Singer / Songwriter Rich Murray has a new album in the works to be released this summer. The album will feature a great mixture of originals and some crowd favorite covers from Rich’s current solo set. His career has spanned several decades and several genres of music through the years, but in the end Rich says “I’m a bluesman at heart.” Rich plays some harmonica and slide guitar leads on this record that will confirm the blues connection is real and heart felt, not to mention the soulful sound of his voice. Meanwhile, he has also tried to convey his southern “hillbilly” side making this album a truly unique effort to not sound like anyone else. He has joined forces with Dane Clark from the John Mellencamp band who plays drums and various other instruments on the album, as well as co-producing every single track in the comfort of Dane’s personal studio. “We used a lot of top tier players to get the sound we were seeking for each individual song” says Murray. Troye Kinnett (also from the Mellencamp band) played accordion on several of the tracks, which helped set the tone for the Americana vibe very nicely.
Other contributors include legendary guitarist Bill Kirchen. Bill has been dubbed the King and originator of Dieselbilly music since he hit the charts by playing the guitar hook on a little tune called Hot Rod Lincoln in the 1970’s. His guitar work really stands out on a Townes Van Zant cover called White Freightliner, which Rich truly makes his own on this album. Tigar Bell is a Music City staple that has worked with Merle Haggard, Ricky Van Shelton, and Travis Tritt to name a few. He covered all of the fiddle, mandolin and banjo parts. Murray’s former band mate and lifelong friend, Jack Fields sang most of the high harmony vocals. Rich also notes that his alter ego, Dickie Murray played acoustic guitar and bass on all of the tracks. Also featured on one track is international harmonica recording artist, Will Wilde.
The first single being released is a co-write with a California songwriter named Daniel Curzon which was written several years back between Rich and Daniel via the internet. The two collaborators have never met in person, but this song just feels like everything is in the right place as it takes you on a journey down the metaphorical road of life, thus titled Down The Road (are we there yet?) Rich Murray was born and raised in Indiana and currently resides in the hills of Kentucky where he often spent summer break from school visiting with kin on his mother’s side of the family tree during his childhood. When he’s not doing solo shows, Rich spends as much time as possible in Nashville co-writing and backing up other artists on various instruments.
Keep an eye out for this album, appropriately titled (Hillbilly Soul Music) by Rich Murray.