ELLIOTT MURPHY INFORMATION SOCIETY PO BOX 253 NORTHAMPTON MA. 01061 USA

Remember why you started to listen to rock and roll? Remember how songs used to really matter? How there were certain songs that defined whole summers, whole years of one's life? Elliott Murphy writes songs like that. Elliott Murphy writes haunting songs, songs about real people and real situations and real life. Elliott Murphy writes great rock and roll.

"Elliott Murphy is everything Bruce Springsteen is supposed to be, everything Ian Hunter tried to be and almost everything Lou Reed and Bob Dylan ever were." Rock critic Don Waller wrote that, and while one could conclude that he was waxing a bit hyperbolic, that quote serves to illustrate the devotion Murphy elicits from his fans. People who know and love rock that matters.

Elliott Murphy puts on a great show. "When Elliott Murphy and his band hit the stage, it was as though bottled doses of New york street energy had just been released through the speakers," wrote Cleveland SCENE. "Only Bruce Springsteen has ever been more successful at aurally capturing the feel of life and love in the Big Apple."

In Europe, Elliott Murphy is considered some sort of demigod. Copies of his early records sell for $100 in Paris. In Italy, bootleg albums of his incendiary live shows appear regularly. His most recent record, "Out For The Killing," has received unanimous rave reviews. His writeups read like a press agent's dream.

Among musicians, too, Murphy has a stellar reputation. John Cougar Mellencamp thinks Mitch Ryder should cover Elliott's "Last of the Rock Stars," Phil Collins drummed on Murphy's JUST A STORY FROM AMERICA, and Billy Joel played piano on NIGHT LIGHTS. Tom Petty, it is said, used to work in a record store, and would recommend Elliott Murphy albums to any and all. Peter Buck of REM reportedly counts himself a fan, and Violent Femmes Brian Ritchie and Victor DeLorenzo have an occasional band with Elliott, dubbed The No Hitters.

Talking Head Jerry Harrison produced "Out For The Killing," a recording that is getting Murphy his widest audience in years. The Miami NEWS, for example, heard an advance copy and immediately pounded out a stow. "Out For The Killing is the finest thing Murphy has written," wrote critic Jon Marlowe. 'Which is only like saying it's in contention for the eighth wonder of the world."

Quite simply, Elliott Murphy writes awesomely good, lyrically brilliant, folk-tinged rock and roll. He writes about what life is like; love and pain and heartbreak and hope and wonder. As ROLLING STONE critic Paul Nelson, a long time Murphy supporter, wrote, "Elliott Murphy and his music will be with us for as long as we have rock and roll. I suggest we play it now."