Larry Murray, a former Pierce Countian who was a major influence on folk, country and pop music from the 1960s-1980s, died Friday, May 16, in Van Nuys, CA. He was 88 and had been battling lung cancer.
Murray was born in Waycross, but was raised by his grandmother and later an aunt. He moved to Blackshear where he lived in the Marion Hotel on Central Avenue and graduated from Blackshear High School in 1955.
Murray joined the Navy and was stationed in San Diego. There he cofounded the landmark Blue Guitar store and in 1962 formed the bluegrass band the Scottsville Squirrel Barkers. Murray eventually moved to Los Angeles and became a fixture at the Troubadour nightclub, where he associated with stars including Linda Ronstadt, Gram Parsons and Jackson Browne.
