Murray M. Silver Jr.

Last updated

Murray M. Silver Jr.
Born (1953-10-03) October 3, 1953 (age 69)
Savannah, Georgia, United States
OccupationWriter, photographer

Murray M. Silver Jr. is an American rock music writer and photographer. Silver was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1953. At age 16, he and his father, a lawyer, promoted rock concerts in Atlanta, bringing many future groups to the city for the first time, including Fleetwood Mac, the Grateful Dead, the Allman Brothers, Sonny & Cher, and Paul Simon.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Silver parlayed his contacts in the music world into a career as a rock tour photographer and journalist, covering the greatest acts of the 1970s and 1980s, including Pink Floyd, Genesis, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Elton John, and Peter Gabriel. Silver was the very first to photograph and interview the Sex Pistols during their only tour of America, in 1977.[ citation needed ]

In 1982 Silver published his first book, Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis , which was written with Lewis' ex-wife Myra Gale Brown. [1] The book was adapted into the big screen by Orion Pictures in 1989. [2] Silver is also credited with discovering singer-songwriter and recording artist Ed Hale, then known as Eddie Darling, during this same time period. [3] Hale was still in high school but had allegedly dropped out to attend the Art Institute of Atlanta to study audio engineering. Silver was a teacher at the school who taught a class called The History of Popular Music.

Following the release of the film, Silver undertook the autobiography of Dr. George Nichopoulos, personal physician to Elvis Presley, and the man widely regarded to be responsible for the singer's death. Their book, Who Killed Elvis Presley? turned into an international scandal before it could be published.[ citation needed ]

While making the movie of his book, Silver was introduced to the XIVth Dalai Lama by mutual friend, Richard Gere. At the Dalai Lama's request, Silver set aside the business of his life, both personal and professional, to write articles about China's oppression of Tibet, and to sponsor tours of Tibetan Buddhist monks who perform their sacred chants and dances at colleges and museums throughout the United States. In 1998 Silver was tour manager for Sacred Music, Sacred Dance, and personally responsible for packing and transporting The Mystical Arts of Tibet Exhibit, which featured personal sacred objects of the Dalai Lama.[ citation needed ]

Silver has also published a book entitled Behind The Moss Curtain: And Other Great Savannah Stories. The book is mainly about ghost stories which Silver has either personally encountered or has been told about. For the last couple of years, Silver has traveled America taking pictures of "orbs" which are supposedly ghosts. (Orbs show up on digital camera photos. They are white circles that can be both in groups and single.)

Silver unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Savannah in 2015.

Published works

Related Research Articles

Peter Guralnick is an American music critic, author, and screenwriter. He specializes in the history of early rock and roll and has written on Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, and Sam Cooke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Phillips</span> American record producer (1923–2003)

Samuel Cornelius Phillips was an American record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Howlin' Wolf. Phillips played a major role in the development of rock and roll during the 1950s, launching the career of Presley. In 1969, he sold Sun to Shelby Singleton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Lee Lewis</span> American pianist (1935–2022)

Jerry Lee Lewis was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made his first recordings in 1952 at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studio in New Orleans, Louisiana, and early recordings in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. "Crazy Arms" sold 300,000 copies in the Southern United States, but it was his 1957 hit "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" that shot Lewis to worldwide fame. He followed this with the major hits "Great Balls of Fire", "Breathless", and "High School Confidential". His rock and roll career faltered in the wake of his marriage to Myra Gale Brown, his 13-year-old cousin once removed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Balls of Fire</span> 1957 single by Jerry Lee Lewis

"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records and featured in the 1957 movie Jamboree. It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 recording was ranked as the 96th greatest song ever by Rolling Stone. The song is in AABA form. The song sold one million copies in its first 10 days of release in the United States making it one of the best-selling singles in the United States at that time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otis Blackwell</span> American songwriter (1931–2002)

Otis Blackwell was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include "Fever", "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless", "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" and "Return to Sender", and "Handy Man".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sun Studio</span> Historic recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business. Sun Studio is perhaps most famous for its role in the early years of Elvis Presley’s career.

