Quick-banter comics with a zany sense of humor are not unique to our time - the surviving recordings of Murry K. Hill are proof of that. From 1907 to 1913, Murry made several cylinders for the Edison company - this is his first,
a 2-minute cylinder he recorded in April of 1907. The song pokes gentle fun at the "bad old days" of the late 1800s - a time which, in 1907, was being held in high nostalgic esteem (Murry was an iconoclast). His best work was
done on longer recordings, such as "Father's Eccentricities" or "Grandma's Mustard Plaster", but this is a good example - it gives a glimpse into the mind of a man who surely must be
Robin Williams' spiritual great-grandfather. The cylinder itself is in decent shape, with some wear on the louder passages only. (I've assembled a complete discography of Murry's recordings, covering all years and companies, which
can be viewed by clicking here.)
