Singer-songwriter Minnie Murphy has been surrounded by music her whole life; her father Jimmy plays guitar, her mother Patricia plays piano and her half-sister just happens to be none other than Jamie O’Neal. Since crossing the country from the PNW to Music City as a teenager, Minnie has had the opportunity to write with some of the industry’s best. Throughout her decade+ career, the Bellingham, Washington native has performed at the Grand Ole Opry and on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, toured worldwide, and written a catalogue of songs, including her latest single “Get Over It.”
We recently caught up with Minnie to talk about her musical family, her songwriting process, and more.
CN: For our readers who may not be familiar with you, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
MM: My name is Minnie Murphy. I grew up in the pacific northwest, in a town called Bellingham, Washington. My parents made their living playing the local bars and taverns every week with my dad on lead vocals and guitar and my mom on keys and vocals. My whole family sang and played, so I was surrounded by music growing up. I knew early on it that it was what I wanted to do. So, I moved to Nashville at the age of 19. I’ve lived here ever since, making music, performing for people, and just navigating through life with all its crazy twists and turns!
CN: While 2020 was quite the unexpected year, you welcomed your first child into the world! Congratulations! How has motherhood been treating you?
MM: Motherhood is the best thing ever! The experience of having my son inspired me to release music again. After having previous record deals that didn’t work out, I started to doubt myself and became very critical about my work. But, since I had my son Phoenix, I feel like I’ve already won in life. He gave me the confidence I never had before. I want to leave something behind for him and set an example of never giving up. I feel incredibly blessed and grateful to have a beautiful family. The pandemic lockdown was kind of an extended maternity leave for me. Although it was a little scary, I enjoyed being home and holding my loved ones as close as possible. It made me count my blessings and brought back that old down-home country feeling that inspired my upcoming music collection.
CN: You have been surrounded by music in every way possible. Both of your parents played instruments, and you are also the half-sister to the one and only Jamie O’Neal. How has growing up in such a musical family helped define yourself as an artist and also for your career going forward?
MM: I took music very seriously early on in my life. I wanted to play the piano as soon as I woke up in the morning. As a kid, I thought the most beautiful thing in the world was hearing my mom play Chopin – I would dance around to it like a ballerina. It blew me away to watch her hands make music, and I thought to myself, “I need to learn how to do that!” Also, watching my dad sing and play guitar in his country-rock band was always so much fun. My dad was always my rock star hero. So I just wanted to learn everything.
Of course, Jamie’s voice has always been a powerful force of beauty and strength that I always admired. My sister Melissa and I would watch her put on her makeup in the bathroom when she would get ready, totally amazed at how cool she was. Then, we would have Christmas parties, and Jamie would sing for everybody, and it filled up the whole room.
I also loved my sister Samantha’s music. She was really deep and an amazing songwriter – I listened to her music all the time. I love my whole family with everything I have, and I’ve learned so much along the way. I’m still figuring it all out every day, one song at a time. I’m very grateful to come from a family of professional artists and musicians. It made me work really hard on my craft.
CN: Growing up outside of Seattle, where grunge and alt-rock call home, you listened to everything, from alt-rock to jazz and more. What was it about country music that brought you into this musical realm?
MM: I have always loved country music and I grew up hearing it on the radio and watching my dad sing it. Plus, my mom grew up in Texas, and we wrote about her southern experience together, and it was fun to talk about tumbleweeds, horses, cowboys, and whatever I thought to be “country” at the time. There were many country music fans in the northwest, but the kids around me didn’t like it that much. I learned later that country music is about everything – real people, families, life, love, and loss.
I’ve always had conflicted feelings about devoting myself to one genre because I love to sing and write all kinds of music. I loved Fiona Apple and Nina Simone, and I thought maybe there was an untouched slot for me as a jazz singer that writes country songs. I wanted to be different and find a way to incorporate all the styles I love into country music. I do whatever I want to now and try to stay true to whatever the genre may be. If it’s country, then it’s country. If it’s punk rock with esoteric lyrics, then that’s another side of me too.
My next project is straightforward, good old-fashioned country with a very familiar sound. When the pandemic hit, I wanted to feel something nostalgic. So even though this type of music has been created before, this project is my version of it!
CN: Which artists have influenced you both personally and as an artist?
MM: I like it all. Last night, it was James Brown because I needed some funky grooves while I cleaned the house. I also went through a big Björk phase at one point in my life, but I get sick of anything after a while. I try to keep up with the radio and new music coming out, but I tend to like older stuff. My kind of country is Diamond Rio, Lee Ann Womack, early Shania Twain, and Brooks & Dunn. I also love folk music like Bob Dylan and Gillian Welch, and I love bluegrass too. It depends on what mood I’m in. I love listening to jazzy stylings like Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, and early Mariah Carey. I also listen to hip hop and alternative rock bands from the 90s like Stone Temple Pilots, or I go back to Led Zeppelin and David Bowie.
CN: Known for your craft of songwriting, can you take us through your process? How has being a new mom inspired your songwriting?
