Good Old Time

Jim Murphy and the Pine Barons, playing to SRO crowds at the Princeton Public Library, join the Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame.

By: Susan Van Dongen

JIM MURPHY

   A retired assistant superintendent of schools from Brick Township will become a part of country music history when he’s inducted into the Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame Aug. 28, during the National Traditional Country Music Association’s annual old time music festival held in Missouri Valley, Iowa. Singer-songwriter Jim Murphy, founder of the Pine Barons, will find himself in the company of Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Jimmie Rodgers and Bill Monroe.
   With nearly 45 years involvement in the traditional country music realm, Mr. Murphy is the first artist from New Jersey to be recognized by the NTCMA. He’ll be heading out to Anita, Iowa, to the Pioneer Music Museum, which is located in the middle of a corn field, Mr. Murphy says.
   "That whole week they’ll be inducting maybe 50 members and I’ll be there Tuesday night," he says. "I’ll have half an hour to perform (with the house band) and I’ll do some original material."
   Describing fans of old time country music as a big spread out family, Mr. Murphy says he was nominated to the Hall of Fame by a singer-songwriter from Pittsburgh. Perhaps this gentleman was on his way through New Jersey and stopped by the Albert Music Hall in Waretown.
   "They must watch what’s going on, or they heard one of our recordings," Mr. Murphy says. "Somehow they got wind of us. So many people still love this music."
   Careful to differentiate old time country music from modern country, Mr. Murphy says you can trace its origins back to the days of live radio, when between bluegrass or other acoustic acts there was a lot of air time to fill. The stations sent folks out into the "fields" to search for local musicians, hoping to bring back sounds their listeners would enjoy. The 2000 film Songcatcher depicts this period.
   "They sent field recording units into the South and made recordings of the music being played, especially around Atlanta and especially fiddle music," Mr. Murphy says. "In fact, we’re celebrating a big event — kind of the big bang of old time country music. Eighty years ago in (the summer) of 1927, the Victor (Talking Machine Company) sent an engineer, Ralph Peer, to Bristol, Tenn., to make field recordings. The original Carter family was recorded (in a makeshift studio) there. So was Jimmie Rodgers, who became known as the Father of Country Music.
   "Here’s another New Jersey connection," he adds. "Not long after that, the Carter family came up to Camden to make a recording, as did many of the other acts (discovered in the field) throughout 1927 and 1928."
   The instrumentation of old time is also quite different from contemporary, electrified country music. Old time is all acoustic, with fiddles, guitars, upright bass, banjo, autoharp and other traditional instruments.
   The NTCMA is an association devoted to the preservation of many of America’s traditional musical art forms with emphasis on traditional country and bluegrass music, but also includes mountain, prairie, ragtime, Cajun, polka, cowboy, western, hillbilly, folk and many different kinds of ethnic forms of traditional music. Southern gospel can also fall into the "old time" category.
   Mr. Murphy’s theory as to why old time music fell by the wayside is that rock ‘n’ roll took over.
   "The best country pickers and players went more toward rock to make money," he says.
   Mr. Murphy’s professional affiliation with country music started in 1963 when he began hosting the Country and Folk Concert program on WJLK radio in Asbury Park. He formed his band, Jim Murphy and the Pine Barons, in 1969, focusing on authentic traditional country music presented in the bluegrass style. The group quickly gained a considerable regional following and is a mainstay at the Music Hall. The Pine Barons also plays at the Princeton Public Library to standing-room only crowds, according to program coordinator Janie Hermann.
   Noted for his songwriting, Mr. Murphy’s latest self-released CD, Go New Jersey, was recorded in Bridgewater. It’s devoted entirely to people, places and events in his home state, and "Garden State Waltz" has become a popular single.
   "I’m the only original member of the band," he says. "Although one of the guys played bass for 35 years — he just retired."
   The Pine Barons’ current personnel consists of fiddle player Joe Fili, Tom Stevenson on banjo, bassist Jeff Propert and Mr. Murphy on guitar and vocals.
   "We do a lot of three-part harmony, especially when we do gospel, that’s how we try to keep (things authentically old time)," Mr. Murphy says. "We also do Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Eddie Arnold but we do it in the bluegrass style, banjo, fiddle and bass, all acoustic. We don’t stay in Appalachia, we borrow from a lot of different performers."
   The hometown crowd at the Albert Music Hall seems to be thrilled that one of their own stands alongside Cash, Rodgers and Monroe at the Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame.
   "It was the first weekend that the news had been announced, the first time the Pine Barons had been back there, and it was a full house," Mr. Murphy says.
Jim Murphy and the Pine Barons will perform at the Albert Music Hall, Wells Mill Road, 131 Route 532, Waretown, Aug. 25, 7:30 p.m. Admission: $5, adults; $1 children 11 and under. (609) 971-1593; www.alberthall.org. http://home.att.net/arjanis —> Old Time County Music Hall of Fame on the Web: www.oldtimemusic.bigstep.com