Last Thursday, Tampa Murphy and friends, Tiffany Beard and Marguerite Young led a joyful time of music for the Encore ladies’ group at Christ Community Chapel (CCC) in Hudson. In the picture from the left are Marguerite, Tiffany, and Tampa. The music was a Valentine’s Day “love theme” treat for women in the fifty-plus age range. Some of the women stood and danced by their seats as Tampa and the girls sang a medley of love songs:
L.O.V.E.
That’s Amore
Stand By Your Man
Stop! In the Name of Love
Baby Love
Where Did Our Love Go?
Love Me Tender
Tampa re-worked the lyrics to How Sweet it Is, and they sang,
“I wanna stop & thank ya’ Jesus! I just wanna stop & thank you, Lord…”
They ended the time of songs with How Deep the Father’s Love for Us.
Now in her sixties, Tampa Lann Murphy is a long journey from the days when she sang back-up vocals for the BeeGees “One For All World Tour” in 1989. Her late husband, Mike Murphy, joined the band in September-December of the same year. He also toured with the band, Chicago, as drummer/computer technician from 1984-1989.
Under the teaching of John MacArthur, Tampa and Mike came to faith in 1986, and Tampa’s spiky pink “touring hair” was replaced with a style of “less drama.” Life in California started to unravel when their home was devastated by the Northridge earthquake (January 1994). Tampa’s dad died six days after that horrendous event and her mom was debilitated by dementia. As Tampa says, “We just couldn’t move Mom to where the ground [under our feet] was still moving.” They came “home” to Ohio in February and served as caregivers for Tampa’s mom until she passed away in 2001.
Right after they moved to Ohio, Mike and Tampa were engaged with the music ministry at Parkside Church and later at Hudson Community Chapel (before it became CCC). At both congregations, Mike and Tampa had leadership roles in the music ministries. Together, Mike and Tampa have a long list of music accomplishments, and God used their experience to help them develop, produce, and lead excellent worship teams.
After Mike died in 2006, Tampa continued in her role as worship and music coordinator for a few years and is now semi-retired. She remains a vibrant arranger, musician, and singer and is in demand for sit-ins with local bands. Her ministry includes helping lead worship at various area nursing homes, providing music at local memorial services, and joining congregation teams when needed. The Tampa Band plays secular gigs and during the Christmas season she leads “A Little Dickens,” an a cappella caroling quartet.
Tampa has a music room at home, and when she practices, she does so in view of her gold and platinum LPs that hang on the wall. Reflecting on her past, Tampa says, “My experience on the road with the BeeGees could not have been better. We stayed in five-star hotels, enjoyed first-class travel, and there was a family atmosphere with their wives, parents, children, kids’ tutors, and the brothers’ personal valets traveling with us. I was treated like a celebrity! My comfort and joy was traveling and performing with two other born-again Christians (this was before Mike joined me). It made for security and loving like-mindedness! Tampa added,”When the door of leading worship
was opened to me
with every experience
and skill now being
elevated and used to praise God,
that was when it became unimaginably awesome!”
Now that’s love!
The Encore Ladies group meets once a month from 1:00-3:00 at Christ Community Chapel. https://hudson.ccchapel.com/event/encore-ladies/all/
