Michael Martin Murphey’s musical journey has taken many unpredictable paths over the past four decades. Topping the pop and country charts as well as becoming the world’s number one, best-selling singer / songwriter of American Cowboy Music, Murphey has never been one to rest on his laurels. His forthcoming, Buckaroo Blue Grass II: Riding Song (Due Feb. 9, 2010 on Rural Rhythm Records) is just one more example of Murphey’s boundary busting tendencies as he follows last year’s Grammy-nominated Buckaroo Blue Grass by again melding two seemingly unlikely genres — Cowboy Music and Bluegrass.
“Cowboy Music and Bluegrass Music share common branches of the American Music Family Tree in the enduringly popular fiddle music, ballads, gospel, dance and work songs of the country people of the American land- a mix made up of Celtic, African-American, Hispanic and Indian cultures,” Murphey said. “Historic records of social events in the 19th century – such as the Texas Cowboy’s Christmas Ball and dances held in places like Deadwood, South Dakota – show that cowboys danced to fiddle music and folk music that was already ‘traditional’ in their day. “They often set lyrics to folk songs that were already classics,” he continued. “The same thing happened in the Appalachian region of America where Bluegrass originated.” Read More
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