Editing Billy Mayerl (section)

==Early life and education==
Mayerl was born in 1902 on [[London]]'s [[Tottenham Court Road]], near the West End theatre district. His father, a violin player, attempted to introduce him to the violin age of four, but failed. After noticing his affinity to the piano, he started him with piano lessons. By age seven he was studying at the [[Trinity College of Music]], paid for with a series of scholarships. His first major concert was at age nine, playing [[Edvard Grieg]]'s [[Piano Concerto (Grieg)|Piano Concerto]]. In his teens, he supplemented these lessons by accompanying silent movies and playing at dances.<ref>Harth, Mike. ''Lightning Fingers: Billy Mayerl The Man and His Music''. Paradise Press, 1995, {{ISBN|978-0952596400}}</ref>

While studying at Trinity College, Mayerl began visiting a local music arcade known as 'Gayland', where he first encountered North American ragtime music. After trying his hand at composing it, he was threatened with expulsion from Trinity College if he continued, and it was a decade before his first composition was re-issued as 'The Jazz Master'.<ref>Archer, John. ''Billy Mayerl The Man and His Music''. The Billy Mayerl Society, p. 4</ref>

Attracted to North American popular music, Mayerl joined a [[Southampton]] hotel band in 1921. He recorded about 37 piano rolls of popular tunes of the early '20s for the Echo label in London. He subsequently joined the [[Savoy Havana Band]] in London and became a celebrity. In the late 20s he recorded in London a single title, "Eskimo Shivers", on the Duo-Art player piano system for the Aeolian Company.