Billy Murray

Billy Murray was a Philadelphia-born singer who started performing in the 1890s. He signed with the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1903 and recorded hundreds of songs over the next few decades, including 'Moonlight Bay' and 'You're a Grand Old Flag.'

His voice had a straightforward, friendly quality that suited the popular songs of the early 20th century. He often worked with groups like the American Quartet, and his duet with Ada Jones on 'Come, Josephine, In My Flying Machine' shows how well his style blended with other voices of the era.

Murray's recordings from the 1910s and 1920s capture a particular moment in American music, when songs like 'In My Merry Oldsmobile' and 'Meet Me In St Louis, Louis' were becoming standards. He kept recording into the 1940s, his voice familiar on Victrolas and radios across the country.