Myra Gale Lewis Williams is an American author who is known for her controversial marriage at the age of 13 to her first cousin and '50s rock musician Jerry Lee Lewis, who was 22 at the time. She co-wrote the book Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis (1982), which was adapted into the film Great Balls of Fire! (1989). In 2016 she published her memoir, The Spark That Survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Million Dollar Quartet</span> 1956 recording of Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash performing together

"Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956, at the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about the session was published in the Memphis Press-Scimitar under the title "Million Dollar Quartet". The recording was first released in Europe in 1981 as The Million Dollar Quartet with 17 tracks. A few years later more tracks were discovered and released as The Complete Million Dollar Session. In 1990, the recordings were released in the United States as Elvis Presley: The Million Dollar Quartet. This session is considered a seminal moment in rock and roll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Return to Sender (song)</span> 1962 single by Elvis Presley

"Return to Sender" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley and performed in the film Girls! Girls! Girls!. The song was written by Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell to suit Presley's rock and roll musical style. The singer laments his relationship with a spiteful partner. Released on October 2, 1962, and published by Elvis Presley Music, the song became a commercial hit and received praise for its lyricism and melody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gyuto Order</span>

GyutoTantric University is one of the great monastic institutions of the Gelug Order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn H. Mullin</span>

Glenn H. Mullin is a Tibetologist, Buddhist writer, translator of classical Tibetan literature and teacher of Tantric Buddhist meditation.

<i>Great Balls of Fire!</i> (film) 1989 film by Jim McBride

Great Balls of Fire! is a 1989 American biographical drama film directed by Jim McBride and starring Dennis Quaid as rockabilly pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis. Based on a biography by Myra Lewis and Murray M. Silver Jr., the screenplay is written by McBride and Jack Baran. The film is produced by Adam Fields, with executive producers credited as Michael Grais, Mark Victor, and Art Levinson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High School Confidential (Jerry Lee Lewis song)</span> 1958 single by Jerry Lee Lewis and His Pumping Piano

"High School Confidential" is a 1958 song written by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ron Hargrave as the title song of the MGM movie of the same name directed by Jack Arnold.

<i>Million Dollar Quartet</i> (musical) Jukebox musical

Million Dollar Quartet is a jukebox musical with a book by Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux. It dramatizes the Million Dollar Quartet recording session of December 4, 1956, among early rock and roll/country stars who recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, which are Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, and newcomer Jerry Lee Lewis. The musical opened on Broadway in 2010, after several tryouts and regional productions, and spawned a 2011 West End production.

<i>Jerry Lees Greatest!</i> 1961 studio album by Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee's Greatest! is the second studio album by the American rock and roll and rockabilly pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis released in 1961 on Sun Records.

<i>Beyond the Sun</i> (album) 2011 studio album by Chris Isaak

Beyond the Sun is the eleventh studio album by Chris Isaak, released through Vanguard Records on October 18, 2011. It is a collection of songs recorded by Sun Records artists Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. Some of the songs were originally released on Sun Records. The record itself was recorded at Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee and the cover photograph was taken by Sheryl Louis outside the studio on Union Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Lee Tasjan</span> American singer-songwriter

Aaron Lee Tasjan is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer.

<i>The Return of Rock</i> 1965 studio album by Jerry Lee Lewis

The Return of Rock is the fourth album by Jerry Lee Lewis released on the Smash label in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby Baby Bye Bye</span>

"Baby Baby Bye Bye" is a song recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis and released as a single in March 1960 on Sun Records, Sun 337, featuring the Gene Lowery Singers, backed with "Old Black Joe". The recording was reissued in 1969 as a 7" 45 single as Sun 42 as part of the Sun Golden Treasure Series. The song was also released in the UK in 1960 as a 45 single on London Records as HLS 9131.

Stanley Augustus Kesler was an American musician, record producer and songwriter, whose career began at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. He co-wrote several of Elvis Presley's early recordings including "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget", and played guitar and bass on hit records by Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. As a producer, his successful records included "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.

References

  1. Travers, Peter (June 30, 1989). "Great Balls of Fire!". Rolling Stone.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. Caryn James (June 30, 1989). "'Goodness Gracious!' Jerry Lee Lewis". The New York Times. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  3. Perez, Omar Not A Rock Band: Ed Hale and Transcendence Travel the World, New Times Magazine, July 18th, 2002