Lewis F. Muir
b. May 30, 1883, d. Dec. 3, 1915, Age: 32 (tuberculosis).
Very little biographical information on Mr. Muir is available. He was a popular ragtime pianist, playing in St. Louis Honky Tonk saloons, in 1904. (The year of the St.Louis Exposition.) In common with Irving Berlin, Muir shared the ability to play the piano in just one key, but, apparently, played very well in that one key. Also, like Irving Berlin, he used a special piano that had a cranking mechanism under the keyboard to shift the keys.

About the only information we have on Muir can be told in the stories of just three different years.

In 1910, Muir moved to New York City, and had his first hit song published, "Play That Barbershop Chord" (adapted from his earlier tune "Play That Fandango Rag"). It is known that Ballard MacDonald wrote the original lyric to this tune. For unknown reasons, the song's publisher, J. Fred Helf Company, called another lyricist, William Tracey, to revise the words. Accidentlly, MacDonald's name didn't appear on the printed sheet when the song was published, Tracey's did.

The song became an instant hit when the great vaudevillian, Bert Williams, sang it in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1910. Ballard MacDonald instituted court proceedings against the publishers for omitting his name, and the court awarded him damages of $37,500 dollars, a not unsubstantial sum in 1911. Because of this fine, the Helf Company closed down.

In 1911, Muir wrote "When Ragtime Rosie Ragged the Rosary", to a lyric by Edgar Leslie. It became a big hit, and was played all over. Interestingly, another well known lyricist, L. Wolfe Gilbert, wrote a depreciative revue of the song, in New York's Clipper Newspaper. In spite of this negative revue, Gilbert then asked Muir to write the music for one of Gilbert's own lyrics. Gilbert had visited Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he had seen a group of Negroes unloading freight at a levee. Gilbert wrote a lyric describing the scene.

In 1912, Muir wrote the music to accompany L.Wolfe Gilbert's lyric. The song was called "Waiting for the Robert E. Lee". The publisher, F.A.Mills, turned down the song when Gilbert first sang it for him. When Gilbert came back to his office, to collect some music he had forgotten, Mills asked him to sing it again. This time, Mills decided to chance it. Mills published the song, and it was an instantaneous hit. It was sung by every entertainer, including Al Jolson; Belle Baker and Ruth Roye, and a host of vaudevillians. To this day, it remains one of our most enduring Ragtime melodies. Muir took delight in playing his tunes for admirers who would visit his publisher's offices. One of those admirers was a young Irving Berlin. ( composer E. Ray Goetz was another.)

But, Muir wasn't finished with the year 1912. With L. Wolfe Gilbert lyrics, he wrote two more songs.
"Here Comes My Daddy Now"
"Mississippi River Steamboat"
And, with lyrics by Maurice Abrahams, he wrote
"Ragtime Cowboy Joe"
"Hitchy-Koo"

Among Muir's other hits, are:
"Mammy Jinny's Jubilee", lyric by L. Wolfe Gilbert
"If I Had a Pal", also to a L. Wolfe Gilbert lyric.
"Hicky Koi", to a lyric by Stanley Murphy.

A visiting English producer, Albert Decourville, was in a Coney Island club called 'The College Inn'. There he heard L. Wolfe Gilbert and his vocal group singing Muir's songs. Decourville, engaged the Gilbert group to perform in London, where they appeared under the name of 'The Ragtime Octet'.

At a later time, Muir also went to London where he was a big success playing his ragtime music at the Oxford Theatre. While still in London, Muir scored a London Revue, in collaboration with Ruggiero Leoncavallo, composer of the opera 'Pagliacci'.

   Eddie Munson
Currently no information available.
Among his work is the hit song:
"Ida Sweet As Apple Cider", played here by My Irwin Schwartz.

   J. L. Murray
Currently no information available.
1932 "Happy-Go-Lucky You and Broken-Hearted Me", with co-lyricist Al Goodheart. An Al Hoffman tune.

   Herbert Murrill
b. May 11, 1909, London, England, UK, d. July 25, 1952
Murrill is perhaps best recalled today as an organist and choirmaster. In 1936, Herbert Murrill joined the staff of the BBC, where, in 1950, he became the Head of Music (just two years before his demise). He was a professor of composition at the Royal Academy of Music, and he also contributed some scores to English films.
Among his film scores are:
And So To Work
The Daily Round

   Stanley Myers
b. 1930, d. 1993
While his best known composition is the lovely "Cavatina for Guitar and Orchestra" (composed for the Michael Cimino film `The Deerhunter'), Stanley did indeed compose many more tunes. In fact, he was a very prolific writer who worked on 58 films during his career, - both in the British and Hollywoood studios. Some of the pictures on which he worked are:
Kaleidoscope (1966 -his first film score.)
Ulysses (1967)
No Way to Treat a Lady (1968)
Michael Kohlhaas (1969)
Otley (1969)
Two Gentlemen Sharing (1969)
Take a Girl Like You (1970)
Tropic of Cancer (1970)
The Walking Stick (1970)
Long Ago Tomorrow (1971)
A Severed Head (1971)
Tam Lin (1971)
In 1972, he worked on all of the following:
Castaway
Eureka
King, Queen, Knave
My Beautiful Launderette
Sitting Target
Summer Lightning
Wish You Were Here
X, Y and Zee

   Josef Myrow
Currently no information available. (aka: Joseph Myrow)
b. Feb. 8, 1910, Russia, d. Dec. 24, 1987, Los Angeles, CA. USA.
"If I'm Lucky", ~ from the 20th Century-Fox film "If I'm Lucky", Words and Music by Eddie Delange and Joseph Myrow
"You Make Me Feel So Young", Music by Joseph Myrow and lyrics by Mack Gordon, 1946
"Young at Heart", Music by Joseph Myrow and lyrics by Mack Gordon, 1946
Josef's son, Fredric Myrow (b. July 16, 1939, d. Jan. 14. 1999, Hollywood Hills, CA -Heart Attack. aka: Frederic and Fred Myrow) was also a composer, and also active in writing for the Hollywood Studios.

   Robert Musel
b:August 13, 1909, New York, NY, USA. d: Sept. 11, 1999, London, England, UK
Here's a photograph of Bob Musel (that's "Beetle: Paul McCartney bending over talking to him) a delightful American ex-patriate who spent the major part of his career in London, England. He became a fixture at London's famed Les Ambassadeurs Hotel. It was there, while working for BMI, that he entertained everyone who was anyone on the world stage. Bob was also a most accomplished writer, songwriter, lyricist and columnist, who remained married to his beautiful wife Jill Musel, throughout his life. Late in his life, Musel suffered a Stroke from which he (mostly) recovered.

Among the tunes for which he contributed the lyrics are
     "Granada" (Eddie Lisbona was the co-lyricist)
     "Poppa Piccolino" (Orig: Giuseppi Nino Pasteli and Mario Panzeri. English music by Vittorio Mascheroni with lyric by Bob Musel)

     "Band Of Gold" (with words and music by Musel and Jack Taylor -a huge hit for singer Don Cherry. Should not be confused with Dunbar and Wayne's Disco hit with same name that was originally sung by Freda Payne.) A reader has sent us this midi, of the tune, together with Bob Musel's lyric.
Refrain
I've never wanted wealth untold,
My life has one design,
A simple little band of gold...
To prove that you are mine,

Don't want the world to have and hold,
For fame is not my line,
Just want a little band of gold...
To prove that you are mine,

Some sail away to araby,
And other lands of mystery,
But all the wonders that they see
Will never tempt me,

Their memories may soon grow cold,
But till the end of time,
I'll have a little band of gold
To prove that you are mine.