Mike Murphy (musician)

Mike Murphy (1946—2006) was an American professional musician. He worked with the Grammy Award-winning rock group Chicago for five years and was the featured drummer on their Chicago 19 album.^[1]

In 1989, he was the lead drummer with the Bee Gees, on the "One For All" world tour.^[2] promoting their album One.^[3] They performed on four continents for a total of twenty-five concerts (eleven in Europe, six in Australia, two in Japan, and six in the U.S.

He performed with the Bee Gees on their four-CD box set, Tales from the Brothers Gibb^[4]

Biography

Mike Murphy was born in 1946 in Aurora, IL, the son of Jim and Mary Murphy. He began making music as a youngster with his father's band. He was in the band at East Aurora High School and was a quarterback on their football team, graduating in 1964. After a year at Doan College in Nebraska, he joined the Navy and served as an instructor in the Navy School of Music. He returned to Aurora in the early 70s and played with the Vaqueros Drum and Bugle Corp. He was an instructor at the Fox Valley Raiders Drum And Bugle Corps. He also played drums in Ambassador's Band which included Bill Mickelberg on guitar and Dick Jess on trombone, also in the 70s.

Mike lived in California for many years, then moved to Ohio. He died of a lung complication on April 11, 2006 at the age of 60.^[5][6][7]

References