Webb Wilder

John Webb McMurry (born May 19, 1954), known as Webb Wilder, is an American rock & roll singer, guitarist and actor.

Webb Wilder
Webb Wilder performs at Music City Roots in Franklin, Tennessee in 2015.
Background information
Birth nameJohn Webb McMurray
Born (1954-05-19) May 19, 1954
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S.
GenresRoots rock, rock and roll, boogie rock, rockabilly, southern rock, country rock, surf rock, Americana
Occupation(s)Musician, actor
InstrumentsVocals, guitar
Years active1986–present
LabelsRacket Records, Landslide Records, Island Records, Zoo/Praxis/BMG, Watermelon Records, Deaf Pig Records, Varèse Sarabande, DixieFrog Records
Associated actsThe Drapes
The Beatnecks
The Nashvegans
The Ionizer
WebsiteWebbWilder.com

Early life

McMurry was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.[1] According to family, he could sing before he could walk. He started playing guitar at the age of 12 and was playing in bands when he was 14.[2]

His aunt was Lillian McMurry, the founder of Trumpet Records. She was a mentor to McMurray and gave advice as he started in the music industry.[2]

Career

The Webb Wilder character was created in 1981 for a short comedy film created with friends called "Webb Wilder Private Eye." The character was a backwoods private detective who fell out of the 1950s and happened to also be a musician. The short appeared on the television variety show Night Flight

With his groups like The Drapes, The Beatnecks, The Nashvegans, Wilder combines the straight-ahead rock & roll with surf guitar of the Ventures and twang of Duane Eddy, drawing on the feel of blues, R&B, country/rockabilly and film noir.[3] His sound incorporated influence from Americana music as well as from the British Invasion.[4]

Wilder has been signed to major labels and worked with independent labels. He has also hosted a radio show for Sirius Radio.[1]

Webb Wilder appeared as an actor in Peter Bogdanovich's 1993 film The Thing Called Love.

Wilder currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee. As of 2020, he was an afternoon-shift disc jockey for Murfreesboro-based radio station WMOT.

Discography
Date of Release Title Label Producer
1986 It Came from Nashville Landslide Records R.S. Field
1989 Hybrid Vigor Island Records R.S. Field for Praxis International
1991 Doo Dad Zoo Records/Praxis International/BMG R.S. Field
1993 It Came from Nashville (CD release) Watermelon Records R.S. Field
1995 Town & Country Watermelon Records R.S. Field, George Bradfute, Webb & the Nashvegans
1996 Acres of Suede Watermelon Records R.S. Field and Scott Baggett
2005 About Time Landslide Records R.S. Field
2005 Scattered, Smothered and Covered: A Webb Wilder Overview [compilation] Varèse Sarabande Various
2006 Tough It Out! (Live in Concert) (also released as It's Live Time! and Born to Be Wilder) Landslide Records/DixieFrog Records/Blind Pig Records R.S. Field
2009 More Like Me Blind Pig Records Webb Wilder & Joe V. McMahan
2015 Mississippi Mōderne Landslide Records Webb Wilder, Bob Williams, Tom Comet, George Bradfute, and Joe V. McMahan
2018 Powerful Stuff! Landslide Records Various
2020 Night Without Love Landslide Records Webb Wilder

Filmography
  • Paradise Park (1991)
  • Corn Flicks (1992) consisted of three short films, including:
  • Webb Wilder Private Eye
  • Horror Hayride
  • Aunt Hallie
  • The Thing Called Love (1993) Ned
  • Pueblo Sin Suerte (2002) Reb
  • Born to be Wilder (2005) Himself
  • Scattergun (2007)
  • Webb Wilder Amazing B-Picture Shorts (2009)

References
  1. "Webb Wilder grew big and still wears glasses when he needs 'em". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  2. Sickler, Linda. "Webb Wilder and The Beat Necks return to Savannah". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  3. Robert Gordon. "Webb Wilder Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
  4. "Webb Wilder's artist page at Blind Pig Records site". Blindpigrecords.com. Retrieved May 8, 2018.


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