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Murray Cook

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For his character in The Wiggles, see Murray Wiggle.

Murray Cook
Muzza being himself

Full Name

Murray James Cook

Born

30 June 1960 (1960-06-30) (age 64)
Cowra, New South Wales, Australia

Height

6' 3½" (1.92 m)

Role

Murray Wiggle

Dorothy the Dinosaur

Relatives

Jean Cook (mother)

Russ Cook (father) †

Spouse

Meg Munro 

Children

Georgia Munro-Cook
Hamish Munro-Cook

Years active

1985-present

Murray James Cook is an Australian guitarist who is best known as the original Red Wiggle in The Wiggles. He started playing the guitar at age 11. As a teenager he played the guitar and bass in local bands. He is the second oldest Wiggle of the original lineup. He is also the second tallest Wiggle (he is slightly shorter than Greg Page). He is the lead guitarist in The Wiggles.

Early Musical Projects

Murray Cook played the guitar in the late 1980s with "The Transistors" and "Finger Guns" (who released three singles) before joining the Sydney-based band Bang Shang a Lang. He continued to play for this band in Sydney, when not on tour with The Wiggles. When things did not work out in the music field for him, he enrolled at Macquarie University to study early childhood education. It was there that he met Anthony Field and Greg Page and formed The Wiggles in 1991. He performed as a Wiggle from 1991 to 2012 and loved every minute of it, quoting "Children are the best audiences!" He was a music teacher at Kegworth Public School in Leichhardt in 1991 and was a tutor in early education and taught at Macquarie University in 1992. Murray's schtick in The Wiggles was an obsession with playing the guitar. He was conscious that he was probably the first guitarist children would see, and said, "I always think that if it inspires kids to play guitar later on that would be great. I think it would be really nice if in 15 years I read that somebody got into guitar playing because of the Wiggles. I know that would be fantastic." When asked what his favourite Wiggles song was, he stated, "Play Your Guitar With Murray, of course. When we play that song live I get to play like a rock 'n roll star."

Murray's major musical influences are The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and Eric Clapton. In 2008, Cook was named "the sixth best guitarist in Australia".

Murray owns a collection of thirty vintage guitars.

Onstage, he used the Australian-made Maton Mastersound 500 guitar. He also played a '53 Gibson Les Paul gold top, '64 Fender Strat, James Burton Fender Telecaster, Maton Mastersound 500 and a more recent Les Paul at home or in the studio. The amplifiers he used were the Marshall Head and Box Combo, the Fender Twin and a Bad Cat, which he bought while in the U.S. and said had a "great sound." Murray, whose nickname is Muzz, came up with The Wiggles' signature index finger-wagging move after watching professional bowlers do the move on television. Murray left the group in 2012; since then he has made cameos and played instruments on tour with Greg Page and Jeff Fatt and temporally replaced by Simon Pryce, to spend more time with his family and friends. In 2013, Murray became the Tour Manager for The Wiggles Australia Tour and is making cameos in The Wiggles' TV series Ready, Steady, Wiggle!.

Wiggles Media Credits

Albums

For a full list of songs written and arranged by Cook, see Murray Cook Songs

Television and Video Releases

Produced, Wrote, and/or Executive Produced:

Character Roles

Personal Life

Murray was made a member of the Order of Australia on 26 January 2010 for service to the arts, particularly children's entertainment, and to the community as a benefactor and supporter of a range of charities.

Notes

  1. ↑ Cook wasn't initially credited as co-writer for "Rock-A-Bye Your Bear", "Glub Glub Train", "Ducky Ducky", "Stars", "Spot the Dalmatian", "Wind" and "Desert Dreaming", but was later revised to credit him.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cook was credited as executive producer only on the back cover of subsequent home media releases of the special.
  3. ↑ Cook was credited as executive producer only on the back cover of the Warner Home Video DVD release of the film.
  4. ↑ Cook was credited as executive producer only on the back cover of the TV Series 1 Collector's Box Set DVD release.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cook was credited as executive producer only on the back cover of all home media releases of the special.