Gary Morris
Encyclopedia
Gary Gwyn Morris is an American country music
artist who charted a string of countrypolitan-styled hit songs throughout the 1980s.
Morris is known for the 1983 ballad "The Wind Beneath My Wings", although his credits include more than twenty-five other chart singles on the Billboard
country charts, including five No. 1 hits. He has also released nine studio albums, with his 1983 album Why Lady Why having earned a gold certification from the RIAA.
singers, who sang hard-twang country and also gospel
.
Gary's family moved from Fort Worth, Texas
to North Richland Hills, Texas
in the late 1950s. While in the third grade, Morris and his sister won a talent show after singing their rendition of the pop hit "This Old House
," originally popularized by Rosemary Clooney
. Morris, a good athlete, played four sports at Richland High School, which led to a scholarship with Cisco Junior College
in Texas
. It was during college that singing became Morris's chosen vocation, and he decided to move to Colorado
. He and his two friends formed a trio, and asked a Colorado Springs bartender if they could get up on the bandstand and perform a few songs, and the audience's response (and tips) convinced Morris to put his college plans on hold and to pursue a performing career.
In the early 1970s, Morris made a living by singing in nightclubs in Denver, Colorado
. He also wrote a few commercial
jingles for Frontier Airlines
. In 1976, Morris signed on with Jimmy Carter
's presidential campaign and sang at fundraisers during Carter's campaign. This job led to Morris' performing at the White House
following Carter's election. In the audience was Nashville
country music producer Norro Wilson
, to whom Morris later gave a demo tape. Wilson liked what he heard, and soon signed Morris to his label Warner Bros. Records
.
chart, he scored his breakthrough hit with "Headed for a Heartache"; that song reached No. 8 on the country chart in late 1981. Two follow-up singles also reached the top 15.
Morris' 1983 album, Why Lady Why focused more on ballads. One of the album's four singles was "Wind Beneath My Wings
," which showcased Morris' soaring tenor. Written by Larry Henley
and Jeff Silbar, the song about heroes — which Morris recorded as a ballad — became one of the earliest hit versions of the song; a better-known version by Bette Midler
would top the Billboard Hot 100
in 1989. The Why Lady Why album also featured the ballad "The Love She Found in Me," the mid-tempoed "Velvet Chains" and the up-tempoed title track as singles; all of them peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Also during this time, Morris recorded a duet with Lynn Anderson
called "You're Welcome to Tonight," which became a top 10 hit.
After two more top 10 hits in 1984 — "Between Two Fires" and "Second Hand Heart" — Morris scored his first No. 1 country hit in March 1985 with "Baby Bye Bye
." During what was his most prolific hitmaking part of his career, Morris had three more solo No. 1 hits during the next two years: "I'll Never Stop Loving You
," "100% Chance of Rain" and "Leave Me Lonely
." He also recorded a chart-topping duet with Crystal Gayle
, "Makin' Up For Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers Song)
." Although he rarely saw any success outside country music, many of Morris' hit songs were in the pop-country vein during the height of his career.
Morris had two more hits in 1987: the solo "Plain Brown Wrapper" and another duet with Gayle called "Another World." The latter song was used for many years as the theme for the NBC soap opera
. After that, Morris' success on the country charts began to fade, as tastes switched once again to neo-traditional country music. Morris later opened a music publishing office in Nashville, with one of his employees being future star Faith Hill
.
In early 2008, Morris released two Gospel CD's. His most recent CD is called, "Faith and Freedom," dedicated to the military troops. Gary Morris performed two songs featured on Juice Newton
's album Duets: Friends & Memories, which was released in October 2010.
, as Jean Valjean
. The full symphonic recording of "Les Misérables" is a platinum selling, Grammy Award
-winning album and features Gary's now famous version of Bring Him Home. Morris has also appeared in a production of Puccini's opera La Boheme
with another fellow Country/Pop singer Linda Ronstadt
.
In the 1980s, he did a stint on The Colbys
as a blind country music singer signed to Dominique Deveraux's label.
In the 1990s, he spent a great deal of time working on music projects, such as the PBS special concert production, in Moscow, Russia, in the famous Tretyakov Gallery
. He returned to country music in the 1990s, performing in concerts and as a record producer
. Morris hosted and also produced the Nashville
network's top rated The North American Sportsman.
