Billy Murray

Rating:
Summary: Billy Murray, Nipper's Best Friend
Review: Finally, a comprehensive book about Billy Murray, the most popular and recognizable singer of the acoustic recording period! The discography alone is worth the price of the book. Titles, record numbers, labels, dates of recording, and matrix mumbers are included.

The biography part is somewhat sketchy because Murray was a private person who didn't seem to want to talk about his family or recording career. He was married three times, and had no children. His siblings had no children, either, so there were really no close relatives to provide biographical information. Still, I found the book fascinating, and it is an invaluable resource for those collectors who want to catalog their recordings, and learn about the recordings that they don't have and would like to get.

There are some nice photographs included, among them one that Mr. Murray said was his favorite. Billy was well liked and friendly, and the book was a pleasure to read. I'm glad I have it!

Rating:
Summary: Great Book, but should be two books
Review: This book represents a fine piece of research, well documented and well presented. It follows the life story of Billy Murray, the first great popular recording artist.

However the book suffers from two serious problems. First of all, it is over-footnoted. I found myself constantly turning pages and being distracted by numerous footnotes that should have been worked into the body of the text. Unfortunately, the footnotes are all endnotes, so the reader needs two fingers to mark where he is and where the footnotes are.

The other problem with the book is more serious. It should have been two books, not one. The biography section ends at page 206. The rest of the book, all 544 pages, consists of appendixes, lots of them, in every shape, form and size. Realistically, the authors need to make one book about Murray, and another one about early recorded music. I get the impression that the authors had a lot of extra information laying around, so they decided to stick it in the back.

To the Billy Murray enthusiast, or the early recorded music aficionado, the book is a must even at $75. For all you other casual readers, check it out of the library before you buy it.