Murray, host of the popular Tradio on the Radio for a quarter of a century, died of cancer Sunday at a nursing facility in Longview.
From his earliest days in the radio industry, Murray helped introduce big name stars to his listening public. Murray was an early promoter of Elvis Presley in the mid-1950s along with Gladewater's Tom Perryman. At the time, Presley was the second-tier act for headliners like Johnny Cash.
"He was a unique person. He just enjoyed getting on that stage," Murray said of Presley in a 1999 interview. "He was very polite, which I credited to his upbringing. And he was a mama's boy, no doubt about it. Now, on stage was a very different thing."