Norma O'Hara Murphy is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

singer and songwriter. Her album ''Closer Now'' was nominated for

ARIA Award for Best Country Album In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompaniment, normally part of a larger ...

at the

ARIA Music Awards of 1991 The Fifth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAs) was held on 25 March 1991 at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. International host Bob Geldof was as ...

. In 1989 she was inducted into the Australian Country Music Hands of Fame. She has won five Golden Guitars.

Biography

Norma O'Hara Murphy was born and raised in the Murray Valley region of Victoria. Her mother's family were pioneers of the area. She is a third generation Irish/Australian.

1982-1987: Career beginnings

In 1982, O'Hara Murphy recorded her debut album in

Coffs Harbour Coffs Harbour, locally nicknamed Coffs, is a coastal city on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, north of Sydney, and south of Brisbane. It is one of the largest urban centres on the North Coast, with a population of 78,759 a ...

. ''Rodeo Queen'' was released on the Country Records Label and was a finalist in the

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wale ...

(CMAA). In 1985, O'Hara Murphy recorded her second studio album in Sydney. ''Vanishing Horsemen'', was released on the Selection Records label. In 1986, she won her first Golden Guitar for "How the Firequeen Crossed the Swamp" and the Tamworth Songwriting Association Award for "Stumpy". In 1987, O'Hara Murphy released ''River Gums & Mallee Dust''.

1988-1999: Continued success and ARIA nomination

In 1988, O'Hara Murphy signed with

Festival Records Festival Records, later known as Festival Mushroom Records, was an Australian recording and publishing company founded in Sydney, Australia, in 1952 and operated until 2005. Festival was a subsidiary of News Limited from 1961 to 2005. The com ...

and wrote and produced her fourth studio album, ''Colours'', released in 1989. In 1990, ''Closer Now'' was released. At the

, the album was nominated for

. In August 1991, the compilation ''Norma's Best'' was released featuring the single "The Banks of the Bogan", which peaked at number 147 on the ARIA Chart. The album peaked at number 132 on the ARIA Chart. In 1992, O'Hara Murphy recorded ''Winds of Change'' at Enrec Studio. Her sixth studio album was released in 1993. The song "Barbwire & Bamboo" was nominated for a golden guitar in the heritage category, while "Tamworth (the song)" won O'Hara Murphy the Golden Guitar for Best Female Vocal Award. In 1995 O'Hara Murphy moved to Larrikin Records and recorded her seventh studio album, ''Sweet Rain''. In 1999 she produced and released the live album, ''Live in Bundaberg'', through her own label Gumleaf Music. The album was recorded at The Brothers Club with Bundaberg musicians. Shortly after O'Hara Murphy took a break from recording.

2000-present: Break and return to music, ''The Celtic Connection''

The beginning of the twenty-first century O'Hara Murphy concentrated more on writing. She wrote and produced another two Golden Guitars winning songs, performed by

Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon, referred to universally as Australia's Ki ...

in 2001 and 2003. In 2010, O'Hara Murphy returned to the recording studio and released ''Whiskey Gully Road'' on Bony Mountain Music. The title track was a finalist in the 2011 QMusic Awards. "Goin' For Glory" won the Stan Coster Bush Ballad Songwriting Award. In 2011 O'Hara Murphy released her ninth studio album, ''The Celtic Connection (volume one)'' and she was a Finalist at the Celtic Awards in Glen Innes. A second ''Celtic Collection'' followed in 2013. In 2014, O'Hara Murphy won Australian Celtic Artist of the Year. In October 2014, O'Hara Murphy released her eleventh studio album, ''Solid Gold'', and was a return to country music. O'Hara Murphy was a finalist at the 2016 CMAA. In 2017, O'Hara Murphy released ''Sweet Love''. In December 2019, O'Hara Murphy released her thirteenth studio album, ''Bloodlines''. The album was nominated for Australian Celtic Awards in 2020.

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Awards

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

. , - ,

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, ''Closer Now'' ,

Best Country Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Country Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the country music ge ...

, , -

Country Music Awards of Australia

The

(CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales, Tamworth, New South Wales. The f ...

, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973. (wins only) , - , 1986 , "How the Fire Queen Crossed the Swamp" , Heritage Award , , - , 1989 , herself , Hands of Fame , , - , 1991 , "Sarah's Memory" , Female Vocalist of the Year , , - , 1993 , "Tamworth" , Female Vocalist of the Year , , - , 2001 , "Paddy William" (performed by Slim Dusty, written by Norma O'Hara Murphy) , Bush Ballad of the Year , , - , 2003 , "Just An Old Cattle Dog" (performed by Slim Dusty, written by Norma O'Hara Murphy) , Bush Ballad of the Year ,

Tamworth Songwriters Awards

The Tamworth Songwriters Association (TSA) is an annual songwriting contest for original country songs, awarded in January at the

. They commenced in 1986. Norma O'Hara Murphy won three awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1986 , "Stumpy" by Norma Murphy , New Songwriter Award , , - , 1992 , "Take a Cutting" by Norma O'Hara Murphy , Comedy/ Novelty Song of the Year , , - , 1996 , Norma O'Hara Murphy , Songmaker awards , , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Norma Australian women singers Living people Australian people of Irish descent Year of birth missing (living people)