"JIM MURPHY & "PINE BARONS"

Jim Murphy and the Pine Barons

Formed in 1969, Jim Murphy and the Pine Barons have performed throughout the tri-state area. Guitarist-songwriter Jim Murphy sang his tribute "Welcome Home Big ‘J’" to the Garden State’s own USS Battleship New Jersey as she came through the Canal on her journey home and he has appeared on the stage of the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Pine Barons are Carl Baron on banjo, Dusty Borden playing mandolin and fiddle, Rich Janis backing up on bass and Vic D’Amico, fiddle. They blend traditional country standards in the bluegrass style with anecdotes about the music and its stars. The group’s 1998 CD, NewBilly Music, won four 1998 Traditional Music Association Awards, taking home trophies for “Album of the Year” and “Band of the Year” and Jim receiving honors as “Songwriter” and “Vocalist of the Year.” An earlier recording, Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere, captured TMA 1996 “Album of the Year.”

Originally from Union County, Jim has also written a biography of Hank Williams called The Boy from Alabama and he serves on the Board of Directors of the Hank Williams International Society in Georgiana, Alabama.