Thinking About Matt “Guitar” Murphy
Every year my wife and I host a Christmas Eve party where family and friends come over to reflect and discuss the usual pros and cons of life and wrap up yet another year. While tidying up the house and thinking about what music to put together for the party, I came across a box of goodies and found an old copy of The Blues Brothers album Briefcase Full of Blues. The album was released 29 years ago this month and at the time I played it constantly. I was entertained by the band, its energy and general upbeat humorous style. 
I was thinking about Matt “Guitar” Murphy lately. He is celebrating what I believe to be his 80th birthday this holiday season. Depending on your source of information there seems to be confusion as to whether his birthday is Dec.29th, 1927 or Dec. 27th, 1929. I don’t want to add extra years to Matt, but I didn’t want to take a chance on missing out on the opportunity to wish him a Happy Birthday, especially if he is turning 80 as I suspect.
Last time I heard, Matt suffered a stroke several years back, and there doesn’t seem to be much news of him as of late. I searched high and low to find information on his current status and found very little. I realized that perhaps I would have to put something together and see if I could stir up any feedback. I decided I would make a point to raise some awareness and generate some discussion on this cool bluesman, and of course to celebrate and acknowledge a fantastic musician and major influence to so many.
Twenty nine years ago I was guilty of the typecasting that made Murphy such a staple with The Blues Brothers. You can’t blame people; the band and the movie was excessively popular and became a phenomenon.
When listening to blues albums of the fifties and sixties, many may be unacquainted that they were listening to Murphy when they played songs by Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Victoria Spivey, Etta James and Sonny Boy Williamson. Even though being a Blues Brother is pretty cool, blues enthusiasts are well aware that there is more to Matt than that …
Ok … Its Christmas time and I have to prepare for my party. It’s been over 20 years since I have played Briefcase Full of Blues and I have decided that I was going to give it a listen and play it at the get-together this season… I have a turntable that converts albums to digital. I love the original sound of the vinyl as it helps me ponder when I write these posts. … So once again my MP3 player would get its workout and my wife would wonder where I was while I
