Taters, and Other Fascinating People
By SusanUnPC on September 23, 2007 at 8:29 PM in Current Affairs, Environment
Did you know that Taters is a highly accomplished professional musician? I asked him to write about his life:
Hi, my name is Bobby Murray, aka taters. I’m a musician and I play guitar. I’ve been with Etta James (whom I adore) for almost 20 years now, since ’88. We just got off the road, we did Kansas City, Council Bluffs, Dallas, Chicago, Denver, San Diego, Anaheim a few others in SoCal & Northern CA. Then it was on to Oregon and Washington. Some of the dates included Al Green and pretty much all of them, we were with BB King. (Etta had her first hit record when she was fifteen and went steady with BB when she was sixteen. She says BB’s “Sweet Sixteen” was about her.)
I’m pretty comfortable on a tour bus. My forte is blues but I love and listen to all kinds of music. My classical guitar teacher threw me out of class after he admonished me for playing the Ray Charles classic “What’d I Say.” Even at the tender age of 12, I knew that blues was worthy of the same respect that any other music was worthy of. I’ll always be grateful to that teacher.
Taters (Bobby) continues:
Proudest moments would include performing at Bill Clinton’s first inaugurationand represnting the US with Etta in Barcelona at the ’93 WOMAD pre Olympic cultural fest. To hear all those languages in the hotel and to be with a musicians truly from allaround the world was a thrill I’ll never forget.
Less than proudest would include well that stuff isn’t worth mentioning, right?
Playing with Etta has afforded me many opportunities and I was fortunate to have played on two Grammy Award-winning recordings with her. I also played on a BB King recording which won a grammy. He is a mentor and a dear friend was and always will be a profound influence in my life. Seeing him on my seventeenth birthday reaffirmed what I wanted to be – a blues guitarist. I was with him and played forhim on his 70th birthday and I’m happy that I was with him on his 82nd, last week.
Here’s a link to a review of our last concert, in Washington, where our beloved Susan resides.
And here’s a link to my bio, I also lead my own band when I’m not w/Etta.
Please feel free to ask me any questions. And of course, one of my loves is being here with all of you here at No Quarter.
Love ya,
Bobby Murray aka tates
LINKS:
Here’s a link to a gig I did at the Monerey Blues Festival. It’s got a bio and a good friend linked it on his site. It’s also got an mp3 link to a song entitled “Here I Am” off my first CD entitled “The Blues Is Now” – released in 1996 and recently re released.
Bobby-Murray ( A link to my first solo recording)
Bobby with Etta:
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Susan speaking here: I saw a story about this young man today on CBS Sunday Morning (which is a show I tape every Sunday because it tells stories like these, and it has an overall positive tone that is heartening).
He spends his entire life hauling tons and tons of garbage — from refrigerators to bowling balls — out of rivers all over the country, and he’s inspired thousands of volunteers, and coastal cities and towns, to do the same:
Here’s Chad’s story:
In From the Bottom Up: One Man’s Crusade to Clean America’s Rivers (National Geographic Books), author and crusader Chad Pregracke, with Jeff Barrow, chronicles his incredible journey cleaning up America’s rivers one tire at a time. The book shares Chad’s personal story and the beginning of his grassroots organization, Living Lands & Waters, which has captured America’s imagination and motivated thousands of people across the country to clean up our country’s rivers and waterways. What started as one man’s crusade has become an ever-evolving worldwide movement to educate people and connect them with their environment.
While working as a commercial shell diver in high school and college, Chad was overwhelmed by the amount of trash that littered the bottom of the Mississippi, a shocking sight that launched him on a quest to do something. After four discouraging years seeking government help without success, Chad took his fundraising efforts private. He landed a corporate sponsor who was impressed by the environmentalist’s determination, passion and drive to make a difference.
Ten years later, Chad’s one-man project has grown into a $500,000 operation with more than 60 sponsors. Chad has accepted numerous awards and accolades, including the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public Service, which is America’s version of the Nobel Prize for Public Service. His efforts have been featured on CNN, MSNBC, Today Show, and countless other national and regional news outlets. His grassroots, can-do spirit thrives aboard a 135-foot barge that serves as home base for Living Lands & Waters, a floating environmental classroom and an inspiration to people of all ages and backgrounds.
Go here to find out how you can pitch in.
P.S. I checked how Chad’s book is doing, expecting it to be at around #21,000 in Amazon sales. It is #88 in sales. Wow. It seems a lot of people are interested in how to directly affect and improve the environment.
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