Gary Morris spends much time at his fly-fishing/hunting resort Mountain Spirit Lodge in southern Colorado
. Gary has four sons: Sam, Matt, Hunter and Garon;and one adopted son, Chandler. His son Matthew
, like their father, is a performer who sings, writes and entertains.
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
artist who charted a string of countrypolitan-styled hit songs throughout the 1980s.
Morris is known for the 1983 ballad "The Wind Beneath My Wings", although his credits include more than twenty-five other chart singles on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
country charts, including five No. 1 hits. He has also released nine studio albums, with his 1983 album Why Lady Why having earned a gold certification from the RIAA.
Early life
Morris has two siblings, a twin sister (Carey) and younger brother, Mark. Even though Morris was best-known for pop-oriented hits in the 1980s, he was descended from a long line of traditional countryCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singers, who sang hard-twang country and also gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
.
Gary's family moved from Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
to North Richland Hills, Texas
North Richland Hills, Texas
North Richland Hills is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. The population was 63,343 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Tarrant County. In 2006, North Richland Hills was selected as one of the "Top 100 Best Places to live in America"...
in the late 1950s. While in the third grade, Morris and his sister won a talent show after singing their rendition of the pop hit "This Old House
This Old House
This Old House is an American home improvement magazine and television series aired on the American television station Public Broadcasting Service which follows remodeling projects of houses over a number of weeks.-Overview:...
," originally popularized by Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
. Morris, a good athlete, played four sports at Richland High School, which led to a scholarship with Cisco Junior College
Cisco Junior College
Cisco College is a community college in Cisco, Texas, located in Eastland County between Fort Worth and Abilene, where Highways 183, 206, and 6 intersect Interstate 20. The campus in Cisco rests atop a hill one mile north of the town and presents a beautiful view of the surrounding country...
in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It was during college that singing became Morris's chosen vocation, and he decided to move to Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. He and his two friends formed a trio, and asked a Colorado Springs bartender if they could get up on the bandstand and perform a few songs, and the audience's response (and tips) convinced Morris to put his college plans on hold and to pursue a performing career.
In the early 1970s, Morris made a living by singing in nightclubs in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. He also wrote a few commercial
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
jingles for Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines, Inc., is an American airline headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The carrier, which is a subsidiary and operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings, operates flights to 83 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica and maintains hubs at...
. In 1976, Morris signed on with Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
's presidential campaign and sang at fundraisers during Carter's campaign. This job led to Morris' performing at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
following Carter's election. In the audience was Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
country music producer Norro Wilson
Norro Wilson
Norris "Norro" Wilson is an American country music singer, songwriter and producer, and member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame....
, to whom Morris later gave a demo tape. Wilson liked what he heard, and soon signed Morris to his label Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
.
Recording career
Morris signed his recording contract with Warner Bros. in 1980. After a pair of minor hits landed just inside the top 40 of the Billboard Hot Country SinglesHot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart, he scored his breakthrough hit with "Headed for a Heartache"; that song reached No. 8 on the country chart in late 1981. Two follow-up singles also reached the top 15.
Morris' 1983 album, Why Lady Why focused more on ballads. One of the album's four singles was "Wind Beneath My Wings
Wind Beneath My Wings
"Wind Beneath My Wings" is the title of a song written in 1982 by Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. They recorded a demo of the song, which they gave to musician Bob Montgomery. Montgomery then recorded his own demo version of the song, changing it from the mid-tempo version he was given to a ballad...
," which showcased Morris' soaring tenor. Written by Larry Henley
Larry Henley
Larry Henley is an American singer and songwriter, born June 30, 1941 in Arp, Texas. He is perhaps best known for co-writing the 1989 hit record, "Wind Beneath My Wings". The single was a U.S...
and Jeff Silbar, the song about heroes — which Morris recorded as a ballad — became one of the earliest hit versions of the song; a better-known version by Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
would top the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
in 1989. The Why Lady Why album also featured the ballad "The Love She Found in Me," the mid-tempoed "Velvet Chains" and the up-tempoed title track as singles; all of them peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. Also during this time, Morris recorded a duet with Lynn Anderson
Lynn Anderson
Lynn Rene Anderson is an American country music singer and equestrian known for a string of hits throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, most notably her Grammy Award-winning, worldwide mega-hit, " Rose Garden." Helped by her regular exposure on national television, Anderson was one of the most...
called "You're Welcome to Tonight," which became a top 10 hit.
