MURPHY Rose 1913-1989

The name of Rose Murphy may not sound familiar to younger audiences and yet her music somehow has a familiar ring. That carefree approach, those playful interjections that reaped her the sobriquet of "Chi Chi Girl", we 've all heard that somewhere. Remember Marylin Monroe who, in 1959, came up with a smash hit entitled "I wanna be loved by you" (poo poo pe do)? This was, in fact, closely inspired by Rose Murphy's original version, recorded in 1950.
Rose Murphy was born 1913 in Xenia, Ohio. Rose was a singer and pianist with a high-pitched squeaky voice, a bubbly, infectious personality and a keyboard style that fully complemented her singing. Murphy established a considerable reputation on the New York club circuit in the mid/late 40's, entering the US Top 20 with a version of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" in 1947.
She became popular in the UK during 1948 after frequent playings of her single "Busy Line" by then-disc jockey Richard Attenborough. This record introduced the telephone signal, "Brruup, Brruup", as yet another of her sound effects. Other hits included "Me And My Shadow" and "Girls Were Made To Take Care Of Boys". During the '60s she performed regularly at the Cookery in New York.
Her approach to music –following a long tradition reaching from Fats Waller or Cleo Brown to Slim & Slam and Loumell Morgan Trio- could be described as light-hearted entertainement based on flawless musicianship. Her regular accompanyists included bassists such as Slam Stewart and Major Holley. Drummers were superflous as she also provided her own percussion by stamping her feet on the floor and occasional hand clapping. When she moved upmarket to venues that were carpeted she used a wooden board on which to pound out her foot stomps. Her piano playing and singing would accomodate to the most demanding situations, such as fitting orchestral acompaniments by big bands such as Benny Carter, Count Basie, Jimmy Lunceford and Sy Oliver.
Contrary to current custom, Rose Murphy's was never to outperform past present or future artists but to win her audience by her effortless charm.
She cut a last session in Nice, France, for the Black & Blue French label. She died 1989 in Queens, New York, but received further press attention the following year when UK mobile telephone company Cellnet used "Busy Line" as a television commercial theme, prompting MCA to reissue Murphy's original recording.
Rose MURPHY 1950's MCA

6 comments:

domdos said...

I do like Rose Murphy, but it seems impossible to me to unzip the file.
Thanks for all these singers.It allows me to discover a lot of them.

JUST ME said...

DOMDOS, I JUST DOWNLOADED THE .ZIP AND OPENED IT WITH NO PROBLEM. TRY AGAIN OR... GET A MAC!!! DANIEL

East Bay Gary said...

I guess I'll have to pass on this file. I can't unzip it either. Get message "Cannot find path specified". Tried winzip, winrar, & stuffit

JUST ME said...

GARY, I TRIED THE LINK. IT'S OK. DOMDOS HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AND IT WORKED THE SECOND TIME. DOWNLOAD IT AGAIN AND OPEN IT WITH STUFFIT. SHOULD SING!!! DANIEL

KaterinaGatzof said...

thanks a lot for Rose Murphy and other composers and singers. I discover a lot about jazz culture which is GREAT...

Lets try downloading the file....

Unknown said...

Another incredible artist discovered. Thanks Daniel!

L