Shaun Murphy (singer) - Biography Highlights

Biography Highlights

Murphy moved to Detroit, Michigan as a teenager, taking the name Stoney for many years. Shaun shared the stage with many Detroit based bands, including Jake Wade and the Soul Searchers, in venues such as Detroit's historic Grande Ballroom.

She was soon noticed by an employee of Motown in a touring theater production along with Texas native Meat Loaf. The two were signed by Rare Earth Records, a division of Motown Records, as Stoney and Meatloaf in 1971. The pairing was short-lived, and became defunct, as a decision of Motown management. Only Murphy was retained under contract after the breakup of the duo.

After a period of inactivity with the new division of Motown in Los Angeles, she made a decision to leave Motown, due to corporate changes within the company, and contacted Detroit music producer Punch Andrews for possible opportunities back in her high school home town. Murphy then relocated back to Detroit, to work with Bob Seger, in 1973, with The Borneo Band. Murphy had worked with Seger previously in his very early years prior to his later notoriety. She has continued on with Seger on most all studio session work since 1973, in addition to all of his tours since 1978.

She returned again to live in Los Angeles in 1985 to work with Eric Clapton on his Behind the Sun album. Murphy was then offered a position by Clapton as a member of his band to do the entire tour after hearing her vocal style. The Behind The Sun tour was featured at the first Live Aid concert in 1985.

Shaun Murphy's career in vocals has been both as band lead singer and session singer throughout her many years in the music industry. She has sung, toured, and recorded with such acts as The Moody Blues, Bob Seger, Herbie Hancock, Phil Collins, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh, Maria Muldaur, Bruce Hornsby, Michael Bolton, J.J. Cale, Coco Montoya, Alice Cooper and Little Feat, in addition to Broadway theater, in national road companies in two popular rock musicals, "Hair" and "Sgt. Pepper's".

In 1994, she became a full time member, as well as the first female member, of the LA based band Little Feat. She stayed on for the next fifteen years, recording and touring with "The Feat" until 2009, when she decided to concentrate on her real passion for the blues - see current project(s).