Michael Martin Murphey Puts His Cowboy Boots in Bluegrass

Posted Feb 11th 2010 2:30PM by Vernell Hackett

Michael Martin Murphey wondered how he would be accepted in bluegrass circles when he released 'Buckaroo Blue Grass' in 2008. The Texas-born singer/songwriter is not wondering anymore. The album was nominated for a Grammy for best bluegrass recording and the follow-up, 'Buckaroo Blue Grass II,' has just been released.Michael's original concept was to cover some of his songs that had already been covered by bluegrass bands. Artists including Flatt and Scruggs, the Seldom Scene, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver and the Country Gentlemen have recorded his familiar tunes, including 'Carolina in the Pines,' 'Dancing in the Meadow' and 'Fiddlin' Man,' so Michael knew those songs would work in the bluegrass world.While those particular tunes don't stray too far from classic bluegrass subject matter, a look at the new album offers a few surprises. First there's a duet with Carrie Hassler on Michael's classic pop-country hit, 'Wildfire.' There's another duet, with bluegrass veteran Audie Blaylock, on decidedly non-bluegrass artist Marty Robbins' 'Running Gun.' And an even further surprise inclusion is an early MMM hit, 'Cosmic Cowboy,' which was a phrase used to describe the group of musicians who lived in and worked out of Austin, Texas, in the 1970s. The references to skinny dippin', burial grounds, guitar licks and a harvest moon in the lyrics really aren't that out of place in bluegrass music."Cowboy music and bluegrass music are really not all that far apart," Michael tells The Boot. "I've always used some of the bluegrass musicians on my cowboy albums, so they were already familiar with me and my music, so that wasn't a big stretch either." Read more.