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.
I CAN
Mark Murphy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've settled revolutions in Spain
The North Pole I have charted, but I can't get
Started with you
Around the golf course I'm under par
And all the movies want me to star
I've got a house, a show place, but I get no
You're so supreme, lyrics I write of you
Scheme, just for a sight of you
Dream, both day and night of you
And what good does it do?
In 1929 I sold short
In England I'm presented at court
But you've got me downhearted, cause I can't get
Started with you
You're so supreme, lyrics I write of you
Scheme, just for a sight of you
Dream, both day and night of you
And what good does it do?
In Mark Murphy's song titled "I Can," the singer, with a tone of frustration and desperation, compares all of the impressive things he's accomplished in his life, including flying around the world, settling revolutions in Spain, charting the North Pole, hitting under par on the golf course, and even being presented at court in England, to his inability to connect with the person he desires. He emphasizes their supreme qualities and how much he thinks about them through his writing and dreaming, yet despite all of his efforts, he cannot "get started" with this person. The repetition of the phrase "and what good does it do?" highlights his sense of defeat and inability to achieve what he truly wants.
The main theme of "I Can" is unrequited love and the frustration of not being able to attain what one desires. In comparison to the singer's successful accomplishments, the inability to connect with this person seems trivial yet overwhelmingly significant to him, which highlights the powerful effect that love can have on an individual. The repetition of the phrase "I can't get started with you" throughout the song serves as a metaphor for his inability to move forward and achieve what he truly desires.
Overall, "I Can" is a poignant and relatable commentary on the complexity and difficulty of unrequited love. The singer's success emphasizes the idea that love can be the ultimate unattainable goal, and no matter how much one achieves in other areas of life, it cannot compare to the feeling of loving and being loved in return.
Line by Line Meaning
I've flown around the world in a plane
I have traveled all over the world using a plane.
I've settled revolutions in Spain
I was able to help end some unrest and conflict in Spain.
The North Pole I have charted, but I can't get Started with you
Despite my notable accomplishments, I can't seem to start something meaningful with you.
Around the golf course I'm under par
I am an excellent golfer and I have a score that is better than par.
And all the movies want me to star
I have the potential to be a movie star and I have many offers for film roles.
I've got a house, a show place, but I get no Place with you
Although I have an impressive house, it brings me no closer to you.
You're so supreme, lyrics I write of you
You are my ultimate muse and I compose songs about you.
Scheme, just for a sight of you
I make elaborate plans just to catch a glimpse of you.
Dream, both day and night of you
I dream about you constantly, regardless of the time of day.
And what good does it do?
Despite all my efforts, it doesn't seem to benefit me in any way.
In 1929 I sold short
I made a risky investment in 1929 that didn't pay off.
In England I'm presented at court
I have been recognized for my accomplishments by being presented to royalty in England.
But you've got me downhearted, cause I can't get Started with you
You make me feel disheartened because I am unable to start anything meaningful with you despite all my accomplishments.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ira Gershwin, Vernon Duke
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
theace110013
Mark holds his last note for 25 full seconds, in tune (of course), A true legend
Jezz
Awesome