After two more top 10 hits in 1984 — "Between Two Fires" and "Second Hand Heart" — Morris scored his first No. 1 country hit in March 1985 with "Baby Bye Bye
Baby Bye Bye
"Baby Bye Bye" is a 1984 single by Gary Morris, who co-wrote the song with Jamie Brantley.The song -- about a man who breaks up with his highly desirable and beautiful but unfaithful girlfriend -- became Morris' first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the late winter of 1985...
." During what was his most prolific hitmaking part of his career, Morris had three more solo No. 1 hits during the next two years: "I'll Never Stop Loving You
I'll Never Stop Loving You (Gary Morris song)
"I'll Never Stop Loving You" is a 1985 single written by Dave Loggins and J.D. Martin and recorded by Gary Morris. "I'll Never Stop Loving You" was Gary Morris' second number one country hit. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the country chart.-Chart...
," "100% Chance of Rain" and "Leave Me Lonely
Leave Me Lonely
"Leave Me Lonely" is a 1986 song written and recorded by Gary Morris. "Leave Me Lonely" was Gary Morris' fourth and final number one on the country chart as asolo artist. The single went to number one for one week and spent a total of fifteen weeks on the country chart .-Chart performance:...
." He also recorded a chart-topping duet with Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle
Crystal Gayle is an American country music singer best known for her 1977 country-pop hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". An award-winning singer, she accumulated 18 number one country hits during the 1970s and 1980s...
, "Makin' Up For Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers Song)
Makin' Up For Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers Song)
"Makin' Up for Lost Time " is a 1985 duet by Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris, who co-wrote the song with Dave Loggins. "Makin' Up for Lost Time" was from the CBS TV series, "Dallas" and would be the most successful country hit for the duo of Crystal Gayle and Gary Morris...
." Although he rarely saw any success outside country music, many of Morris' hit songs were in the pop-country vein during the height of his career.
Morris had two more hits in 1987: the solo "Plain Brown Wrapper" and another duet with Gayle called "Another World." The latter song was used for many years as the theme for the NBC soap opera
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
. After that, Morris' success on the country charts began to fade, as tastes switched once again to neo-traditional country music. Morris later opened a music publishing office in Nashville, with one of his employees being future star Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
.
In early 2008, Morris released two Gospel CD's. His most recent CD is called, "Faith and Freedom," dedicated to the military troops. Gary Morris performed two songs featured on Juice Newton
Juice Newton
Judith Kay "Juice" Newton is an American Pop music and Country singer, songwriter and guitarist...
's album Duets: Friends & Memories, which was released in October 2010.
Acting career and life today
Morris took a break from touring to pursue a serious acting career. One of his first big roles was in the Broadway production of Les MisérablesLes Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
, as Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean
Jean Valjean is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables...
. The full symphonic recording of "Les Misérables" is a platinum selling, Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
-winning album and features Gary's now famous version of Bring Him Home. Morris has also appeared in a production of Puccini's opera La Boheme
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
with another fellow Country/Pop singer Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Ronstadt is an American popular music recording artist. She has earned eleven Grammy Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, an ALMA Award, numerous United States and internationally certified gold, platinum and multiplatinum albums, in addition to Tony Award and Golden...
.
In the 1980s, he did a stint on The Colbys
The Colbys
The Colbys is an American prime time soap opera, which originally aired on ABC from November 20, 1985 to March 26, 1987. The Aaron Spelling-produced series was a spin-off of Dynasty, which had been the highest rated series for the 1984-1985 U.S. television season...
as a blind country music singer signed to Dominique Deveraux's label.
In the 1990s, he spent a great deal of time working on music projects, such as the PBS special concert production, in Moscow, Russia, in the famous Tretyakov Gallery
Tretyakov Gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world.The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Moscow merchant Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov acquired works by Russian artists of his day with the aim of creating a collection,...
. He returned to country music in the 1990s, performing in concerts and as a record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
. Morris hosted and also produced the Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
network's top rated The North American Sportsman.
Gary Morris spends much time at his fly-fishing/hunting resort Mountain Spirit Lodge in southern Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. Gary has four sons: Sam, Matt, Hunter and Garon;and one adopted son, Chandler. His son Matthew
Matt Morris (musician)
Matthew Burton Morris is an American pop artist and songwriter. He is the son of country music star Gary Morris. He achieved early fame when he appeared on the Disney Channel television series The Mickey Mouse Club in the early 1990s, where he was a cast member from 1991-1995...
, like their father, is a performer who sings, writes and entertains.
External links
- CMT.com profile
- Millard, Bob (1998). "Gary Morris". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 358.
- Official website