A bullet didn’t stop the amazing Joe Murphy

Joe Murphy has made a living as a singer and entertainer most of his adult life. He was born in Tulsa and after a long stay in a hospital was adopted by James and Joy Murphy of Rule, Texas. He became quite popular as a youngster and at age four, residents of Rule threw him a going away party when the family moved to Carthage.

When he was a senior in Carthage high school, Joe was a big man on campus: 6 feet 5, 190 pounds, varsity baseball pitcher and an exemplary student. In April of 1978 he went home for lunch and to change clothes for a game that afternoon.

He stopped at a drive-in to visit with some friends. A 16-year old sophomore student was there playing around with a pistol. He pulled the trigger a few times.

“I told him to put that thing away, that this was no place to be pulling the trigger on a pistol,” says Joe. “He said ‘don’t worry, Joe. It’s not loaded.’ About that time the gun went off. The bullet hit me in the throat and instantly paralyzed me from the chest down.”

Although he can’t walk, he can use his arms and hands. After the shooting, Joe was in rehab 3 months and slowly gained back his voice.

“The bullet had gone through my voice box and I was told I wouldn’t be able to talk properly again. I had a tracheotomy and had to hold my hand over a little gizmo on my throat to keep the air from going out so I could talk. It was raspy and finally healed.”

Joe, who is 60 now, says his parents and friends helped and encouraged him.

“My parents bought me a guitar for graduation, and I started playing it to exercise my hands. Then I started trying to sing a little bit, then started singing for the public.”

Friends encouraged Joe to enter a talent contest that the Louisiana Hayride was conducting. He entered, won and became a regular on the Louisiana Hayride 6 years.

Joe, or Sugar Joe, as some people call him, formed a band and performed all over East Texas. He won “Entertainer of the Year” at several East Texas Oprys.

These days he’s still performing with his guitar.

“That’s my band now, just my guitar. It always shows up for work on time.”

Joe has been in a wheel chair 42 years and has spent lots of time in hospitals, but it hasn’t kept him from entertaining, hunting, fishing, driving up and down country roads and being thankful.

“You know, one door shut but the Good Lord opened another one.”

Joe says the 16 year old who shot him spent a little time in juvenile detention but was never charged with anything.

It was called an accident. The boy with the “unloaded gun” moved from Carthage with his family.