Music Man Murray Is Leaving The Building

Music Man Murray’s is run, fittingly enough, by 87-year-old Murray Gershenz, who at one time wanted to become an opera singer. However, you might know him from numerous appearances on TV programs and in films, providing Gershenz with a second (third?) life as a character actor, according to Associated Press.

In fact, Gershenz says he’s closing his shop in order to concentrate on his acting career. TV programs on Gershenz’s resume include “Will & Grace,” “In Case of Emergency,” “Root of All Evil” and several appearances on “The Sarah Silverman Program,” while his movie credits include “Extreme Movie,” “I Love You, Man” and “The Hangover.”

But despite Gershenz’s late-blossoming career as bit player, his biggest legacy may be his nearly 50 years running a Los Angeles record store. Or, as the Associated Press described him – “L.A.’s go-to-guy” for rare, out-of-print records.”

How rare are the platters at Music Man Murray’s? Seems there isn’t a recording format missing at the shop as Gershenz stocks not only LPs and 45s, but also 78s, CDs and even pre-disk cylinders.

Some of Gershenz’s rare finds include a 100-year-old 78s of Swedish opera singer Sigrid Onegin and The Beatles’ Yesterday And Today album featuring the original “baby butcher” cover art.

Gershenz also has one of the few 45s pressed in 1962 featuring the band Kenny & The Cadets, whose core members – Al Jardine and Wilson Brothers Carl and Brian – went on to be known as The Beach Boys.

“Oh man, he had everything,” is how veteran L.A. musician Chuck E. Weiss described Gershenz’s wares. Weiss, who was the inspiration for the Rickie Lee Jones hit “Chuck E.’s In Love,” says he discovered a collection of old 78s by Robert Johnson and Charlie Patton at Murray’s as well as a group of pre-World War II recordings by Louis Armstrong.

Gershenz said that although he had a successful career as a cantor, it didn’t necessarily pay all the bills. He opened his record store in 1962, calling it Music Man Murray’s when a friend told him, “You’re a music man and your name is Murray.”

Gershenz also says he wasn’t always aware of what his stock of old records was worth back in the day.

“The customer comes in many times when I was first starting out and says, ‘Oh I’ll buy this one, give you 50 cents’” Gershenz said. “And as they were walking out the door they’d say, ‘Ha, ha, this thing’s worth $10.’ I swear to God, I wanted to kill them.”

Gershenz doesn’t have a target date for closing, but says it will be sometime in the next three to six months.

Click here for the Associated Press article.