In recognition of his nearly 45-year involvement in the traditional country music realm, singer-songwriter Jim Murphy of Brick will be inducted into America's Old Time Country Music Hall of Fame Aug. 28. The ceremony will take place during the National Traditional Country Music Association's (NTCMA) annual old time music festival held in Missouri Valley, Iowa. Murphy is the first artist from New Jersey to be recognized by the NTCMA, which has been inducting artists since 1976.

Jim Murphy Murphy's professional affiliation with country music started in 1963 when he began hosting the Country and Folk Concert program on WJLK radio, Asbury Park. He formed his band, Jim Murphy and the Pine Barons, in 1969, focusing on authentic traditional country music presented in the bluegrass style. The group quickly gained a considerable regional following and remains a mainstay of the legendary Albert Music Hall, in Waretown, in the heart of the

Pinelands.

In 1998 Murphy took home four awards from the Traditional Music Association (now merged with the NTCMA), including Album of the Year, for his CD "NewBilly Music."

His latest recording, "Go New Jersey," is devoted entirely to people, places and events in his home state, with "Garden State Waltz" receiving wide airplay as a single.

Murphy joins this year's honorees, which include Mel McDaniel and Charlie McCoy, plus more than two dozen others. The weeklong festival will also feature a performance by Murphy. Among past inductees are such notables as Johnny and June Carter Cash, Jimmie Rodgers, Bill Monroe and Ernest Tubb.