Here’s a little mid-70s soft rock number you all know and some of you all love. Today’s classic song of the day is all about a horse and it’s called “Wildfire,” by Michael Murphey. The single debuted in February of 1975 and it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart. It was also a number-one hit in Canada.
“Wildfire” was written by Mr. Murphey and Larry Cansler, who was a well-known accompanist, arranger, and composer who worked with the likes of Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie, Roger Miller, the Jackson 5, and others. Murphey wrote it when he was a student at UCLA and, in his spare time, working on Kenny Rogers’ concept album, The Ballad of Calico. One night, after burning the proverbial candle at both of its proverbial ends, Murphey dreamed the story of “Wildfire,” in its entirety.
The song is told from the viewpoint of a Nebraska homesteader telling the story of a young woman who perished while searching for her horse, Wildfire, who had gotten away during a snowstorm. A hoot owl perched outside his window for six nights straight, providing a sign that the young woman wants the homesteader to join him in the great beyond, where on Wildfire they’re gonna go.
Before “Wildfire,” Michael Murphey wrote a few songs for his friend Michael Nesmith and a little band he was in called the Monkees. After “Wildfire,” he became one of the founding members of the progressive country movement. At some point he began using his middle name (Michael Martin Murphey) to distinguish himself from the Martinless actor who had the same first and last names.
Mr. Murphey had significant success on the country charts in the 1980s (including the number-one country hits “What’s Forever For” and “A Long Line of Love”) and later moved on to a stint recording cowboy songs and another stint doing bluegrass. He’s still out there playing and singing today, 79 years young.
