Minnie Murphy’s Love of Multiple Genres Strikes a Major Chord With L.A. Movie Makers
Lyric Video for “Sweet Christmas Memories” Featuring Ty Herndon – Available Now
(Nashville, TN – November 22, 2022) Country singer and songwriter Minnie Murphy worked alongside film director and screenwriter, Charles Shyer to bring three holiday tracks to the upcoming film, The Noel Diary, releasing globally on Netflix this Thanksgiving Day 2022. The songs include “Christmas in Connecticut With You,” sung by Grammy award-winner Steve Tyrell, “Christmas In Your Heart,” sung by up-and-coming gospel artist AJ Wells, and “Sweet Christmas Memories,” sung by Murphy and country music star, Ty Herndon. The three songs are now available for download on all major streaming platforms individually, as well as together for purchase as an EP.
Murphy praised Shyer and his ability to push her writing limits, saying “I love how picky he is. His honesty and integrity are very refreshing and help me dig deeper. I was very excited to collaborate with him on this project.”
Murphy has been writing songs with Shyer, a film director, screenwriter, and producer, since 2015. His resume of movies includes The Parent Trap, Smokey and the Bandit, The Father of the Bride, Alfie, and more. Shyer wrote and directed The Noel Diary as well as worked with Murphy on three Christmas songs to fit the film.
She adds, “He has great taste and is really funny. We clicked right away because he’s really passionate about what he does.”
The first track from The Noel Diary EP, “Christmas in Connecticut With You” (listen HERE), is a classy jazz ballad performed by famed singer and record producer Steve Tyrell. Tyrell’s raspy, authentic vocals pack a lot of passion into this sweet love song about spending the holidays with a loved one.
“Steve’s vocals brought so much character to the song,” Murphy said. “It was a thrill getting to work with such a pro. He respected me from the get-go, letting me guide him through the ideas we wanted. It reminds me of Louis Armstrong’s ‘What A Wonderful World.’ Charles really encouraged me to express my thoughts along the way since they are super close friends and Steve sang in The Father of The Bride. It gave me a lot of confidence to get to have that opportunity to work with such an amazing singer.”
The next track, “Sweet Christmas Memories” (listen HERE) is a duet between Murphy and country singer and songwriter Ty Herndon. The lyric video is available to watch now
“For the scene, Charles wanted an old-school classic country duet reminiscent of Tammy Wynette meets Randy Travis,” Murphy explained. “I knew I wanted to record it alongside Ty, as he is my friend and just an amazing country singer. He did an awesome job and I just love his low, rich tone.”
The last track, “Christmas in Your Heart” (listen HERE), features artist AJ Wells soaring vocally over a smooth R&B production as he yearns for the listener to cherish those special memories the Christmas season brings.
“AJ knocked it out of the park and did a fabulous vocal arrangement for this track,” Murphy stated.
“It was very liberating being in charge of overseeing the production of three different genres of Christmas music. Having Jon Conley involved has also been a treasured asset leading the sessions along with Dane Bryant, Sean Paddock, and John Albani. We developed a great relationship making my country album and Jon has this almost psychic intuition executing production ideas. It’s so much fun!”
Back in 2011, Minnie found her first round of success in the sync world when a talent scout and music producer from the Mario Van Peebles film, Redemption Road heard her perform with her jazz trio at a local supper club, landing her a role in the film singing her original song “Bluer Than Blue.”
Minnie comments, “Being in Redemption Road was pretty validating for me as a songwriter since that was actually the first song I wrote by myself back when I was 15 years old. I was behind on my quota with my publisher at the time so I dug it out and turned it in, never expecting it to land in a film. You just never know what can happen. My parents always encouraged me to accept my freedom and create whatever is in my heart.”
Murphy realizes how grateful she is to be surrounded by family and friends in the business, including Shyer. She adds, “It’s nice to know that if you work hard and do it for the love of music, the music will find a home and you’ll meet like-minded artists and musicians along the way. The best part is always that rush you share when you come up with something good. Collaborating with creative, brilliant minds like Charles is truly an honor and gift from God.”
