Wildfire (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Wildfire


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Artist = Michael Murphey
Album = Blue Sky - Night Thunder
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Released = 1975
Format = 7" (45 rpm)
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Genre = Country pop, Adult contemporary
Length = 4:47
Label = Epic Records
Writer = Michael Murphey, Larry Cansler
Producer = Bob Johnston
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"Wildfire" is the title of a popular song from 1975 (see 1975 in music) that was written by Michael Martin Murphey and Larry Cansler. It was originally performed by Murphey (who had yet to add his middle name to his recorded work), and it appears on his 1975 album "Blue Sky - Night Thunder".

Released as the lead single from Murphey's album, "Wildfire" became the singer's highest charting pop hit in the United States. The song spent two weeks at #3 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart in June 1975. In addition, it reached the top of the "Billboard" adult contemporary chart, where it remained for one week. [Whitburn, Joel (1996). "The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits", 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)]

Murphey and Cansler co-wrote "Wildfire" in 1968, shortly after Murphey emerged as a solo artist. He had been part of a duo known as the "Lewis & Clarke Expedition" with fellow singer-songwriter Boomer Castleman earlier in the 1960s. When Murphey re-recorded "Wildfire" for a new album in 1997, he was quoted by "Billboard" magazine as saying that what many consider his signature song "broke my career wide open and, on some level, still keeps it fresh. Because that song appeals to kids, and always has, it's kept my career fresh." [Hyatt, Wesley (1999). "The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits" (Billboard Publications)]

In 2007, talk show host David Letterman developed a sudden fascination with "Wildfire," discussing the song and its lyrics (particularly the line about "leaving sodbusting behind") with bandleader Paul Shaffer over the course of several weeks on the "Late Show". This ultimately led to Murphey being invited on the show to perform the song in person. Letterman would describe the song as "haunting and disturbingly mysterious, but always lovely," and surmised that the performance would leave the in-studio audience with "a palpable sense of... mysticism, melancholy... and uplifting well-being."

Covers

Tracy Byrd covered the song on his 2001 album "Ten Rounds".

References