Bowie, with George Murray on Bass

As it turns out, our friend Irv Murray's brother George Murray played bass for Bowie during the late 70s, early 80s, the period considered by many to be Bowie's artistic peak, with records like Station to Station, Low (featuring the ultra-groovy "Sound and Vision"), Heroes, Lodger, and Scary Monsters. After this run of great records Bowie broke up the band, so George quit the music biz, moved to LA, got a regular job, and settled down. Music is a crazy business, so I get that.

The musician and writer Tom Semioli has a great feature up online called Know Your Bass Player. Here's what he says about George.

Many fans, including this writer, regard Station to Station as David Bowie’s finest 37:50. With guitarists Earl Slick and Carlos Alomar, E Street Band pianist Roy Bittan, drummer Dennis Davis, and bassist George Murray as the core band– the Thin White Duke intermingled soul, hard rock, avant-garde and dance into a work of aural art hitherto unheard in the amazing year that was 1976. Murray’s piercing, treble tone which he miraculously coaxed out of a Fender Precision coupled with his unadorned funk grooves fueled Bowie during his trailblazing Berlin period which yielded such classics as “Golden Years,” “Heroes,” “Fashion,” and “Ashes to Ashes,” among others. On subsequent Bowie albums George emerged as a formidable foil for Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew and also shined on Iggy Pop’s best album The Idiot, and Talking Head Jerry Harrison’s underrated The Red and Black. After Bowie dispatched this band, Murray disappeared. I recently asked Mr. Slick of George Murray’s whereabouts – Earl had no clue! My search continues . . . .