Murray Kellner (April 29, 1900 – November 20, 1991) was an American violinist who had a long and prolific career on records and radio from the 1920s to the 1970s as an orchestral director, session musician and arranger.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Russian Jewish emigrants,[1] he first recorded as an accompanist to Vernon Dalhart, one of the most popular singers of the era.
[2] He also made recordings for Gennett including the traditional tune "Hell Broke Loose in Georgia", on which he was billed as "The Fiddlin' Cowboy".
[5][6] He moved to Hollywood after World War II, and maintained a high profile as a session musician, recording with such stars as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Judy Garland, Nat King Cole, Doris Day and Bobby Darin.
[1] Eugene Chadbourne wrote: "If a musician's popularity was based purely on a system of tallying up each time their playing had been heard by an individual set of ears, then perhaps the superstars of the music business would be people such as... Murray Kellner".