Born in Syracuse, New York, in 1932, Murphy was raised in a musical family, his parents having met as members of the local Methodist Church choir. He grew up in the nearby small town of Fulton, New York, where his grandmother and then his aunt were the church organists. Opera was also a presence in the Murphy home. He started piano lessons at the age of seven.
Murphy joined his brother's jazz dance band as the singer when a teenager, citing influences from Nat "King" Cole, June Christy, Anita O'Day, and Ella Fitzgerald. The Jazz pianist Art Tatum was also an influence.
Murphy graduated from Syracuse University in 1953, majoring in Music and Drama. University life included performing on campus and also in a club – playing piano and singing.
In 1954, Murphy moved to New York City, working part-time as an actor and singer. He appeared in productions for the Gilbert and Sullivan Light Opera Company and a musical version for television of Casey at the Bat. Also, he twice took second place at the Apollo Theatre amateur contests.
Murphy was eventually introduced to record producer Milt Gabler, who was an artist and repertoire director (A & R) for Decca. His resulting debut recording was Meet Mark Murphy (1956), followed closely by Let Yourself Go (1957).
In 1958 Murphy moved to Los Angeles and recorded for Capitol, but returned to New York in the early '60s and recorded the album Rah! (1961) on Riverside Records, performing "Angel Eyes", a version of Horace Silver's "Doodlin'", and "Green Dolphin Street", featuring Bill Evans, Clark Terry, Urbie Green, Blue Mitchell and Wynton Kelly as accompanists. His favorite recording to date, That's How I Love the Blues, soon followed. In 1963, Murphy hit the charts across the country with his single of "Fly Me to the Moon" and was voted New Star of the Year in Down Beat Magazine's Reader's Poll.[citation needed]
In the late 1960s Murphy moved to London, England, where he worked primarily as an actor. He continued however, to cultivate his jazz audiences in Europe. He returned to the States in 1972 and began recording an average of an album a year for more than fourteen years on the Muse label. These projects - including the albums Nat King Cole Songbook Vol. I and II, Bop for Kerouac, Kerouac Then And Now, Living Room, Satisfaction Guaranteed, Beauty And the Beast and, Stolen Moments - gained numerous Grammy nominations.[citation needed] This last album contains Oliver Nelson's "Stolen Moments" with lyrics by Murphy.
In 1984 together with Viva Brasil he recorded the album Brazil Song (Cancões do Brasil), which featured original material written by Brazilian songwriters including work by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Milton Nascimento.
In 1987, Murphy recorded Night Mood, an album of songs by Brazilian composer Ivan Lins, followed by the Grammy-nominated September Ballads on Milestone Records. Murphy has also appeared on U.F.O.'s last two releases (for Polydor Records), in which he wrote and rapped lyrics on songs composed with the group. This collaboration opened up further new audiences in the acid-jazz and hip-hop genres, demonstrating jazz's timelessness while transcending generations and styles.
In August 1997, BMG/RCA Victor released Song For The Geese, for which he has received his sixth Grammy nomination. Also in August 1997, the 32 Records label Joel Dorn and Michael Bourne released a double CD anthology Stolen and Other Moments, which features some of his recordings for the now defunct Muse label. The CD features material from the two "Kerouac" albums and a selection of "the best of Mark Murphy".
Murphy’s release Once to Every Heart (2005), on the Verve label, features sensuous ballads, where the listener can capture him singing in top form, with superb musicians and sounding better than ever. In 2007 Love is What Stays was released on Verve. Both albums were produced by German trumpeter Till Brönner.
Murphy has also collaborated with Five Corners Quintet, a modern Finnish jazz band. He appears on their albums Chasin' the Jazz Gone By (2005) and Hot Corner (2008).
In 2010 he released the independently produced CD, Never Let Me Go, on which he is supported by pianist Misha Piatigorsky, bassist Danton Boller and drummer Chris Wabich. A limited edition EP/MP3, "Beautiful Friendship: Remembering Shirley Horn" on Gearbox Records was released in 2013.
Murphy continued to tour internationally into his 80s, appearing at festivals, concerts, in jazz clubs and on television programs, throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia and Japan, as well as other places. John Bush at AllMusic.com described Murphy as "a major name in vocal jazz." A longtime resident of the Lillian Booth Actors Home in Englewood, New Jersey, he died there on October 22, 2015.
Falling in Love With Love
Mark Murphy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Each time she straightens your tie,
You know the lady's in love with you!
If she can dress for a date
Without that waiting you hate,
It means the lady's in love with you!
And when your friends ask you over to join their table,
Well sir, here's just how it stands,
You've got romance on your hands,
Because the lady's in love with you!
If you've been travelin' by 'plane
And she says, "Please take the train!",
You know the lady's in love with you!
And if she has met your old flames
And she remembers their names,
It means the lady's in love with you!
And Sunday night, when you take her to see that movie,
And she says the gallery seats will do,
Well, here's just how it stands,
You got romance on your hands,
'Cause the lady's in love with you!
The lady is me, and I'm in love with you!
So in love with you!
Je vous aime beaucoup!
The lyrics to Mark Murphy's song "Falling in Love With Love" speak to the signs that a woman is in love with a man. The verses provide several examples of things that the woman does or says that demonstrate her affection. The first verse talks about how if she pays attention to how the man looks and makes sure he looks good, it's a sign that she cares about him. The second verse talks about how if she doesn't mind waiting for a date and takes effort to look nice for him, that's also a sign of affection. The third verse describes how if she prefers a more intimate booth for two when they're out with friends or chooses a train over a plane ride, it shows her feelings for him. And finally, the fourth verse mentions how if she remembers the names of his ex-girlfriends and agrees to sit in the gallery seats for a movie, she's definitely in love with him.
Overall, the song is a sweet and lighthearted way to describe the signs of being in love. The use of specific examples helps to paint a picture of how two people in love might behave around each other. The chorus adds a personal touch to the song, with the singer declaring that she herself is in love with the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
If there's a gleam in her eye
If you notice a sparkle in her eye
Each time she straightens your tie,
Whenever she takes care of your appearance
You know the lady's in love with you!
It's a clear sign that she has feelings for you
If she can dress for a date
If she's excited to dress up for a date
Without that waiting you hate,
Without making you wait long or without canceling the plan
It means the lady's in love with you!
It's another sign that she's interested in you
And when your friends ask you over to join their table,
When you go to a restaurant with your friends
But she picks that faraway booth for two,
But she chooses a private table for just the two of you
Well sir, here's just how it stands,
It's a clear indication
You've got romance on your hands,
You are in the beginning stages of a romantic relationship
Because the lady's in love with you!
She's head over heels for you
If you've been travelin' by 'plane
If you're traveling by plane
And she says, "Please take the train!",
And she wants you to change your mode of transportation to make it more comfortable for you
You know the lady's in love with you!
It shows how much she cares about you
And if she has met your old flames
If she's met your exes
And she remembers their names,
And she recalls their names
It means the lady's in love with you!
It's a sign that she's serious about you
And Sunday night, when you take her to see that movie,
When you take her to the movies on Sunday night
And she says the gallery seats will do,
And she's happy with the seats in the upper section of the theater
Well, here's just how it stands,
It's another indication
You got romance on your hands,
You're deep into a romantic relationship
'Cause the lady's in love with you!
Because she has fallen head over heels in love with you
The lady is me, and I'm in love with you!
The lady mentioned is me, and I'm deeply in love with you
So in love with you!
I have strong feelings for you
Je vous aime beaucoup!
I love you very much (in French)
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BURTON LANE, FRANK LOESSER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind