Gene Murrell was born in Winter Haven, Florida. He was very active in theater there and also supported himself by working at several radio stations. At 21 he moved to Southern California to pursue acting and music. Gene worked in films and theater, but mostly earned his living as a musician playing 4-6 nights a week in area clubs. In 1988 he started playing his summers on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and did so for 10 years, splitting his time between LA and South Carolina. In 1998, he moved full time to Hilton Head to front "The Lawn Jockeys", a popular touring party band. When the Lawn Jockeys broke up in 2000, he returned to California and planned on moving back the following fall.

After the events of 9/11 and some interest in a management deal for the Lawn Jockeys to regroup, Gene decided to stay on Hilton Head. The management deal fell through, but in the meantime, Gene took a job part time (So he wouldn't be bored out his mind all winter) at a local radio group. He fell back in love with radio, moved full time and eventually into programming. During the summer of 2004, Gene made a return to the big screen with in "Come Away Home". The crew and cast bonded so well that Gene describes the experience as "2 minutes of screen time and 6 weeks of partying". Gene continued to play music and work in radio on Hilton Head until the spring of 2006 when accepted the position of Program Director of WZEW in Mobile, Alabama.