Bobby Murray

Perhaps you've heard his guitar work on "The Sopranos" … Read Full Bio ↴Bobby Murray

Perhaps you've heard his guitar work on "The Sopranos" or seen him on the Tonight Show, Austin City Limits or Late Night w/Letterman. If you've seen Etta James perform in the last twenty years, you've seen and heard Bobby. As Robert Santelli of Downbeat says,"He's the one that makes you take notice."

When legendary diva Etta James was on the lookout for a blues guitarist to augment her Roots Band in 1988, it was Bobby Murray who got the call. Alternating his duties between Etta and his own band, the transplanted Californian's latest offering, "Live and Lowdown" leads his Detroit-based blues ensemble into yet another soundscape of this distinctly American genre.

Few blues guitarists working today possess the versatility Bobby commands and fewer still have the ability to move an audience as he can. Born in Nagoya, Japan, Murray grew up in a military family whose international travels eventually brought them to Tacoma, Washington. It was there that Murray befriended Robert Cray and they played in a band together throughout high school. The entertainment at their graduation was none other than Albert Collins, who would later become both friend and mentor to the young Murray. He performed off and on with Collins for the next twenty years. Although Albert is no longer with us, he continues to inspire Murray today.

Bobby would later record with B.B. King and Robert Cray on the aptly titled "Playing With My Friends" on King's Grammy award-winning album, "Blues Summit." Blues and soul legends Murray has performed or recorded with include John Lee Hooker, Johnny Guitar Watson, Lowell Fulson, Taj Mahal, Otis Rush, Percy Mayfield, Charlie Musselwhite, Johnnie Taylor, Otis Clay, longtime friend and musical associate Frankie Lee, Sugar Pie Desanto, Mark Naftalin and a host of others. You can check out Bobby's guitar work on numerous Etta James recordings, including Grammy winners "Let's Roll" and "Blues to the Bone." Murray released his debut album "The Blues is Now" in 1996 on the now defunct Viceroy label. He moved to Detroit soon afterward and began recording and performing with the latest incarnation of the Bobby Murray Band.

"The boy is bad!" - Etta James

"He's so powerful, man!" - B.B. King

"Bobby is the real deal - the product of a love for a tradition that he both honors and applauds." - David Ritz, Grammy award-winning writer and biographer

You Can Leave Your Hat On
Bobby Murray Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Baby, take off your coat...(real slow)
Baby, take off your shoes...(here, I'll take your shoes)
Baby, take off your dress
Yes, yes, yes

You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on
You can leave your hat on

Go on over there and turn on the light...no, all the lights

Now come back here and stand on this chair...that's right
Raise your arms up in to the air...shake 'em
You give me a reason to live
You give me a reason to live
You give me a reason to live

Suspicious minds are talking
Trying to tear us apart
They say that my love is wrong

They don't know what love is
They don't know what love is
They don't know what love is

They don't know what love is
I know what love is

Overall Meaning

Bobby Murray's "You Can Leave Your Hat On" is a sensual yet empowering song about removing inhibitions and being comfortable in one's own skin. The lyrics are straightforward and provocative, encouraging the subject to remove their clothing while the artist reinforces the idea that they give him a reason to live. The playful commands to "turn on all the lights" and "stand on this chair" add to the overtly sexual theme of the song.

However, the lyrics shift from lustful to defiant when Murray addresses those who disapprove of their love, stating that they "don't know what love is." This line adds depth to the song's message, emphasizing the power of true love and the need to ignore societal expectations and prejudices. All in all, "You Can Leave Your Hat On" is a bold and unapologetic celebration of sensuality and self-love.

Line by Line Meaning

Baby, take off your coat...(real slow)
Slowly remove your coat, my love

Baby, take off your shoes...(here, I'll take your shoes)
Let me take your shoes off for you, my dear

Baby, take off your dress
Remove your dress, my darling

Yes, yes, yes
I want you, and I want you now

You can leave your hat on
Don't worry about your hat, keep it on if you like

Go on over there and turn on the light...no, all the lights
Please turn on all the lights in the room, my love

Now come back here and stand on this chair...that's right
Please stand on this chair, my sweet, and do it just like that

Raise your arms up in to the air...shake 'em
Lift your arms up high and give them a shake

You give me a reason to live
You are the reason I live and breathe

Suspicious minds are talking
There are people who doubt our love

Trying to tear us apart
They are attempting to damage our relationship