Michael Martin Murphey is one the most celebrated country singer-songwriters of the 20th century. Over the past 50 years, the music of the original Cosmic Cowboy has topped Pop, Country, Western and Bluegrass charts. Today’s classic radio stations include his hits as standard fare.
A loyal patriot from Texas, Murphey is a prominent musical voice for the Western horseman, rancher, and cowboy. He is best known for his hits, “Wildfire,” “Carolina In The Pines,” “What’s Forever For,” “Long Line of Love,” “Geronimo’s Cadillac”, “Cowboy Logic,” and many more from his 35 albums released to date.
Murphey’s original songs have been recorded by The Monkees, Kenny Rogers, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Denver, Hoyt Axton, Johnny Cash, Tracy Byrd, Lyle Lovett, Jerry Jeff Walker, Dolly Parton, Johnny Rivers, Billy Ray Cyrus, and many others.
"In the Old West," Murphey said, "songs were shared by pioneers, cattlemen, ranchers, painted ladies and even gunslingers as a way of keeping the West alive. I have always been drawn to songs about the love of the land, the strength of the prairie folks, the dusty trails, the mythic tales and the legends of a bygone era. I have always admired Westerners for their stubborn determination and deep love of life. That's what I celebrate in my music."
A multiple-time Grammy nominee, Murphey has six gold albums and numerous additional awards. He was given the Governor of New Mexico’s Outstanding Achievement Award, and the Outstanding Son of Texas Award by the Texas Legislature. He is also the author of New Mexico's official state ballad, "The Land of Enchantment."
He joined with Jerry Jeff Walker and Gary P. Nunn, during the early 1970’s in Austin, to create the “Cosmic Cowboy” movement. This was pivotal in drawing artists like Willie Nelson to the scene, birthing the “Outlaw” Country phenomenon. The music from that era has endured over five decades, still some of the most popular Country and Country Rock music of all time.
Murphey’s 1972 debut album, “Geronimo’s Cadillac,” was an instant hit on Pop charts. “On the strength of his first album alone,” proclaimed Rolling Stone Magazine, “Michael Murphey is the best new songwriter in the country.”
Twelve years after his first Pop hit, Murphey was awarded “Best New Artist” by the Academy of Country Music – defeating George Strait. He continued to top the Country charts throughout the decade.
In 1985, Murphey performed with the New Mexico Symphony in a concept he titled “A Night in the American West.” It was so well received, it led to hundreds of performances with American and Canadian symphonies, including the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C.
In 1990 he released the wildly successful album, “Cowboy Songs Vol.1,” which became the first album of cowboy music to go gold since the heyday of Marty Robbins.
In the midst of this Country success he founded a Western cultural festival called “Westfest”, deemed “the best festival in America”. It is American West showmanship, culture, lifestyle and scholarship.
In 2009 Murphey refocused his attention, resulting in his Grammy-nominated “Buckaroo Blue Grass” album. That project, and two subsequent releases, topped the Bluegrass charts. It was the same year he was inducted into the Texas Heritage Songwriters Association Hall of Fame, joining old friends Willie Nelson, Guy Clark and Allen Shamblin.
More album releases followed, including the 2018 “Austinology: Alleys of Austin,” which celebrated his early days as a pioneer of the Austin Music Scene. The album was recorded with guest vocalists including Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Lyle Lovett, Amy Grant, Jerry Jeff Walker, Kelly Willis, Bruce Robison, The Last Bandoleros and others.
In April 2019 Murph was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 59th Annual Western Heritage Awards. The National & Western Heritage Museum honored him for his lifetime of producing and celebrating western music. More awards continued to follow.
As late as 2026, he is still being honored with awards for his music and his lifetime of Western heritage educational efforts.
· BMI gold record, for the album Cowboy Songs, the first gold album in cowboy music since Marty Robbins
· RIAA Certified gold records for "Blue Sky, Night Thunder" and "Cowboy Songs"
· King of the Cowboys Award for Outstanding Contribution to Western Family Entertainment by the Cody Order of Scouts, State of Nebraska
· Nebraska Country Music Hall of Fame
· Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame
· Western Heritage Awards from the Cowboy Hall of Fame (six-time winner)
· International Charley Russell Western Heritage Society Red Sash Award for Outstanding Service in Preservation of Western Heritage, 1999–2000
What people are saying . . .
One of the three main influences on my career. –Garth Brooks
I credit Michael Martin Murphey with the creation of the Outlaw Movement. — Willie Nelson
Michael Martin Murphey’s music is timeless! He remains a true voice of Country, Western, and Americana music with expressive songs that have deep meaning for music-lovers of any age. Whenever Mr. Murphey is on our concert schedule, we know it will be one of our most anticipated and well attended concert nights with audiences that span multiple generations brought together to enjoy his captivating artistry. Michael Martin Murphey never disappoints.
— Cathy O’Neal, Levitt Pavilion For the Performing Arts, Arlington, TX
The Grammy-winning performer and wild lands advocate, in his weathered buckskin clothing, cowboy hat and rustic, bearded grin, is as authentic as the Rocky Mountains. Murphey, or ‘Murph’ to his friends, symbolizes a bygone era, drawing on his family’s deep roots, a genuine love of artful storytelling and the culture of the West. No one personifies this kind of Americana more than Murphey. — Dave Muscari / Denver Hotel Magazine
Few people are dedicated to preserving the heritage and beauty of the American West quite like cowboy singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey. Through his music he tells the stories and romance of the Native Americans, cowboys, horsemen, ranchers, outlaws, and lawmen. But Murphey has gone beyond storytelling through active involvement in the conservation of the relics and landscape that define his most treasured region.
— Jennings Brown, Cowboys & Indians Magazine
Michael Martin Murphey may never have a bigger radio hit than ‘Wildfire,’ but what he has done by preserving the heritage of the West is bigger than any hit song. He is a living monument and a lesson to us all. — Storme Warren / Country Weekly Magazine
In the past two decades, no musical artist has done more to chronicle, preserve and further the cowboy culture than Michael Martin Murphey. His music overflows with life, enough for many of us. To saddle up with Murph is to come in closer touch with enduring truths.
Murphey has spent decades raising horses and cattle in the Southwest and Midwest, and he has spearheaded the Western music revival since releasing ‘Cowboy Songs’ in 1990. He’s the real deal.— Kevin Allen / Texas Music
Michael Martin Murphey is a passionate advocate for the American West. He’s introduced thousands of people to its natural beauty via trail rides, festivals and concerts. His music celebrates the people and places that make it grand. — Tom Wilmes, American Cowboy
Built-in 1925, in the grand architectural style of Beaux-Arts Classical Revival, the Simon Theatre provided a splendid setting for many theatrical performances, film screenings and ballroom dances. The James Simon family commissioned Houston architect Alfred C. Finn, whose career included designing a number of prominent Houston buildings as well as the San Jacinto Monument, to design the theatre for the community of Brenham. Today, after a meticulous million-plus dollar renovation, the glamour and grand style lives on for future generations in the newly named Barnhill Center at Historic Simon Theatre.