MM: I haven’t been writing that much, and I’m anxious to dust off the pen again. I’m setting up my home studio and want to make some fun music. It’s time for something groovy and uplifting. I have no specific process, although I like to have a song title or hook first before writing the song, especially if I’m trying to make a commercial country song. Right now, I want to get back to a more organic approach. Sometimes it’s fun to sing a bunch of gibberish until I get a clear melody and then go back and see what words fit with the music. For example, after watching my son sleeping and becoming overwhelmed with emotion, I wrote one song about being a mom. It all flowed out easily, and that is the most enjoyable way of writing. I also love co-writing. It seems to activate a part of my brain that can sometimes be hard to work on my own.
CN: On July 30th you released your latest single “Get Over It.” What was the inspiration behind this song?
MM: My publisher, Johnny Morris, will sometimes give us assignment writes which means he gives us a title to work with, and that’s what happened with “Get Over It.” Don Bedell, Johnny’s business partner for Evergreen, had the idea, and then Johnny wanted us to write it. So, we thought about it and wrote an old-school country song.
CN: You co-wrote this song with Don Bedell and Trafton Harvey. What were those writing sessions like? Was it an easy write?
MM: It was an easy write for the most part. We have a knack for writing drinking songs, it seems. Whenever we get stuck on a different type of song, we tend to scrap it and start over with a drinking song idea. So, we made this title about drowning heartbreak in whiskey, and the song flowed from there. I initially didn’t think I would cut the song, but I got excited when Jon Conley made the track. I laid the vocal down and ended up listening to it every morning with my cup of coffee. Finally, there was a vibe that felt cool, and I knew I wanted to put out some other old songs that complimented that vibe of “Get Over It” and make a record out of it all. So, here we are! We made it happen!
CN: If you could collaborate with any one artist, who would it be?
MM: That’s a really tough question. I would probably say my sister Samantha, who just passed away. We always talked about writing, but we never did. I love her work, and I hope we, as a family, can put her unreleased music out so more people can hear how great she was.
CN: What was the first concert you ever attended?
MM: My first concert was at the Merritt Mountain Music Festival in Canada when I was eleven. My dad had a slot in the festival. I remember all the trailers and the night we got there. It was pouring down rain, and the ground was all muddy, and we were parked far away from the stage, but Diamond Rio was on, and I wasn’t about to miss it. I sloshed through the mud and rain by myself, and it was incredible. I remember crying when they sang “How The River Feels.” I loved their harmonies, the mandolin, the lead singer Marty’s voice, and the chord changes in their songs. I also got to see Dwight Yoakum and loved that. I saw Lee Ann Womack that night, too. I loved how soulful and country her vocals were, and I loved her song “Little Past Little Rock.” Of course, it was also awesome to watch my dad perform and join him on stage and, later on, perform my own set. I love that area of Canada – it’s very beautiful. Festivals are a great time to walk around and soak in so much music.
CN: Your career includes a music deal with Sony at 17, a debut single that featured Vince Gill, singing backup for your sister Jamie and Martina McBride, and more. What has been the moment that stands out the most so far, and what is a goal that you have yet to achieve?
MM: It was awesome to star in the movie “Redemption Road” and perform one of my first songs I had ever written, “Bluer Than Blue.” The story of the lead character kind of reflects my own life. It was an unexpected blessing that came from just playing a gig downtown and being heard.
Other than that, I would say my first time recording with session players in Nashville was an incredible experience. I had written five songs, and my dad raised enough money to record them in the highest quality. I remember Paul Leim kicking off the beat to my song “I Was A Witness,” and the whole band came in. I was in the vocal booth set to sing a scratch vocal, but I was so blown away by hearing my song come to life that I missed my cue. The engineer said, “Hey, you gonna sing?” and I was like, “Oh yeah! Sorry! It just sounds so good!” It was really a cool experience. That session was what landed me my first record deal with Sony. It still holds up today and sounds great to me. My dad helped me and did an awesome job co-producing that session. We had a lot of fun working on every little detail, and I was in heaven. When I held that finished CD, I felt like I was holding a precious jewel.
As far as future goals, I hope to record and play as many shows as possible. Recording is always magical and fun and if I had all the money and time in the world, I would stay in the studio recording with amazing musicians all day long and then top it off with a show at night. That sounds like a perfect day for me. Well, maybe a day of rest in between!
CN: If you could describe yourself in one word, what would it be and why?
MM: Minnie. All I can say is, that’s my name! Well, it’s actually my nickname, but I can’t pick any one word to describe myself except for maybe “hodgepodge.” My fiancé Jonny and I call ourselves Hodge and Podge because we like to do many different things.
CN: What’s next on the horizon for you?
MM: Next week, I’m recording a Spanish version of “Get Over It” called “Superlarlo,” so I’m excited to release it soon. In addition, I am gearing up to release my seven-song LP called Evergreen, as well. I’m also excited to release more singles as well as a Christmas song for the holidays. Other than that, I’m working on writing more new music, booking more shows and live stream concerts from home, and just raising my bundle of joy, Phoenix.
I want to start a podcast with my fiancé Jonny as well and get into video editing too. We also have plans to put in a pond and learn how to live off the land better. We want to teach our son and ourselves how to be self-sufficient, crafty, and creative. It’s fun to learn something new every day and dig into all kinds of things!
For more information on Minnie Murphy, visit her website at minniemurphymusic.com and follow her on Instagr