Murray the K .. a.k.a. "The 5th Beatle"

[Flower]

Murray the "K" ....

Who remembers Murray the "K"?

From 1958 until 1967, Murray “the K” Kaufman ruled the airwaves of New York. Yet, today, he lives on... in the memories of his listeners and the legacy he left behind – taking musical performances out of television studios (20 years before MTV), putting rock on FM, and adding multimedia at nightclubs and discos (years before the Fillmore Auditorium or Cheetah debuted).

He integrated rock ’n’ roll performers – black and white and Latino – on a single stage... long before the government passed civil rights laws. But the only race riot was the race to buy a ticket to those Brooklyn Fox shows.

And Murray discovered new talent. Great talent. Bobby Darin. Dionne Warwick. And dozens of other performers who got their first break thanks to Murray the K.

So, if you’re old enough to remember New York in the ’60s, take a tour back in time by clicking though the collection. If you’re here because you want proof that nothing could be as cool as your parents say it was, well... Murray would agree with you.

 

[LG]

That was a little before my time Flower, I was much more interested in music in the 70's. Plus we didn't have an FM tuner and only One television channel where we were living so the 60's except for the AM radio stations and Ed Sullivan were kind of a blank for my family.

We did catch up when we moved back to civilization in 1970 though.

Anyway very nice post and one of the Pioneers in music beyond doubt, fits nicely with my theory that there is not much new in music, just a continual rediscovery by new generations of things that have been done before, sometimes decades or even centuries earlier.

 

[Magic]

I am not a huge Beatles fan, therefore, I dont know much about the history of the Beatles or Murray Kaufman. From what I gather, he was a spokesperson for the Beatles, giving them pertinent advice for success in the USA music markets, since Murray was the leading DJ during that time.

Edit: George Harrison says the 5th Beatle is Robert Stack. Paul McCartney says the 5th Beatle is Brian Epstein. The original bassist, Stuart Sutcliffe, could be considered the 5th Beatle or the original drummer, Pete Best.

I dont think it is fair for Murray the K to call himself the 5th Beatle when he wasn't an actual performer with the band.

 

[Odysseus]

The case could be made that Murray the K took over from Alan Freed who was THE man when it came to promoting and championing R&B and the then new Rock and Roll groups and performers on radio, in concert and on film in the 50's. Freed wasn't afraid of spinning "race" records at a time when segregation
was the norm. We have a lot to thank Alan for.

Thru numerous interviews over the years, all four Beatles have, at one time or another, identified others as the "fifth" Beatle but Murray the K is the most widely cited, initially by the press at the time. He was one of the earliest DJ's to rotate and champion Beatle songs before they arrived in America.

 

[METALPRIEST]

Yeah! Murray The K!! Anyone that owns "The Beatles First U.S. Visit" film can see how crazy he was...he was also in John & Yoko's Bed In film.

Cool guy. I love Bill Murrays take on him in the Beatles spoof film, "The Rutles" as Bill Murray The K.

 

[Flower]

My father has mentioned Alan Freed and how doesn't receive the credit that he deserves.




Alan Freed .. a.k.a. "The Moondog"

 

[Foxhound]

...or the original drummer, Pete Best.

I always feel sorry for Pete Best because it seems the other Beatles didn't like him personally. They didn't protest when Brian Epstein elected to replace Pete when the Beatles got a recording contract and went in to record "Love Me Do".

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