Eddie Murphy Looks To Get Back Into Groove With Music

 Eddie Murphy biggest success in music came on his first try, with the 1985 smash "Party All the Time." After that, not much was heard from the entertainer on the musical front — but he kept on plugging away at it out of the spotlight.

"When I'm not acting and

being funny, in my private time in my personal time I do music more than anything. I'm always in the studio," he said.

Now, Murphy is ready to let people know what he's been working on, Last month, he released a reggae single, "Oh Jah Jah," inspired by recent events.

While his music releases are occasional, he's been more busy on the acting front: He's finished a new movie and on Sunday, he'll return to "Saturday Night Live," for the show's 40th anniversary special.

Murphy spoke to The Associated Press recently about his music, film and comedy.

The Associated Press: Why the long wait before you released something?

Murphy: I wasn't waiting. I was just recording stuff. I stopped putting stuff out in the 80s because, I don't know how old you are, but back in the 80s, it was like a bunch of actors putting albums out. Everybody was singing and it always looked weird, like an actor singing this weird song, like, 'What the hell is this?' And I was like 'I don't want to be a part of that.'... I just said, 'Ok I'm not going to put these records out because I don't want people to think I'm trying to be an actor trying to be a pop star.' So I just kept writing my stuff and doing my stuff privately because I had no pressure and no expectations.

 Murphy: He talked about what I was talking about. When you see actors singing it usually looks like some actor who never really had any musical interest but is throwing that in with all the different success that their having and is trying to jump in. They may have a halfway decent voice and always fantasized about singing. Everybody wants to be a singer. That's why I stopped putting records out. I'm not trying to become a pop star and flip it to make some extra money, or become a bigger celebrity or any of that stuff. This is something that I do and have done for years and years.