Hello everyone,  My name is Barry Grey, and I'm just now signing onto
the MMD, which I discovered during a scattershot-style search on the
web for information on a man who has captured my imagination for more
than three decades.

To give credit where credit is due, I was referred specifically to
the MMD by Beatrice Robertson, whose name I found during my digital
wanderings and who graciously suggested I contact MMD directly.

I also want to thank Jody Kravitz for responding so quickly to my
MMD inquiry and request for placement on the mailing list.

By way of introduction, I live in Los Angeles, where I am a producer
for a growing cable network.  I produce documentary shows about enter-
tainment figures;  my latest, a profile of Kevin Bacon, airs this
Sunday, Mar. 1 (10 p.m. eastern) on E! Entertainment Television.
But enough about me....

The reason I am signing on to MMD is to learn about J. Lawrence Cook.
Just the mention of his name takes me back 35 years, to a childhood
in Cleveland spent singing along to our family's vintage player piano.
We owned many rolls played by Mr. Cook, some of which were no doubt
(unbeknownst to us) rare and valuable because of their age and
condition.  Sad to say we sold the piano and all the rolls when we
moved to the West Coast in the late 60s.

All these years, I've had almost no information on this remarkably
talented pianist whose ancient piano works are etched into my memory.
So I write to solicit all the information you folks can provide me
on this:

Just who the hell was J. Lawrence Cook?  When was he born, and where?
When did he (presumably) die?  Did he live in Buffalo much of his life,
while working for Q.R.S?  What were some of the pseudonyms he used in
making rolls for competing companies?

Was he black?  White?  American?  Was he self-taught?  What did he
think of the industry he spent 50 years working in?

Was he married?  Did he have family?  Was he a loner?  Was he happy?
Brooding?  Modest?  Full of himself?  Did he make a decent living
recording piano rolls, or was it hand-to-mouth?

Anything you can offer in details would make me very happy.  I can be
reached at <BGrey517@aol.com>.

Thanks for listening, and thanks, in advance, for any information you
can offer to help in unraveling what is, for me, a lifelong mystery.

Barry Grey  <BGrey517@aol.com>

P.S.  My favorite J. Lawrence Cook roll was his original version of
"Stumbling."


 [ Editor's note:
 [
 [ Welcome to MMD, Barry, where you are joining several others who
 [ produce shows for the entertainment industry -- small world, eh?!
 [
 [ Our members Bob and Ginny Billings compiled a monumental listing
 [ of the Q.R.S rolls through the 1920s, and are now at work on the
 [ rolls produced by it's successor, Imperial Industrial.  J.
 [ Lawrence Cook was the primary artist for these companies after
 [ about 1925, and well-deserves the title, "Mr. Piano Roll".
 [
 [ The Mechanical Music Digest Archives has lots of articles which
 [ you'll want to read; I've written a short article, which appears
 [ below, to help get you started.  Happy researching!
 [
 [ -- Robbie