Taylor, William ("Billy")

Born in Drogheda, Co. Louth; Stepbrother of Charles, with whom he emigrated to the United States in 1872; Convinced that the mild tones of the ordinary Irish pipes, being a note or more below concert pitch, were too puny to meet the requirements of the usual American stage or dance hall of his period, he experimented, remodeled and developed a compact, substantial instrument of powerful tone that blends agreeably with violin and piano, and was so successful in meeting the popular demand, that the Taylor type of Irish bagpipe has superseded the old mellow-toned parlour instrument almost altogether; He was also a renowned piper; Regarding the year Billy died: On p.160 of his »Minstrels«, O’Neill informs us that Billy continued his father’s trade "until the day of his [whose?] death, in 1891", rather confusingly claiming, on p.161, that he [Billy] died in 1901 (Either way, it seems unlikely that Billy would have been able to continue his father’s trade after the brothers had left the country); NB: ➺ [?] Taylor.