Michael Martin Murphey, Red Steagall honored at Fort Worth awards ceremony
North Texas natives Michael Martin Murphey and Red Steagall will be honored with lifetime achievement awards in Fort Worth.
The Academy of Western Artists will celebrate the two artists at its annual awards show at Billy Bob’s Texas on Tuesday, Dec. 2. Founded in 1996, the Fort Worth-based organization “honors and promotes excellence among Western performers and artisans.”
In addition to the lifetime achievement awards, the academy will also award over a dozen categories at the event.
The first ceremony begins at 1 p.m. and will award nominees in the authors, artists, artisans, media, industry professionals and chuckwagon categories. At 7 p.m., awards for musicians and poets will be handed out, along with the lifetime achievement awards and a performance by Steagall.
“There’s an amazing level of skill among our nominees. We have a lot to celebrate, and having someone like Red perform one of his songs, certainly adds to what we’re doing here,” AWA President Bob Saul said in a news release.
Michael Martin Murphey awarded at Billy Bob’s Texas
Murphey, 80, was born in the Oak Cliff neighborhood in Dallas.
He graduated from high school in Dallas and is a University of North Texas alum. In the 1960s, Murphey found early success writing for the band The Monkees.
Murphey was one of the pioneers of the progressive country movement, also known as “Cosmic Cowboy,” in the early 1970s in Austin. In 1972, he released his first album “Geronimo’s Cadillac.”
He would release nearly three dozen albums over the next five decades, with hits like “Wildfire,” “Cowboy Logic,” “What’s Forever For” and “Carolina in the Pines.”
Murphey has been nominated twice at the Grammys, and is in the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame. He also was awarded the Stephen Bruton Award at the 2021 Lone Star Film Festival in Fort Worth.
Red Steagall awarded in Fort Worth
Steagall, 86, was born in Gainesville and grew up in Sanford, a small town in the Texas Panhandle.
He released his first album “Party Dolls and Wine” in 1972, and went on to release over 20 more over the next several decades. Some of his hits include “Freckles Brown,” “I Was Born to be a Cowboy” and “Lone Star Beer and Bob Wills Music.”
In addition to his work as a musician, Steagall is also known as a radio host for his show “Cowboy Corner.” He also has appeared in films such as “Benji the Hunted,” “Dark Before Dawn” and “Big Bad John.”
Last year, Texas Tech announced plans to expand its National Ranching Heritage Center to include the Red Steagall Institute for Traditional Western Arts. Steagall also hosts an annual cowboy gathering in Fort Worth that celebrates cowboy culture and ranching heritage.
