Murray Freeman - Rhythm Guitar and Lead Vocals

Murray was born in Arkansas but moved to the Atlanta area at the age of 12. He developed his love for bluegrass music while serving in the Marines Corps in the early 1950’s. Since Murray was stationed in Camp LeJeune, NC, he and his wife, Barbara, had the opportunity to see Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs perform at many small venues throughout the state. Back home in the Atlanta area, Murray started playing bluegrass on a regular basis in the early 1960’s and was a founding member of "The Ridgerunners" around 1964. As one of the well known North Georgia bluegrass bands, "The Ridgerunners" traveled and played throughout the southeast for over 20 years. Murray's daughter, Connie, joined the group in the early 1970’s and they have enjoyed playing bluegrass music together ever since. “The Ridgerunners” recorded an album in 1977 on the Atteiram label and was named one of the top three bluegrass bands in the state by Brown's Guide to Georgia in 1979. In the mid 1980’s, Murray and Connie were playing occasionally but did not have a full-time band. When Murray met Mike Patton in the late 1980’s, a foundation was formed for a new group which included Tracy Burdette. Since Connie was also playing with Georgia Bound at this time, it eventually seemed appropriate to merge the two bands. So in 1992 Murray, Connie, John, Tracy and Mike became Georgia Bound.

Murray has always been known for his love of traditional bluegrass music and his contribution to bluegrass in the Atlanta area as well as all of North Georgia. In recognition of this contribution, Murray was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Honor in 1998, and in 2002 was inducted into the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2003, Murray was featured in an article in Bluegrass Unlimited which paid tribute to several musicians who have inspired, encouraged, and entertained bluegrass musicians and fans for the last 40 years. (The basis for this article was a written and oral presentation made by Bill Brown and Mike Fleming to the International Country Music Conference in 2001 entitled “Fifty Years of Bluegrass: 1950-2000”.)

Murray is also an archive subject of the North Georgia Bluegrass Chronicles, a research project by Bill Brown.