Billy Mure

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Billy Mure
Born(1915-11-04)November 4, 1915
New York City, New York, U.S
DiedSeptember 25, 2013(2013-09-25) (aged 97)
Vero Beach, Florida, U.S.[1]
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar
Years active1957–2013

Sebastian "Billy" Mure (November 4, 1915 – September 25, 2013)[2][3] was an American guitarist and songwriter who recorded several albums in the 1950s and 1960s in a variety of styles, including surf, Hawaiian, swing, pop, twist and lounge music.[4]

Mure was born in New York City and played violin at age of nine, before making guitar his primary instrument. He played in bands while in the service during World War II and found work at a radio station WNEW after the war until 1957.[5] In addition to his solo recordings, he worked as a session musician, composer, and arranger. He wrote the popular instrumental "Toy Balloons". In 1959, he released the single "A String of Trumpets", credited to Billy Mure and the Trumpeteers; the song reached #64 on the Billboard Hot 100.[6] Mure had been performing for the past seven years with his band—Top Hats—at Squid Lips in Sebastian, Florida.

Discography[edit]

As leader[edit]

  • Super-Sonic Guitars in Hi-Fi (RCA Victor, 1957)
  • Fireworks (RCA Victor, 1957)
  • Supersonics In Flight (RCA Victor, 1959)
  • Supersonic Guitars (MGM Records SE3780 Stereo, 1959)
  • Bandstand Record Hop (United Artists Records, 1959)
  • A String of Trumpets (Everest Records, 1960)
  • Strictly Cha Cha (Everest Records, 1960)
  • Around The World In Percussion (Strand Records, 1961)
  • Tough Strings (Great Guitar Hits) (Kapp Records, 1961)
  • Hawaiian Percussion (Strand Records, 1961)
  • Blue Hawaii (Premier Records, 1963)
  • Teen Bossa Nova (MGM Records, 1963)
  • Hawaiian Moods (Spin-O-Rama Records, 1965)

As sideman[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Obituary, Indian River Guardian. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  2. ^ "Billy Mure | Vintage Guitar® magazine". Archived from the original on 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
  3. ^ "Billy Mure". IMDb. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  4. ^ Weirdomusic.com. "Guitarist Billy Mure dies, age 97 « Obituaries «". Weirdomusic.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  5. ^ Billy Mure at Allmusic
  6. ^ Joel Whitburn, Top Pop Singles 1955-2008. 12th edn, p. 1000.