On A Pony He Called Rudolph

Michael Martin Murphey might be fond of wearing buckskin jackets and singing "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," but make no mistake, he was raised just the other side o' the river in Oak Cliff and "discovered" by A&M Records' Bob Johnston playing in the long-gone Rubaiyat. He's best known to the world as...

By Noah W. Bailey

December 11, 2008

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Michael Martin Murphey might be fond of wearing buckskin jackets and singing "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," but make no mistake, he was raised just the other side o' the river in Oak Cliff and "discovered" by A&M Records' Bob Johnston playing in the long-gone Rubaiyat. He's best known to the world as the easy-listening cowboy behind "Wildfire"—the earworm that begot twaddle like Alabama and Lonestar—though in recent years he's been more interested in sissifying the old cowboy ballads he first heard on his relatives' 78s (his synth-laden hatchet job on "O Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie" must really be heard to be believed). Mr. MMM takes the stage 7 p.m. Monday at Bass Hall, Fourth and Calhoun Streets in Fort Worth, for his annual Cowboy Christmas extravaganza; hopefully he'll leave the synths back at the ranch. Tickets are $34.50 to $75. Call 1-877-212-4280 or visit basshall.com.
Mon., Dec. 15, 7 p.m., 2008

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