Happy Heavenly Birthday to one of the great Blues guitarists – Matt “Guitar” Murphy. He was born in this day in 1929 in Mississippi.

While many know him from playing in the Blues Brothers Band, he was also know for playing along with Memphis Slim and Howlin’ Wolf. The list of names that he’s recorded with is a Who’s Who of the Blues: Chuck Berry, Koko Taylor, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Buddy Guy, Etta James, Willie Dixon, and Freddy King – just to name a few.

In the 1970’s he played with James Cotton and his harmonica. They recorded six albums together. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi attended one of their performances and subsequently asked Matt to join the touring band of The Blues Brothers. He would appear in both movies as Aretha Franklin’s husband. He toured with the band until 2000.

He recorded three solo albums: His debut was 1990’s Way Down South. That was followed by 1996’s The Blues Don’t Bother Me and finally Lucky Charm in 2000. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2012.

He suffered a stroke in 2002, but he was able to return to playing. In June of 2018, Matt passed away after suffering a heart attack. He was 88.

Let’s celebrate him today with a cut from “Way Down South,” – Matt’s Guitar Boogie #2: