David Lee Murphy

I've been a fan of David Lee Murphy, (DLM), since 1995, when I first heard his music on the radio. There was just something about his voice that stood out, caught my attention, and had me hooked.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, the only songs I really heard on the radio were, "Party Crowd", "The Road You Leave Behind", and "Dust on the Bottle".

(Note: All videos are posted here. Push the arrow button at the bottom of the video screen to skip a song.)

When I got a computer, and connected to the internet, a whole new world opened up to me.

I was able to find information about my interests,(including DLM), and I met other David Lee Murphy fans online, from all over the U.S. and Canada. These new friends would go to shows, then send group emails to the others, with photos, telling about the show. Those of us on the West Coast were grateful to those doing this, for sure!

At one point, the DLM fan group I was part of online, became known as the "DLM Angels", in reference to a DLM song, "We Can't All Be Angels". Except for those Angels who lived in the same areas, we were all online friends. The first time any of the DLM Angels actually planned to meet was in Las Vegas, 1998; and I was lucky enough to be one of the Angels attending.

(Photo courtesy of Linda Porter-Smith)

Over time, for whatever reason, radio stations weren't really playing DLM much anymore. Where I live, the only song you hear is "Dust on the Bottle", as it was David Lee's only #1 hit.

David Lee continued to tour, and write music, however, and Angels everywhere still attended the shows; so those unable to do so still experienced the fun vicariously.

From 1997 to 2004, David Lee Murphy didn't release any new music, though he continued to tour extensively across the Midwest and Canada.

As is the norm, when an artist isn't seen or heard on a regular basis in the media, people wonder what happened to them. With a seven year gap between albums, this also happened with DLM. However, while no one was hearing *his* voice on any new songs, people were still hearing DLM penned tunes on radio and videos. During this time, DLM also had songs he'd written, or co-written, recorded by other artists, like Brooks & Dunn, James Otto, Aaron Tippin, Trick Pony and a host of others.


In 2004, David Lee Murphy released his fourth album, "Tryin' To Get There". The title track was a tune he'd written with his late idol, Waylon Jennings.

The album produced a top 5 hit for DLM, "Loco".


A second single, "Inspiration" was then released to radio, and was getting a lot of good response from critics and listeners alike. The song seemed destined to be DLM's next #1 hit. However, Koch Entertainment, DLM's label, decided to switch gears on what type of music they'd be handling, and David Lee was dropped from the label.

Since that time, there have been no other David Lee Murphy albums released; and in recent years, DLM has also been touring less. There are usually only a few shows here and there throughout any given year now.

Instead, David Lee has turned most of his attention back to writing songs for others; and he's doing quite well at it.

The list of album cuts by others DLM has had over the years is extensive, and growing all the time. Instead of listing them ALL here, I've posted three songs that have charted in recent years.

(Note: All videos are posted here. Push the arrow button at the bottom of the video screen to skip a song.)

Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and Thompson Square have provided David Lee with four #1 hits as a songwriter. Thompson Square's "Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not" is also up for two Grammies in February 2012.

(Note: All videos are posted here. Push the arrow button at the bottom of the video screen to skip a song.)

For those who are fans of Trace Adkins, his current single, "Million Dollar View" is another DLM song; co-written with George Teren. Trace also had a DLM tune on the deluxe version of his last CD; "Happy Man", co-written with actor/singer Christian Kane.

(Note: All videos are posted here. Push the arrow button at the bottom of the video screen to skip a song.)

Obviously, as a David Lee Murphy fan, I could go on and on about the man; I won't though. Today's post is simply my way of sharing information with those who may not know who David Lee Murphy is; or all that he's accomplished in music. It's also my way of saying, happy 53rd birthday David Lee, and here's to many more!

(Photo taken August, 2010, courtesy of Louise Wright Hargis)