Bruce,
Edison DD 52448 ("Doin' the Raccoon") was one of the late electrical
recordings issued by Edison before his company went out of business. And by
the time Murray made this record he was pretty much at the end of his rope
in popularity. These discs did not sell very well and are difficult to find
in E or E+ condition. "Doin' the Raccoon" is a particularly desirable title,
being a topical song of that era about college students wearing raccoon furs
and coats. (If I'm not mistaken, Murray not only sings, but has a brief
speaking part.) I seem to notice that quite a few of Murray's electric
Edisons are pretty descriptive--they're almost like a vaudeville routine in
your phonograph. Brian Rust does not list any of the Dorseys in this session
(recorded November 8, 1928), but pretty much the content, the condition, and
being a late electrical is what drove it up. Rich phonograph nuts drive it
up too.
-Ryan
