Remembering Dudley Murphy

Photo Courtesy of Flatpicking Guitar Magazine

Yet what made Dudley unique is that, for as great of a picker as he was, he chose to take a life path away from music full time, which he certainly could have accomplished, and instead settled in Springfield, Missouri to raise a family and teach as an associate professor of art at Drury College. That’s not to say that he wasn’t active in music, not by a long shot. With his wife Deanie, they formed the band County Line in 1970, as well as his venture into the 1984 formation of the critically acclaimed band Radio Flyer, which made three recordings and the band was well received as a tight and progressive entity.   Dudley was also considered as a leading expert in vintage fishing lures and authored/co-authored books which are considered the gold reference on the subject.

It was his 1978 album, however, with fellow guitarist Adam Granger entitled Twin Picking that really offered something new in the flatpicking world, as it was the very first twin flatpicking album ever recorded, with Dudley and Adam in separate channels of audio. This recording broadened even more Dudley’s skill on guitar, and for many a flatpicker through the years, it has been a source of learning and inspiration, as well as a portal into that genre at a time when there weren’t a huge number of recordings to be found outside of Doc, Norman, and a scant few by Tony Rice.

On a personal note, as fellow Missourians, Dudley held a special place in my life, not only as a guitarist but also as a person.  I can’t exactly say when I first met Dudley as a young teen, but I’d say it was at Silver Dollar City in about 1982. Deanie was beautiful and Dudley was bigger than life, especially with that moustache he had back in those days. But he had been on my young radar as a guitar player from he and Adam Granger’s acclaimed Twin Picking album. 

For whatever reasons, I was not the best at keeping in touch with Dudley for many years, although we had some phone conversations on and off through the nineties. I had moved to Nashville and the bustle of touring life and distance had begun to take it’s toll on older relationships, as it often does. But it seems in the last ten years or so of his life, we communicated more and more.  I can’t tell you why, but when you spoke with Dudley, he was like a magnet. He just pulled you into himself and his passion for whatever you may be talking about. That’s how renaissance men seem to be.

They say character walks into a room before you do, and that seems to have been true for Dudley as well. In our talks he was always so sure of everything he was saying—in fact I wish I could be as sure about anything as Dudley was about everything, to hearken a quote from Steve Earle on Monroe.

It would be missing the whole point of Dudley’s life if I didn’t bring to light what really drew many to Dudley, which was his Christian faith. His walk was one that was the real deal, yet never pushy, judgmental, or brash. He just walked it and somehow that just came through when you talked to him—you knew there was something different about this guy.

I will always treasure our talks on family, our walk with the Lord, and—of course—guitars. Sometimes, we are blessed to have people in our lives that occupy very specific roles. For me, Dudley held the position of making me aware when we spoke just how important my walk with the Lord was, especially in the music business.

I envy the men who were able to spend time with him regularly, either in art, music, fishing lures, or church. And those who were able to call him a close friend. But he was one of those individuals that even if you didn’t speak on a regular basis, when you did talk, you just picked up like you never missed a beat. Those are the kind of friends one wants in their life for sure.

He was a huge influence on many a guitarist’s playing, certainly mine included, and many a world renown flatpicker has spoken highly of him, both before and after his passing. And I think special honor is due to those who are extremely talented in music and yet put that dream of doing it full time as a profession aside and take the path of working a steady job and raising a family, finding balance between passion and responsibility. And perhaps that’s a lesson that has far greater and broader implications.

For guitarists who knew him, we’re all the better for it as pickers. But for those who knew him as a person and friend, even more so. Rest in peace my friend.  Dudley is survived by his wife Deanie, and his children Quinn and Jennifer.