with all of their stuff, the recording quality is variable, but it's great to have this all in one place.

Thanx!

If only I could dload...

That looks like the Joaquin compilation that Jeremy Wakefield put together some years back and sent out to a few Joaquin fanatics.

Ron Whitfield wrote:Thanx!

If only I could dload...

All you gotta do is click on the download link below the album contents list.

Andy, I don't have a PC at present, and what I'm using has it's limits. But Brad has graciously offerred to zip me the files to enjoy. But thanx!

Brad, Thank You so much for the link to this wonderful collection !

Thanx Brad
gotta love Murph

What a great blog site!

Thanks so much for sharing this with us Brad.

-Bill

Much appreciated. Many thanks.

Brad,

Thanks a ton for the link. It's a huge win for us fans.

Drew

Im really struggling too download this, the decompressing part was left running all last night and still running this morning, an emabarrasing waste of energy, just looking at that list of downloadable titles makes me drool.
If any kind soul could put this on a disc for me you'd have a friend for life over here, I'll pm my address should this happen, many thanks

Darn!This is one of those "maybe I should burn my steel guitar" moments.Mr Murphey is just plain incredible.Thanks for posting this,Brad.

Just like to say a big thanks to Bill Leff for helping me out, I now have the files

These recordings are just fabulous!! but I am left wanting more. 8 or 16 bars of JM just isn't enough but I guess that is a fairly standard approach for big swing bands.

I have ordered "Spade Cooley live at the Santa Monica Pier 1945/46" from the Bear Family in the hope that maybe he stretches out a bit more live but I'm not holding my breath. I expect that the arrangements live will be as tight as on the recordings.

What great accordion playing throughout this collection!!

"Artistry in Western Swing" is a wild track. Touches of Ellington here and there. I was thinking that maybe it was recorded in the late 50s but it is credited as being recorded with Tex Williams and was cut in 1948.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 25337.html

I would love to be able to date of the rest of this collection. Any suggestions?

Artistry in Western Swing was originally (at the time) a famous post-war arrangement by the Stan Kenton band named (I think) Artistry in Rhythm. This was considered fairly hip and progressive in big band circles and that a "country" group would cut it lick for lick was (and still is) mind blowing. Western Swing musicians were the equal or better of many big band musicians. This kind of music was later labled "third stream".

Guy:

These recordings were all made between about 1946 and 1954.

The earliest would be the Plainsmen recordings.

The latest would be Break Up Down and You Clobbered Me.

Without actually checking, I'd guess more were done pre 1950 than post 1950.

I often wonder what Joaquin was doing in the last half of the 1950s. Offhand, I can't think of any recordings. Maybe a Spade Cooley LP?

Joaquin recorded Fidoodlin' with Spade Cooley in '59. That's a good record to get--Roy Lanham is also on it.

They also have 3 volumes of Billy Briggs and the XIT Boys on that website. While Billy Briggs may not have been an inspired genius, there's something about the workmanlike steadiness of his playing that is something that I can aspire to. Seems like a good feel for typical 40's Texas roadhouse music. Check him out, I had only been familiar with him as the writer of Chew Tobacco Rag previously.

Try clickin on one of the many listed links on the left side for lots more than that one Joaquin Murphey download.

The Johnnie Lee Wills transcriptions from this blog sometimes have some inspired steel playing on them. Anyone know who played steel on these?

Mitch, Murph is also on Spade's mid 50's Decca Dance-o-rama LP. And then there are the series of rare Club Of Spade LP's that include live recordings ( tv or radio show maybe )from the 50's. Not a whole lot of steel in them but some truly incredible cuts, including an instrumental version of I Can't Give You anything But Love; Murph swings away with a big band horn section backing him up.

Matthew:

Buster Magness played on at least some of the Schmitt transcriptions. Tommy Elliot played with Johnnie Lee at times as well, but I don't know if he is on these particular transcriptions.

Jussi:

Yeah, I am aware of the Danceorama, but if memory serves, none of them were on Jeremy's CD of Murphey? I don't think he recorded anything for Decca after 1954.

I have those Club of Spade LPs by Tex and Spade, but have not listened to them in at least 15 years to ID Joaquin for sure.

Have you checked the Club Of Spade song titles?

The Murphey tracks I know of are:

Rock around the clock
I can't give you anything but love
Wake up susan
Night and day
Little brown jug
Sweet georgia brown
Judy
Steel guitar rag
Florida


There might be others, but my LPs are in deep storage and I can't check.

Murphey's ride on Florida may be my favorite of all of them.

I have traced about 285 recordings by Joaquin and suspect the total is in the 300-325 area.

I have always wondered about the exact date on these. Other than the "Fidoodlin" LP, the Club of Spade recordings may be the last thing he did before the Hawaii Forever cassette or the Midland LP?

Thanks Mitch! Buster is the name mentioned on the programs where I think the steel playing is really good. Now who can tell me more about the biography of Buster Magness and what tuning(s) did he use?

Thanks for the heads up, Brad. It's great stuff. I think its helpful for the newer members (2yrs for me)when something of interest gets reposted from years ago.