David Lee Murphy just scored his first No. 1 hit in more than 20 years, with “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” with Kenny Chesney. But Chesney did much more than just lend his vocals to the tune. It was Chesney who convinced Murphy to write and release his recent No Zip Code album, revitalizing an artist career that began more than two decades ago.
“I’d written songs for Kenny over the years, and I had sent some songs to Kenny when he was getting ready to work on a new project,” Murphy tells PopCulture.com. “He called me up one night and he goes, ‘Man, you’ve been sending me all these songs. You ought to make a record yourself.’ He said we could go in the studio and produce something, me and Buddy Cannon, who produces Kenny’s records, and so over the course of a year or so, we just went in the studio and made a record.”
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Murphy was initially a bit hesitant to head back into the studio for one of his own projects, but it was the lure of working with Chesney, who produced the album with Murphy and Cannon, which ultimately sealed the deal.
“Part of me was going, ‘This is fantastic,’ and part of me was going, ‘Man, that’s going to be a lot of work, and getting back out on the road,’” admits Murphy. “I was writing songs, but really, down deep inside, I was thrilled to get to work with Kenny because I just knew that would be a perfect situation to go and make a record and not be worried about time constraints and stress and pressure and all that stuff, so it was the perfect situation.”
Murphy penned “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” with Chris Stevens and Jimmy Yeary, unaware that he was writing his own hit.
“It just fell out one day, and that’s usually the songs that are the ones that connect,” admits Murphy. “We wrote the song, and it just felt so good. I remember sitting at home in the driveway listening to that, and there was snow on the ground in Nashville that night. That’s just one of those songs that it’s about, ‘Calm down. It’s going to be alright.’ I had more people call me with messages and send me notes and tell me stories about something that happened in their life, whether they had something going on in their life to where the song made them feel better, so it’s been a special song.”
The 59-year-old, whose last album prior to No Zip Code was Tryin’ to Get There in 2004, has also written songs for and with other artists, including “Living in Fast Forward” for Chesney, “Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not” for Thompson Square and “Big Green Tractor” for Jason Aldean. But when asked if he is more of a songwriter or an artist, Murphy says he can’t discern between the two.
“I think I’m kind of both,” says Murphy. “I’m a songwriter for sure, and I’m a singer, so I guess I’m a singer songwriter.I don’t guess I’ve ever really recorded a song that I didn’t write, but I love to get out there and sing, and I like to sing my songs the best.”
Murphy knows he is one in a long line of country artists who had hits 20 years ago, or more, and tried to return to the current music scene. But unlike some other artists, Murphy re-emerged with a chart-topping hit – although he says the secret to his success really isn’t much of a secret.
“Keep doing it,” Murphy urges. “Just keep doing it. It’s all about the song. There’s so many great artists out there, and they’re all better now than they were then. It’s just coming up with the right song at the right time, and there’s guys that I know that are amazing artists right now that still play, and they could have a number one song tomorrow, and so it’s just stay out there and keep doing it.”
Murphy is back at radio with a brand-new single, “I Won’t Be Sorry,” which he wrote with Jason Sellers and Paul Jenkins.
“It’s kind of the flip-side of the coin of ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,’” says Murphy. “It’s about not being on the sidelines as life passes you by, basically, and it’s really rocking, and I just about get a speeding ticket every time I listen to it in my truck when I’m coming to town.
“It’s a fun song and it’s just good to live by,” he continues. “Just me personally, I want to go everywhere, I want to do everything, I want to see everything, I want to eat in all kinds of restaurants, I want to drink all kind of beer and wine and whatever else I can get my hands on. I just want to do it all, and that’s what this song is about.”
Purchase No Zip Code at DavidLee.com.
