Elliott Murphy

Elliott Murphy è un cantautore americano nato nel 1949 a New York. È uno dei più efficaci ed apprezzati autori del rock. Al suo esordio fu salutato come uno degli eredi di Bob Dylan. Attualmente vive a Parigi con la moglie e il figlio Gaspard.

Nato a New York e cresciuto a Garden State, Elliott Murphy, come molti suoi coetanei, negli anni Sessanta forma una band, i Rapscallion, con i quali nel 1966 vince il concorso per band dello stato di New York. All'inizio degli anni Settanta si esibisce in Europa, suonando per le strade e in piccoli locali, ottiene anche una parte come comparsa nel film "Roma " di Fellini. Rientrato negli USA si esibisce nel circuito underground di New York insieme ai New York Dolls, Patti Smith ed alcuni artisti di quella che sarà la new wave americana. Il critico Paul Nelson lo segnala alla Polydor, per la quale esordisce sul mercato discografico con "Aquashow", ottenendo unanimi consensi di critica, ma deludenti riscontri commerciali nonostante contenga "Last of The Rockstars", una delle migliori composizioni di tutta la carriera del biondo cantautore, poco meglio andò con gli album successivi: "LOST GENERATION" (1975), "NIGHT LIGHTS" (1976) album contenente la stupenda "Diamonds by the Yard", forse il pezzo più famoso di Murphy e "JUST A STORY FROM AMERICA" (1977). Nel 1980 Murphy fonda la propria etichetta discorgrafica, la Courtesan, con la quale lancia l'album "AFFAIRS" (1980), il folk-rock "MURPH THE SURF" (1981) e lo strepitoso "PARTY GIRLS/BROKEN POETS" (1984) nominato ad un New York Music Award come miglior album dell'anno. Gli album successivi, pur mantenendosi su un livello più che buono, non riescono ad eguagliare i precedenti, e negli USA inizia ad avere seri problemi per la pubblicazione dei suoi lavori. In Europa, tuttavia, la situazione era completamente diversa, i concerti nel vecchio continente registravano sempre un' ottima affluenza di pubblico e i suoi album vendevano sempre molte copie, forse questo fu uno dei motivi che spinse Murphy a trasferirsi a Parigi, nel 1990.

La vita parigina diede nuovo spolvero al biondo cantautore della grande mela, che iniziò a comporre a ritmo frenetico, uscendo con album sempre più maturi, tra questi ricordiamo "SELLING THE GOLD", che contiene brani meravigliosi come "Is Fellini really dead?", "King Of The Serpentine" e la struggente "Everything I do (Leads me Back to You)" in duetto con uno dei suoi più grandi amici ed estimatori, niente meno che Bruce Springsteen.

Tra la fine degli anni '80 e l'inizio dei '90 Murphy collabora con Graziano Romani ed i suoi Rocking Chairs, in qualità di musicista e produttore degli album Freedom Rain (1989) e No Sad Goodbyes (1990). Della title-track di Freedom Rain viene girato anche un video che lo vede al fianco del cantante Graziano Romani.

Tra gli altri album è doveroso segnalare e consigliare "BEAUREGARD", "LA TERRE COMMUNE", "SOUL SURFING", "RAINY SEASON" e il nuovissimo, per gli amanti del genere, disco blues "MURPHY GETS MUDDY", dove, assistito dal guitar hero Olivier Durand (ormai presenza fissa nella band da anni), Elliott ci regala un mix esplosivo di cover di mostri sacri del blues e brani propri, in un crescendo inarrestabile di emozioni.

In Italia, Murphy collabora dal 1993 con i varesini Lorenzo Bertocchini & The Apple Pirates.

it.wikipedia

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Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949 on Long Island, New York) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, producer and journalist living in Paris.

In true rock 'n roll fashion Elliott James Murphy Jr. was born in Mercy Hospital, Rockville Center, New York in 1949 to a successful show business family. Mother Josephine was a former actress while father Elliott Sr. was the well-known impresario whose multi-faceted Aquashow ran all through the 1950's on the site of the 1939 New York World's Fair. The spectacular show was staged in an Art Deco outdoor theatre and featured diving clowns, ballet swimmers, jugglers, comedians and The Duke Ellington Orchestra. Later, Elliott Sr. opened the Sky Club in Roosevelt Field, Long Island not far from where Charles Lindbergh took off for his historic flight to Europe. The Sky Club was a politically connected restaurant/private club hosting such famous politicians of the time as Bobby Kennedy and Nelson Rockefeller. But more impressive to the young Elliott were the Sky Club's dance soirees, which featured The Ronettes, Jay and the Americans and The Seeds.

Elliott grew up in nearby Garden City, started playing the guitar at 12 years old and with his band The Rapscallions he won the 1966 New York State Battle of the Bands. He began writing songs while singing on the streets of Europe in 1971 and returned to New York after a brief stay in San Francisco to secure a record contract with Polydor Records. His debut album Aquashow (1973) was a huge critical success landing on many "best of" lists for the year and feature stories on Murphy appeared in Rolling Stone, Newsweek and The New Yorker. Follow up albums Lost Generation (1975), Night Lights (1976) and Just A Story From America (1977) received equal acclaim. Special guests included Mick Taylor, Billy Joel, Phil Collins. His music was post-Bob Dylan poetic rock heavily influenced by New York's Velvet Underground and propelled by Murphy's driving electric guitar and harmonica. After four albums on major labels Murphy was one of the first American artists to go independent (by both choice and necessity) with the release of the EP Affairs (1980) that sold well in Europe and set the stage for the successful Murph The Surf (1982). In 1985 the Jerry Harrison (Talking Heads) produced Milwaukee began his long relationship with New Rose Records in France. By this time Murphy was touring Europe constantly and finally moved to Paris in 1989 where he continues to live with his wife and son. Selling The Gold (1995) featured a duet with Bruce Springsteen, long-time friend, who often has invited him on stage during his European shows.

In addition to his music Murphy has written for Rolling Stone, Spin, Mucchio Selvaggio and various European magazines and has published Cold & Electric, a semi-autobiographical novel, in French, German and Spanish editions as well as two short story collections (The Lion Sleeps Tonight and Where the Women Are Naked And The Men Are Rich) and in 2003 Café Notes (Hachette, France). In a recent Spanish TV appearance he said, "Literature is my religion and Rock and Roll is my addiction." In 2005 he published his neo-western novel Poetic Justice(Hachette, France) with an Italian version expected in 2007. The novel has attracted interest from film producers as well.

His recent albums Beauregard, Rainy Season, Soul Surfing and La Terre Commune (a duo with Iain Matthews) have marked a renaissance in his recording career with many critics calling his double album Strings Of The Storm his finest to date. With French guitar wizard Olivier Durand he tours constantly, playing well over 100 shows a year all over Europe and to sum up their 10 years together is Never Say Never...The Best of 1995-2005 a CD + bonus DVD package of performances, videos and a discography showing all 26 album covers was released in 2005 which also saw the publication in France of Poetic Justice, Elliott's neo-western novel that will soon be translated into Italian and (hopefully) English. The year ended with Murphy Gets Muddy an album of 10 classic blues covers and 5 Murphy blues originals. In early 2007 his long awaited new album Coming Home Again will be released in Europe. Of the 20 Elliott Murphy albums that are currently rated by All Music Guide 11 received over 4 stars.

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