On this day (November 20), Roger Murrah was born in Athens, Georgia. An active songwriter since the 1960s, he found early chart success in the early 1970s. Two decades later, he opened Murrah Music, an award-winning independent publishing company. His songs have been recorded by some of the biggest names in the genre, including Wynn Stewart, Waylon Jennings, Clay Walker, Conway Twitty, and Alabama.
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Murrah found his love of music early. When he was a child, his dad traded a pickup truck for a piano. He and all of his siblings learned to play by ear. Before long, playing songs transitioned into writing songs. Then, while serving in the Army, he became a staff writer for Muscle Shoals-based FAME Studios.
After leaving the Army, Murrah opened a recording studio in Huntsville, Alabama. There, he met country singer/songwriter Bobby Bare. He liked Murrah’s songs and hired him to write for his publishing company. Soon, he moved to Nashville to write full-time. According to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, he landed his first chart hit with “It’s Raining in Seattle,” which was recorded by Wynn Stewart.
Unfortunately, Bare sold the publishing company to ATV, and Murrah was booted from the roster. As a result, he moved back to Alabama to run a grocery store and regroup. A year later, he returned to Nashville and began writing major hits.
Roger Murrah Probably Wrote Your Favorite Song
Roger Murrah has written or co-written some of the most memorable country hits from the past half-century. For instance, he penned Conway Twitty’s 1980 No. 3 hit “A Bridge That Just Won’t Burn” with Jim McBride. He and James Hicks wrote Twitty’s “Goodbye Time,” which reached No. 7 in 1988.
Murrah penned “Don’t Rock the Jukebox” with Alan Jackson and Keith Stegall. The song topped the country chart and helped to define the genre’s sound throughout the decade. He, Stegall, and Jackson also wrote “If I Could Make a Living,” which was a chart-topper for Clay Walker in 1994.
Murrah and Waylon Jennings co-wrote “My Rough and Rowdy Days,” which was a top 10 hit for Jennings in 1987. He also wrote “Where Corn Don’t Grow” with Mark Allan. Jennings recorded it with little success in 1990. Six years later, Travis Tritt made it a top 10 hit.
He also co-wrote three No. 1 hits for Alabama. He and Scott Anders penned “High Cotton.” Murrah and Randy VanWarmer wrote “I’m in a Hurry (And Don’t Know Why).” Rich Alves and Steve Dean teamed up with Murrah to write “Southern Star.”
The list of Roger Murrah-penned hits is long and full of legendary artists. In the end, his success hinges on his simple philosophy. “I’m always telling my songwriter friends that our goal should be to write an exceptional song every time,” he told the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. “Unfortunately, we all have to write the other ones out of our systems sometimes, so we can hopefully have an occasional exceptional song come along.”
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