July 26, 1965

Collectable Aircheck (Actual Radio Broadcast) of Radio Caroline which began broadcasting on Easter of 1964.  Before Radio Caroline and it's "Off the Coast" broadcasting the only Radio that most folks in the UK could listen to was the BBC.  And possibly Radio Luxembourg.  Radio Caroline with it's offshore broadcasting changed all of that.  And in 1965 a DJ from Texas who was just passing thru the UK on his way to Spain.  Went on board that famous broadcasting ship and stayed aboard for two years.  Here is a broadcast of his Midnight Surf Party from Midnight to 1 a.m. on the 26th of July, 1965.  Just like it was heard back then.  We also have the 2nd hour available in our ebay store as well.  Here is more on Jim Murphy and the playlist of the show that is heard in it's entirety.

Jim Murphy Born in Beeville, Texas, on Easter Sunday 24th March 1940, “Murf The Surf” grew up in Tuleta, a small town between San Antonio and Corpus Christi. His hobby was ‘pole squatting’ and once spent 49 days up a pole! He worked on a number of Texan radio stations, including KAML, WAKY, KILT and KIBL before heading for Europe in 1965. Jim was on his way to Spain but stopped off in England and never got any further. After a brief stint on Radio Caroline South, he moved to the North ship and it was there that he made his name, particularly with his Midnight Surf Party and Country & Western Jamboree. This latter show was taken over by Don Allen when Jim returned to the States in 1966. He continued to work in broadcasting but, following his retirement for medical reasons in 1990, lived in Austin, Texas, and operated a fascinating web site dedicated to the memory of Radio Caroline North. The Pirate Radio Hall of Fame exchanged a number of emails with him until these suddenly stopped. His web-site was not updated after September 1998 and some of his former colleagues feared the worst. One of them, David Williams, confirmed these fears when he found this record of Jim's death on the web. David says: “Sadly it would appear that Jim died in June 2000. No further information is available but I know, when I talked to him in 1998, that he was incapacitated with some long standing illness contracted when serving in Vietnam. He was an eccentric (who else can claim a world record for sitting on top of a pole?) and I have fond memories of him and particularly remember being fog bound at Blackpool airport while trying to get back to the Isle Of Man for Mick Luvzit's wedding. We made it with minutes to spare.” Many thanks to David for passing on this sad news. Jim's web site has now been retrieved and preserved by Chris and Mary Payne. He was obviously very proud of the time he spent on Radio Caroline. Let's hope that, during the last few years of his life, the feedback he received via the site reminded him just how much he was appreciated by the listeners.

For a great website on Murf the Surf  you can also check out:

http://www.radiolondon.co.uk/caroline/jimmurphy/murphy.htm

Here is the playlist of the show.

1. Sign on with Radio Caroline ID
2. Chuck Berry Theme Song esp. for Radio Caroline
3. Good Time tonight – The Soul Sisters
4. Lorenzo Hold em -- Joe Mantooth <?> unknown if this is the correct title or artist.  Not familiar with this tune.
5. Murph the Surf promo ad.
6. She’s about a mover – Sir Douglas Quintet
7. Twistin’ the night away – Sam Cooke
8. Do the boomerang – J.J. Walker and the All Stars
9. Radio Caroline Jingle – The Station that swings!
10.  From the bottom of my heart (I love you)  – The Moody Blues
11.  Annie’s Back in a brand new Cadillac – Little Richard
12.  Wooly Bully – Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
13.  I see it, I like it, I want it – Shirley Ellis
14.  Public Service Announcement from the Radio Caroline Good Guys – When driving at night adjust your speed to your headlights.
15.  Radio Caroline blast of the past – Mr. Bass Man – Johnny Cymbal
16.  ID of Radio Caroline North
17.  Dimples – Spencer Davis Group
18.  Catch us if you can – Dave Clark Five
19.  One Monkey don’t stop no show – Joe Tex
20.  Mr. Tambourine Man – The Byrds
21.  I want candy – The Strangeloves
22.  Memphis Tennessee – Chuck Berry (live)
23.  Jump with Little Lula – (unknown Artist)
24.  Love me darlin’ – Howlin’ Wolf
25.  Spindle Top – Jimmy Mc Griff (instrumental)

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