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.
That Old Black Magic
Mark Murphy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Old black magic that you weave so well
Those icy fingers up and down my spine
The same old witch craft when your eyes meet mine
Same old tingle that I feel inside
Then the elevator starts it ride
Down and down I go
Like a leaf caught in a tide
I should stay away but what can I do
I hear your name and I'm a flame
Flame, flame of desire
Only your kiss can put out the fire
Oh you're the lover I have waiting for
Your the mate that fate had me created for
And every time your lips meet mine
Down and down I go
Round and round I go
In a spin, lovin' the spin I'm in
Under the old black magic called love
In a spin lovin' the spin I'm in
Under the old black magic called love
In a spin lovin' the spin I'm in
Under the old black magic called love
I should stay away but what can I do
I hear your name and I'm a flame
Flame, flame of desire
Only your kiss can put out the fire
Oh you are the lover I have waited for
Your the mate that fate had me created for
And every time your lips meet mine
Down and down I go
Round and round I go
In a spin, lovin' the spin I'm in
Under the old black magic called love
The song "That Old Black Magic" by Mark Murphy is a classic jazz standard that has been covered many times since it was first recorded in 1942. The lyrics speak to the power of love and attraction, referring to it as an "old black magic" that has the singer under its spell. The opening lines describe the hold that this magic has over the singer, with the icy fingers of attraction running up and down their spine when they meet eyes with their lover. The emotions are so strong that the singer is caught in a whirlwind of desire, unable to resist their lover's charms even though they know they should stay away.
The chorus emphasizes the physical and emotional intensity of the attraction, with the singer describing themselves as being in a spin and loving every moment of it. They speak of the flames of desire that only their lover can put out, and refer to their partner as the one they have been waiting for - the one they were fated to be with. Each time they kiss, the singer is pulled deeper into the spell of the "old black magic" of love.
Overall, "That Old Black Magic" is a classic example of a jazz love song, capturing the feeling of falling headlong into the depths of passion.
Line by Line Meaning
Old black magic has me in its spell
I am completely under the influence of this powerful and mysterious force, which I cannot resist or control
Old black magic that you weave so well
You have a talent for creating and manipulating this enchantment, which overwhelms and dominates me
Those icy fingers up and down my spine
I feel a chilling sensation that runs through my body, signaling the intensity and potency of this spell
The same old witch craft when your eyes meet mine
Whenever we make eye contact, the same mystical energy is summoned, drawing us together and binding us in a state of enchantment
Same old tingle that I feel inside
I experience the same electrifying sensation inside me every time, reminding me of the irresistible allure of this magic
Then the elevator starts it ride
At this point, I am powerless to resist the forces that are in motion, and I am swept away by the intensity and momentum of this mystical journey
Down and down I go
I feel myself descending deeper and deeper into this mystical realm, losing myself in its powerful currents
Round and round I go
I am caught up in a dizzying spiral of emotions and sensations, spinning me around and disorienting me
Like a leaf caught in a tide
I am caught up in a force that is much greater than myself, like a helpless leaf floating in a strong current of water
I should stay away but what can I do
I am aware of the dangers of this magic, and I know that I should resist its power, but I cannot help myself from being drawn towards it
I hear your name and I'm a flame
Just hearing your name is enough to ignite a powerful and intense feeling of passion and desire in me, like a flame that burns fiercely
Flame, flame of desire
My desire for you burns like a bright and fiery flame, consuming me completely
Only your kiss can put out the fire
Your kiss is the only thing that can quench and pacify this burning desire within me
Oh you're the lover I have waiting for
You are the perfect lover that I have been searching for, the one who can satisfy all my desires and fulfill all my dreams
Your the mate that fate had me created for
It seems that destiny has brought us together, as if we were meant to be united in this powerful and irresistible way
In a spin, lovin' the spin I'm in
I am completely caught up in this whirlwind of emotions and sensations, swept away by the powerful and irresistible energy of this magic
Under the old black magic called love
All of these powerful and mysterious forces are brought together by the timeless and mysterious power of love, which is the true source of this old black magic
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind