Mike Murphy

Michael Murphy was born and raised in Eastern New Mexico and West Texas. He began his musical instruction at the age of 10 when he began playing the trumpet. At the age of 12 a friend introduced him to the guitar and a double love developed that has lasted his whole life. Mike played trumpet through his early school years and attended Texas Tech University where he was awarded a music degree in 1974. Though Mike’s focus was trumpet he continued to hone his skills on guitar and voice during college and performed around West Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. In 1971 while performing at a resort in Colorado, Mike met his soul mate, Sherie and his life took a different turn. Mike and Sherie married in 1972 and after graduation from college in 1974, Mike was hired as band director at Viewmont High School in Bountiful, Utah to teach band, guitar, and history. In 1996, after 22 years as band director, he gave up the band program but continued to teach guitar and history at Viewmont where he developed a world class guitar program and loved teaching US History. Mike retired from education in 2011. In 2007, Mike opened his own guitar store, Murphy’s Guitars on Main Street in Bountiful and ran the store for 14 very successful years, building a landmark business and using the store to promote music throughout the community. Mike has prospered as a singer/songwriter, in those early years he released his first cassette album in 1985 followed by a second album in 1987 and has recorded and released three CD’s of all original songs, “Standing at a Crossroads”(1996), “Friends”(2000), and “Boyhood Dreams”(2010). In January, 2021, Mike sold Murphy’s Guitars and made a commitment to himself that he would use his extra retirement time to write and record more original songs. He began to record the basic guitar and vocal tracks in at Funk Studios in Bountiful and drew on his many musician friends for bass, drums, and strings, and even sent tracks to Nashville for steel guitar and honky tonk piano, as well as using many of the talented musicians on staff at the studio to produce his newest EP “Long Time Comin’”. These new songs are arguably Mikes best work of his long career. His song from the album titled “Whispers in the Wind” has already garnered a top 10 award in the World Songwriting Awards Contest in the Gospel music category. Mike has no plans of slowing down, and plans to perform in local concerts and to continue to promote music throughout the community. It has been a wonderful adventure and his life is reflected in his songs.

Mike is a Member of:

• International Singer/Songwriter Association
• BMI
• American Songwriter Association