Bobby Murray Band

 

Blues guitarist, bandleader,

songwriter and producer Bobby

Murray played with the late, great

Etta James for twenty two years.

Bobby has performed on three

Grammy winning recordings – two

w/Etta and one w/B.B. King. Most

 recently, Murray was awarded the

 Detroit Blues Society’s prestigious

 Lifetime Achievement Award and

voted Outstanding Blues/R&B

 Instrumentalist by Detroit Music

 Awards.

 

Detroit has a long history of

standout blues performers, many

 who travelled north from

Mississippi and other Southern

states. Guitarist Bobby Murray is

another talented performer who

 migrated to Detroit, albeit from

 the West Coast.

 

Murray’s roots with the blues run

 deep, back to high school when he

 and bandmate Robert Cray saw

Albert Collins perform at their high

 school graduation in Tacoma,

Washington. In the ensuing decades,

 Murray amassed a considerable

resume of his own.

 

He performed in Etta James’

backup ensemble, the Roots Band,

for over two decades, including

shows at the WOMAD festival, at the

 Barcelona Olympics, and at the

 inaugural for President Bill Clinton.

 You may have heard his guitar work

on James’ song “Blues is My

Business,” that was used on “The

 Sopranos;” or seen him perform on

“The Tonight Show,” “Austin City

Limits” or “Late Night with David

 Letterman.”

 

Bobby performed with Collins off

and on for 20 years and has

performed with or recorded with

 many other blues greats, including

 Albert King, John Lee Hooker,

Johnny Guitar Watson, Lowell Fulson,

 Taj Mahal, Charlie Musselwhite

and Otis Rush.

 

Murray recorded with Cray and B.B.

 King on the song “Playing with My

 Friends,” from King’s Grammy

Award-winning album “Blues

Summit.” He also performed on

James’ Grammy winning recordings

 “Let’s Roll” and “Blues to the Bone.”

 

Murray, who moved to Detroit in

1996, was selected by the Detroit

Blues Society as a recipient of the

 group’s Lifetime Achievement Award

 in 2011. And in 2012, Bobby won a

 Detroit Music Award as Outstanding

 Blues/R&B Instrumentalist.

 

But, don’t get the wrong idea,

Bobby’s not resting on his laurels.

 Murray is better than ever, fronting

 his own Bobby Murray Band and

often collaborating with Detroit’s

 other top performers. His moving

 blues guitar work, with influences

 ranging from jazz to funk, and

exciting stage performances make

 him one of the Motor City’s

treasures.