The BILLY MURRAY PAGES 
   

“My Twin — The Phonograph”

Billy Murray's 1917 Edison Memoir

Courtesy of Anna-Maria Manuel • Introductory note by Allan Sutton

Billy Murray was at the height of his popularity when the Edison Phonograph Monthly ran his short memoir in January 1917. EPM was a marketing publication, and as such, the material it contains cannot always be taken as historically accurate. Just how much of this memoir is in Murray's own words will probably never be known. It was clearly intended as a marketing piece, and the phrasing and tone suggest that the text might have been substantially edited — or perhaps was even ghost-written — by Edison's copy writers. There are some demonstrable errors (such as the misspelling of Matt Keefe's name), as well as some questionable claims (most notably Murray's assertion that he recruited Ada Jones for recording, which is examined in the online article, A Prehistory of Ada Jones). Those caveats aside, however, the article offers a fascinating glimpse into the early experiences of the "Denver Nightingale."

This article is in the public domain, and the text may be quoted in its entirety without permission.