{"id":6277,"date":"2022-09-22T13:11:38","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T13:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=6277"},"modified":"2022-09-22T13:11:38","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T13:11:38","slug":"clifford-murphy-and-joan-russell-honored-by-street-naming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2022\/09\/22\/clifford-murphy-and-joan-russell-honored-by-street-naming\/","title":{"rendered":"Clifford Murphy and Joan Russell Honored by Street Naming"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Sojourner\u2019s Truth Staff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a stellar location for Jazz,\u201d said Toledo Councilwoman Vanice Williams as she opened the dedication ceremony honoring musician Clifford Murphy and his life partner of 38 years, Joan Russell. The ceremony featured the renaming of the corner of Summit Street and Jefferson Ave to, appropriately enough, \u201cMurphy\u2019s Place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Murphys, a band comprising Clifford Murphy on bass, Claude Black on piano and, for many of those years, Wendell Robinson on drum, were the house band at Murphy\u2019s Place. Russell was the business manager of the club and, unfortunately, it was her death that brought about the end of Murphy\u2019s Place in May 2011.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, dozens of jazz fans and friends of the musicians joined the Murphy and Russell families to remember those good old days and to ensure that the good old days of Murphy\u2019s Place will be remembered for generations to come.<\/p>\n

Deborah Murphy, Clifford\u2019s daughter, thanked the organizers, Williams and Doni Miller, CEO of the Neighborhood Health Association, for their contributions to making the event happen and \u201cfor recognizing and honoring our culture,\u201d said Deborah Murphy. \u201cI want to thank everyone who worked with Clifford and Joan throughout the years, especially Claude Black who played with Clifford for 60 years. I was in utter amazement of how they worked together and the awesome chemistry they had.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJazz was the music on the African American people,\u201d said Williams on Saturday as Murphy and Russell\u2019s families joined hands to unveil the street sign that will memorialize the place that brought so much pleasure to so many Toledoans and visitors over the years.<\/p>\n