‘Blues Brothers’ Guitarist Matt Murphy Dies at 88

Matt Murphy, the guitarist for The Blues Brothers, died on Friday at the age of 88.

His passing was confirmed by his nephew Floyd Murphy Jr., though a cause of death has not been released publicly as of Saturday afternoon.

“I was just told that my uncle Matt Guitar Murphy passed away last night,” Murphy Jr. wrote in a Facebook post. “I can’t feel a freaking thing in my body now but I must stay strong cause he was a strong man that lived a long long fruitful life that poured his heart out in every guitar solo he took…”

Born in Sunflower, Mississippi, Murphy began to learn how to play the guitar as a child. He moved to Chicago in 1948 to join Howlin’ Wolf’s band and became a big name in the city’s blues scene throughout the 1950s. He went on to work with the likes of Ike Turner, James Cotton, Sonny Boy Williamson, Etta James, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry.

In 1978, Murphy joined the comedic duo of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as the two made their musical guest debut on the April 22, 1978 episode of Saturday Night Live. Rolling Stone reports the two recruited Murphy after watching him perform at a club in New York earlier that year. He appeared in both The Blues Brothers and Blues Brothers 2000 as the husband of Aretha Franklin, and continued to play with the live band though the early 2000s.

Murphy suffered a stroke in 2002 that forced him into an early retirement, though he did manage to recover.

Many of his fans, including This is Spinal Tap actor Michael McKean paid their respects to Murphy on social media after hearing about his passing.

“RIP Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy, one of those play-all-night guys that rock ‘m’ roll is made of,” McKean wrote.

“R.I.P. to the great Matt Murphy,” a fan wrote. “I have so many great memories of hanging and playing with Matt back in the early nineties when I was just a little kid, and I’m saddened to hear he’s gone. If you haven’t heard it, go check out his playing with Memphis Slim; it’s some of the best.”

“RIP Matt Murphy. Thanks for the great tunes and riffs. Your guitar sound is eternal.”