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.
If You Could See Me Now
Mark Murphy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One look is all you'd need to see the mood I'm in.
Perhaps then you'd realize I'm still in love with you.
If you could see me now, you'd find me being brave
And trying awfully hard to make my tears behave
But that's quite impossible, I'm still in love with you.
You'll happen my way on some mem'rable day
I'll try to smile but can I play the part
Without my heart behind the smile?
The way I feel for you I never could disguise
The look of love is written plainly in my eyes.
I think you'd be mine again if you could see me now.
Mark Murphy's song, If You Could See Me Now, is a poignant piece about a person who is still deeply in love with their ex. The song begins by stating that the singer's current mood would be visible to their former partner if they could only see them. The lyrics are melancholic in nature, suggesting that the singer is feeling incredibly sad and blue.
Murphy then goes on to explain that the singer is being brave and trying to hold the tears in, but it is impossible as they are still in love with their ex. The lyrics are powerful, as the use of words such as impossible and still in love highlight the intensity and depth of the singer's feelings.
Later on in the song, the singer acknowledges that their ex will cross their path again one day in May. The singer expresses their concern about being able to put on a brave face and smile without revealing their true emotions, as their heart is still behind the smile.
The final lines of the song are perhaps the most heart-wrenching. The singer admits to their feelings for their ex-partner, explaining that love is written so plainly on their face that their former lover would be theirs once again if only they could see the singer now.
Overall, the song is a gut-wrenching reminder of what it's like to love someone deeply, even when that love is unrequited. It's a song that many can relate to and appreciate for its honesty and simplicity of imagery.
Line by Line Meaning
If you could see me now, you'd know how blue I've been
If you were able to perceive my current state, you would comprehend the intense sadness I am feeling.
One look is all you'd need to see the mood I'm in.
A single glance would suffice for you to recognise my emotional state.
Perhaps then you'd realize I'm still in love with you.
In that case, you might discover that my affection for you still exists.
If you could see me now, you'd find me being brave
Assuming you were able to see me, you would discover that I am attempting to be courageous.
And trying awfully hard to make my tears behave
Struggling and working hard to control the flow of tears down my face.
But that's quite impossible, I'm still in love with you.
However, it is a lost cause because my feelings of love for you have not disappeared.
You'll happen my way on some mem'rable day
You will coincidentally come in my direction sometime in the future.
And the month will be May for a while.
It may be during the month of May, which will seem to last much longer than usual.
I'll try to smile but can I play the part
I will make an effort to grin, but can I convincingly act the role.
Without my heart behind the smile?
Without feeling genuine happiness in my heart?
The way I feel for you I never could disguise
It has always been impossible for me to conceal my profound emotions for you.
The look of love is written plainly in my eyes.
It is apparent in my eyes, the expression of affection is clearly displayed.
I think you'd be mine again if you could see me now.
I firmly believe that you would once again belong to me if you were able to perceive my current state.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CARL SIGMAN, TADD DAMERON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
supersmallz96
Thank you so much for publishing this!! ❤️🖤 xoxo
Felix Vargas
my mother was martha wright singer... this is the only genius voice like i have ever heard that equals hers!!!