Valley Entertainment Announces Release of Michael Martin Murphey's Acoustic Christmas Carols

Business Wire, Nov 30, 1999

SANTA FE, N.M.--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Nov. 30, 1999--

What Michael Martin Murphey wants for Christmas, it seems, is a return to simpler, family-oriented celebrations and a focus on the traditions and down-to-earth customs and values that speak to the heart of the holiday tradition. Those traditions and values, as well as the quieter side of the Christmas musical legacy, is what Murphey emphasizes on his new album, "Acoustic Christmas Carols: A Cowboy Christmas II."

In a real departure from other seasonal releases, Murphey takes a sparse approach with the production of "Acoustic Christmas Carols." "Most Christmas albums these days have big choirs and orchestras and tons of synthesizers," Murphey notes. "Some of it is very inspiring, but what gets lost is the meaning of the song. There are great stories in the old Christmas carols and folk songs. That's why people keep singing them. They've been with us a long time, and they're going to keep being with us." Murphey will be celebrating the traditional side of Christmas in his current holiday concert tour as well. Indeed, November and December have become two of the busiest months of the year for the cowboy singer since 1991, when he issued his first Cowboy Christmas album. The family-oriented show that Murphey presents has proven so popular that he now receives more requests for holiday shows than he has time to fulfill.

"If we were to do all the shows that we've been asked to do, we'd have to start around Halloween," he says with a laugh. "But we enjoy singing these songs for folks, and we get a real good response from families. It's something that appeals to all ages."

In fact, the new album is an outgrowth of the success of the holiday tours. As time passed, Murphey began expanding the show to include more traditional carols. His research into the older songs, as well as the crowd response to the performances, convinced him to record a follow-up to his original Cowboy Christmas collection.

"The first album was based on a tradition of a Cowboy Christmas Ball that has been going on every year in Anson, Texas, since 1895," Murphey says. "It was based on this very specific family celebration there, where they hold a big dance and there's no drinking and no smoking. I had fallen in love with the whole idea that there can be a party with music where the kids can take part and there's no secondary effect other than coming together and having a good time."

The tour for that album proved so popular that Murphey was deluged with requests to do it again the following year. That's how his annual, highly anticipated holidays began.

"As the show expanded, I did research on what traditional Christmas carols would best fit with the theme of the show," he says. "When I started looking into these songs, I became very interested in who wrote them and why. The stories were fascinating. I was amazed at how many of these carols, many of which we think are ancient, were actually written by Americans. Christmas is a very American thing."

The result of Murphey's research can be found on "Acoustic Christmas Carols," a beautifully wrought album that the veteran cowboy singer recorded largely in churches. Among the recording locations for the spare, organic-sounding collection were the St. James Episcopal in Taos, near Murphey's working ranch in rural New Mexico and the church he and his family attend. Other recording sites include the Johnson Mesa Chapel in Raton, N.M., and the Christ in the Desert Monastery in Abiqui, N.M.

"I wanted to keep it very simple," he says. "I wanted to slow things down a bit and have a relaxed, quiet setting so that the lyrics really come out."

Those ideas of simplicity and of American traditions have become a primary characteristic of Murphey's career. Even before dedicating himself to traditional western cowboy music, the singer-songwriter had displayed his affinity for the old and new West. In the '70s, Murphey cranked out a couple of big pop hits, "Wildfire" and "Carolina In The Pines," before turning his attention to country music, where he enjoyed a long line of hits including "What's Forever For" and "A Long Line of Love."

However, through the '90s, Murphey has proven that there's an audience for good music that isn't aimed at the pop or radio charts.

His Christmas albums draw on the same spirit as the rest of his cowboy albums, which honor the working tradition of ranchers. Murphey's material tends to focus on horses, cattle, and ranges rather than about the romantic ballads of the West. To order Murphey's Acoustic Christmas Carols, call 800/357-5376. -0-

        MICHAEL MARTIN MURPHEY'S 1999 CHRISTMAS TOUR SCHEDULE

Nov. 19         NEVADA CO. FAIRGROUND                 GRASS VALLEY, CA
Nov. 20         PALMDALE PLAYHOUSE                        PALMDALE, CA
Nov. 21         EAST CENTER FOR THE ARTS                  EL CAJON, CA
Nov. 22         FLAGSTAFF HIGH SCHOOL                    FLAGSTAFF, AZ
Nov. 23         GALLUP HIGH SCHOOL                          GALLUP, NM
Nov. 24         SAGEBRUSH CONVENTION CTR.                     TAOS, NM
Nov. 27         COCO PAH CASINO                          SUMMERTON, AZ
Nov. 28         CRYSTAL PALACE                         BAKERSFIELD, CA
Nov. 30         BRIDGES AUDITORIUM                       CLAREMONT, CA
Dec. 1          PERFORMING ARTS CTR.                 THOUSAND OAKS, CA
Dec. 3          PARAMOUNT THEATRE                           DENVER, CO
Dec. 4          LINCOLN CENTER                        FORT COLLINS, CO
Dec. 5          CIVIC CENTER                              CHEYENNE, WY
Dec. 6          CIVIC CENTER                            FARMINGTON, CO
Dec. 7          UNLV PERFORMING ARTS CTR.                LAS VEGAS, NV
Dec. 9          TEXAS CITY HIGH SCHOOL                  TEXAS CITY, TX
Dec. 10         UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS IRWIN CTR.              AUSTIN, TX
Dec. 11         HIPPODROME                                    WACO, TX
Dec. 12         UNIVERSITY THEATRE                  WITCHITA FALLS, TX
Dec. 13         BASS HALL                               FORT WORTH, TX
Dec. 14         UNIVERSITY PERFORMING ARTS CTR.              TYLER, TX
Dec. 15         THE BIG TEXAN                             AMARILLO, TX
Dec. 16         COWBOY HALL OF FAME                  OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
Dec. 17         PIONEER HALL                                 ANSON, TX
Dec. 18         HAMMONS HALL                           SPRINGFIELD, MO
Dec. 19         MEDICINE PARK MUSIC HALL             MEDICINE PARK, OK
Dec. 20         LAURIE AUDITORIUM                      SAN ANTONIO, TX
Dec. 21         HUBBARD MUS. OF THE AMER. WEST          FT STANTON, NM
Dec. 22         CIVIC AUDITORIUM                        LOS ALAMOS, NM