Murray the K (born Murray Kaufman; February 14, 1922 – February 21, 1982) was an influential rock and roll impresario and disc jockey of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. During the early days of Beatlemania, he frequently referred to himself as the fifth Beatle. (More from Wikipedia)
Another peculiar songwriting credit has to do with Bobby Darin’s first hit song, “Splish Splash”, as I have mentioned previously. The story is that the famous New York disc jockey Murray the K (real name: Murray Kaufman) – who later helped promote the Beatles in this country and often referred to himself as the “fifth Beatle” – made a bet with Darin in 1958 that he could not write a song that started out, “Splish splash, I was takin’ a bath” – the phrase was suggested to him by his mother Jean Kaufman. Bobby Darin took the song to #3 in the nation, and it was a major boost for his career.
Bobby Darin wanted to give Murray the K and his mother Jean Kaufman each a songwriting credit, so they invented the name “Jean Murray”, using the first names of the DJ and his mother.
(April 2015/1)
