Murray Cook

For his character in The Wiggles, see Murray Wiggle.
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
* The Wiggles - Guitar, Bass Guitar, Vocals, Water Bubble Sounds, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* Here Comes a Song - Guitar, Bass Guitar, Vocals, Chief Kabasa Player, Producer, Recording and Mixing Engineer, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* The Adventures Of Captain Feathersword, The Friendly Pirate - Vocals, Songwriter
* Yummy Yummy - Guitar, Bass Guitar, Vocals, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* Big Red Car - Bass, Guitar, Vocals, Vibraslap, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* Wake Up Jeff! - Backing Vocals, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* Wiggly, Wiggly Christmas - Backing Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* The Wiggles Movie Soundtrack - Guitar, Bass, Songwriter
* Toot Toot! - Backing Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* It's a Wiggly Wiggly World! - Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* Wiggle Time!
* Yule Be Wiggling - Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* Hoop-Dee-Doo it's a Wiggly Party - Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* Wiggly Safari - Guitar, Bass, Songwriter
* Wiggle Bay - Guitar, Bass, Backing Vocals, Songwriter, Co-Arranger of "Dance A Cachuca"
* Playhouse Disney 2 - Co-Writer of the "Playhouse Disney Theme"
* Go To Sleep Jeff! - Vocals, Co-Arranger of "Maranoa Lullaby"
* Whoo Hoo! Wiggly Gremlins! - Guitar, Bass, Songwriter
* Top of the Tots - Bass, Songwriter
* Cold Spaghetti Western - Bass, Songwriter, Co-Arranger of "Cielito Lindo" and "El Pato"
* Santa's Rockin'! - Backing Vocals, Bass, Songwriter, Co-Arranger of "Noche De Paz (Silent Night)", "Christmas Barcarolle (Let The World Rejoice)", "Away in a Manger" and "O Come All Ye Faithful"
* LIVE Hot Potatoes! - Backing Vocals, Guitar
* Sailing Around the World - Backing Vocals, Bass, Songwriter
* Here Comes the Big Red Car - Co-Writer of "Sorry Again"
* It's Time to Wake Up Jeff!
* Splish Splash Big Red Boat - Co-Writer of "Big Red Boat"
* Racing to the Rainbow - Vocals, Guitar, Songwriter, Co-Arranger of "Polly Put The Kettle On", "The Wheels on the Bus", "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and "Five Little Ducks"
* Dorothy the Dinosaur - Co-Writer of "I'm Dorothy the Dinosaur!", "Teddy Bear Lullaby", "Seashell Barcarolle" and "My Name is Dorothy (Come Dance With Me)"
* Getting Strong! - Vocals, Bass Guitar, Guitar, Songwriter, Co-Arranger of "A Frog Went A Walking"
* Pop Go The Wiggles! - Vocals, Bass Guitar, Guitar, Song Arrangements
* You Make Me Feel Like Dancing - Vocals, Electric, Acoustic and Bass Guitar, Dobro, Mandolin, Co-Writer of "I Drive The Big Red Car" and "The Story Of Thomas The Turkey", Song Arrangements
* Sing a Song of Wiggles - Vocals, Electric, Acoustic and Bass Guitar, Mandolin, Other Guitar Work, Song Arrangements
* The Wiggles Go Bananas! - Vocals, Electric, Acoustic and Bass Guitar, Dobro, Mandolin, Electric Sitar, Weisseinborn, Songwriter, Song Arrangements
* Hot Poppin' Popcorn - Vocals, Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitar, Songwriter, Co-Arranger of "Waltzing Matilda"
* Let's Eat! - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar, Dobro, Mandolin, Ukulele, Songwriter, Co-Arranger of "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel"
* Dorothy the Dinosaur's Rockin' Christmas - Backing Vocals (archived recordings), Bass Guitar, Electric/Acoustic Guitar
* Ukulele Baby! - Vocals, Musician, Co-Writer of "How Many Fingers Do I See?", "Cluck, Cluck City", "How Many You Want?", "Hawaiian Boogie", "Round and Round, Round and Round" and "Doo, Doo-Doo, Doo!", Co-Arranger of "Spagnola", "Bambino" and "La Paloma"
* The Wiggles' Big Birthday! - Vocals, Musician
* It's Always Christmas With You! - Vocals, Musician, Co-Writer of "It's a Long Way From the North Pole", Co-Arranger of "The Cherry Tree Carol", "O Holy Night", "Ding Dong Merrily on High", "We Three Kings" and "The Twelve Days of Christmas"
* Surfer Jeff - Vocals, Musician, Co-Writer of "Surfer Jeff", "Ooey, Ooey, Ooey Allergies!", "Look Before You Go", "It's Peanut Butter!", "Dorothy the Dinosaur's Beach Party" and "Would You Like To Go To Scotland?", Co-Arranger of "Mango Walk", "Waltzing Matilda", "An Irish Dinosaur Tale" and "London Barcarolle"
* Celebration! - Vocals, Musician, Co-Arranger of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star"
* Taking Off! - Guitar
* Furry Tales - Musician
* Pumpkin Face - Musician
* Go Santa Go! - Musician, Co-Arranger of "Oh Happy Day"
* Apples & Bananas - Musician, Co-Writer of "Las Golondrinas"
* Wiggle Town! - Banjo on "Gymkhana Yodel"
* Dance Dance! - Acoustic Guitar, Ukulele and Mandolin on "Hula, Hula Baby" (archived recording)
* Och Aye the G'Nu!
* Fun and Games* - Musician
* Choo Choo Trains, Propeller Planes & Toot Toot, Chugga Chugga, Big Red Car!* - Musician
* ReWiggled - Guitar
*Was only credited on the album's accompanying video.
=== Character Roles ===
* Dorothy the Dinosaur (Suit: 1991-1994; Voice: 1991-1996)
=== Television and Video Releases ===
* Big Red Car
* Toot Toot!
* The Wiggly Big Show
* It's a Wiggly Wiggly World!
== 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.