Savannah and the world, owes a huge public debt to The Silver family of The South. They built a multitude of businesses & other cultural institutions both spiritual and physical, and especially in the 20th Century added much color to the color wheel spectrum of not just great, but the greatest of Savannah characters. Their story is one of an immigrant family made good, “legally” in the United States, but inside of that embracing The American Dream and never looking back. I can honestly say, Savannah would not be the same rich city, not really, without the Silver name. I shall largely let my interviews speak to those things, but I was reminded of all of this legacy to Savannah & the life of Rock N’Roll, when I sat down with a man I’ve long called “Master Murray,” my hero and envy as storyteller. Murray Silver, Jr is one of those people who you introduce by saying, “a man who needs no introduction.” He’s tied to everything and every one in some form or fashion and I’m often left awed by who he just casually mentions a friendship or artistic connection with. Of course as a young man, barely out of high school, I well remember the film, “Great Balls of Fire,” starring Dennis Quaid as Jerry Lee Lewis, and Winona Ryder who played the infamous 13 year old bride, Myra. Admittedly I’d seen the hardcover book for sale in the mall bookstores, but at the time, it didn’t much interest me as I was immersed in English New Wave and California based Speed Metal. Even if I was weaned on the sounds of the 1950s via my father in particular, although Jerry Lee Lewis was probably too wild for my parents in their youth and later. Little too punk rock you might say. All the same, it wouldn’t be until I opened my former ghost tour business, Sixth Sense Savannah in 2001, that I became acquainted with Murray Silver, but at first it was only by reputation. He would do various book signings of his classic, “Behind The Moss Curtain,” which I still regard as the most compelling Savannah story book ever written, and I would get tourists on my ghost tours at night that would say, “Murray Silver sent us,” or “Murray told us you were the real deal and the only one to tour with.” It was funny because for years, I was doing 2-3 tours at night, often ending my Midnight Tour at 3 or 4 AM, and I would sleep until mid afternoon, get up and do it all over again. So I’m sad to say, I never got to go thank Murray personally for being so generous and I just hoped he didn’t see it as a disrespect. As time went by, we had some sporadic meetings at best but about 5 years ago developed more of a consistent friendship over the phone and I discovered we had lots of common interests and I regretted that we hadn’t talked more often. Which yes, we’ve more than made up for it since and this interview is proof! After just listening for a few minutes you’ll see why he’s one of the few storytellers I defer to and why I call him Master Murray.

My Radio Interview With Murray Silver Jr