Wildfire (Michael Martin Murphey song)

"Wildfire"
Single by Michael Murphey
from the album Blue Sky – Night Thunder
B-side"Night Thunder"
ReleasedFebruary 1975
StudioRay Stevens Sound Laboratory, Nashville, Tennessee
GenreCountry, soft rock, adult contemporary[1]
Length3:15 (single edit)
4:47 (LP version)
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)Michael Murphey, Larry Cansler
Producer(s)Bob Johnston
Michael Murphey singles chronology
"Fort Worth I Love You"
(1974)
"Wildfire"
(1975)
"Carolina in the Pines"
(1975)

"Wildfire" is a song written by Michael Murphey and Larry Cansler. It was originally recorded by Murphey, who had yet to add his middle name to his recorded work, and appears on his gold-plus 1975 album Blue Sky – Night Thunder.

Released in February 1975 as the album's lead single, "Wildfire" became Murphey's highest-charting pop hit in the United States. The somber story song hit No. 2 in Cash Box and No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1975. In addition, it hit the top of the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, displacing "Love Will Keep Us Together".[2]

The single continued to sell, eventually receiving platinum certification from the RIAA, signifying sales of over two million US copies. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.[3]

  1. ^ Sendra, Tim (June 1, 1998). "Highway Rock: Southern Nights – Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
  3. ^ Western Writers of America (2010). "The Top 100 Western Songs". AmericanCowboy.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010.