Matt "Guitar" Murphy 

Matt "Guitar" Murphy (born December 29, 1929 – June 15, 2018) was an American blues guitarist. Matthew Murphy was born in Sunflower, Mississippi, and was educated in Memphis, where his father worked at the Peabody Hotel. Murphy learned to play guitar when he was a kid. In 1948 he moved to Chicago where he joined the Howlin' Wolf band, which at the time featured harpist Little Junior Parker. 

Murphy worked a lot with Memphis Slim, including on his album At The Gate of Horn (1959).  Murphy did not have a band of his own until 1982, but did session work both in the studio and on stage with many musicians, including Ike Turner, Muddy Waters, James Cotton, Otis Rush, Etta James, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Chuck Berry, and Joe Louis Walker.

In 1978 Murphy joined The Blues Brothers. Murphy can be seen in the films The Blues Brothers (1980) and Blues Brothers 2000 (1999), where he plays Aretha Franklin's hen-pecked husband. He kept performing with the Blues Brothers Band until the early 2000s. 

Murphy has been less active since he suffered a stroke on stage while performing in Nashville in 2003—he finished his set performing with one hand. A benefit was mounted by notable musicians of Memphis and Nashville. He has been on the comeback trail with a reunion performance with James Cotton at the 2010 Chicago Blues Festival.

In 2011, he married Kathy Hemrick in a private ceremony in South Miami, Florida. A month later they celebrated with an "open to the public" reception at Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which also doubled as a release party for the CD Last Call.

Murphy's signature model guitar is manufactured by Cort Guitars.

Murphy resided in Miami until he died from a heart attack on June 15, 2018, at age 88. His passing was first announced on Facebook by his nephew Floyd Murphy Jr., who performed alongside his uncle. 

(Matt "Guitar" Murphy at Riverfront Blues Fest, Wilmington, Delaware 2012)