John Murphy (Shoes), Pt. 1

Shoes, the now-legendary power-pop band from Zion, Ill., is the most democratic of groups, with each album presenting equal servings of smart, hooky songs from brothers John and Jeff Murphy and their childhood friend Gary Klebe. In Part 1 of a two-parter, John Murphy revisits the band’s formation—when none of them played an instrument and he had to learn bass—and tells how Shoes recorded three DIY albums before its first official release, 1977’s Black Vinyl Shoes. For that one John designed the original (and soon to be replaced) cover art and wrote the first Shoes song to gain wide attention, “Boys Don’t Lie.” Then came the band’s signing with Elektra, which hoped Shoes would follow in the footsteps of its breakthrough artists Queen and the Cars. Confusion over the first singles, “Too Late” and “Tomorrow Night,” didn’t help, though. How did that all shake out? Also covered: the John song featured prominently in Mannequin Two: On the Move.