COWBOY SONGWRITER HEADS TO PALMDALE.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Daily News Staff Writer

Singer-songwriter Michael Martin Murphey calls cowboy music ``the soul of America,'' the only music - along with blues - that anywhere in the world is identifiable as American.

Murphey penned ``What Am I Doin' Hangin' `Round'' for The Monkees. In 1975, he had a No. 3 single hit ``Wildfire.'' In 1987 he had a No. 1 country single with `A Long Line of Love.''

But now his love is cowboy songs, the real kind: sung by tired, cold hard-working men, from melodies and lyrics often crafted from Irish and Scotch ballads, songs brought west by the blacks, and tunes of the vaqueros.

``When you speak to a society that's lost its roots, and you give them a chance to plug back into its roots, it's exciting,'' said Murphey, a creator of 20 Top 10 pop and country hits who grew up working on his uncles' and grandfather's ranches in Texas and now runs his own ranch in New Mexico.

Murphey will bring western classics, his own songs about that lifestyle, and his country and pop hits to two shows - at 7 and 9:30 p.m. - Saturday at the Palmdale Playhouse, 38334 10th St. E. Tickets are $22 general admission, $18 for seniors, youths, students and military personnel. For tickets or information, call [phone].

His performances in Palmdale will be acoustic, backed by his son Ryan on guitar and an upright bass played by Gary Roller. He will perform his hits such as ``Wildfire'' and ``Long Line of Love,'' Marty Robbins' hits like ``El Paso,'' plus cowboy songs like ``Old Chisholm Trail'' and ``Streets of Laredo.''

``Since I play cowboy music, the simpler I present it the better,'' Murphey said.

Murphey first made a name for himself with both pop and country hits, then turned to western music in the '90s with three albums composed of cowboy music from the 19th and early 20th centuries, plus some of his own music.

Murphey knew the songs from performing them for dudes brought in on weekends at the Texas ranch where he worked as a boy. But he said he spent lots of time learning the songs' history, so he could perform them in context.

``I think the lyrics ring true in the way some modern lyrics don't, because today we write songs for the charts and to have a hit. Then they wrote songs just because it just got to come out,'' Murphey said.

While cowboy music is a hit with the public, the music industry is another matter, according to Murphey.

``They'd like to see me do music that is formulaic for the radio,'' he said. ``I'm bored with that. I don't have to do that. I don't want to do that.''

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Photo: (AV only) Michael Martin Murphey

Says lyrics ring true