Morgan, Lorrie

views updated May 18 2018

Lorrie Morgan

Singer

For the Record

Selected discography

Sources

Lorrie Morgan has endured much during her rise to the top of the country charts. Plagued by personal tragedy, financial setbacks and management disputes, her steadfast determination to overcome adversity saw her emerge as one of country musics leading ladies of song. Its evident, wrote Bargain Finder columnist and friend Ken Carlile, that giving up is not part of this ladys vocabulary.

Christened Loretta Lynn before her parents had ever heard of the coal miners daughter, Morgan came by her country roots naturally. Her father, Grand Ole Opry veteran George Morgan, had crooned his way onto the country charts with the hit songs Roomful of Roses and Candy Kisses. His daughter, however, showed little interest in country music until her father persuaded her to perform one song at the Opry.

The song was Paper Roses, and when the teenaged Morgan received a standing ovation for her debut performance she never looked back. My little 13 year-old knees were absolutely knocking, she told People. But I saw Dad standing there just bawling, and those people gave me a standing ovation. I thought, This is what Im doing the rest of my life.

Morgan toured with her father until his death during heart surgery. Afterward, in an attempt to carry on the family tradition, she went on the road with her fathers band for nearly two years before deciding to try her luck at a solo career. In 1979, after a stint as a demo singer and several performances at the Opryland U.S.A. amusement park, Morgan landed a recording contract with Hickory Records, a small Nashville label.

The company released several singles by Morgan that did well on the local area charts. At about the same time, she met and married Ron Gaddis, a bass player for country star George Jones, and though the marriage lasted only a year, it produced both a daughter and a career opportunity for Morgan; after the divorce Gaddis suggested she try out for a spot in Joness band. Morgan was hired after one audition and made concert appearances with Jones for almost two years before deciding to take a break from the music business.

Morgan told Bob Allen of Country Music that Jones was a great man to work for.. .. But Id have to say in all honesty that if I had to go back and do it all over again, I wouldnt do it. For someone as young as I was then, to step into something that mind-boggling was very hard. I just couldnt handle it.

By 1984 Morgan felt ready to resume her career. She recorded briefly with MCA, releasing a single titled

For the Record

Born Loretta Lynn Morgan, June 27, 1959; daughter of George Morgan (a singer); married Ron Gaddis (a musician), C. 1979 (divorced, c. 1980); married Keith Whitley (a singer), 1986 (died, 1989); married Brad Thompson (a bus driver), 1991 (separated, 1993); children: (first marriage) Morgan Anastasia; (second marriage) Jesse Keith.

Sang with her father at Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, TN, during her early teens; sang with her fathers band, c. 1975; performed with bluegrass band at Opryland U.S.A. amusement park; began recording career, 1979; sang with George Joness band, ? 1981-83; regular singer at the Grand Ole Opry, beginning in 1984; solo recording artist and concert performer, 1988.

Awards: Platinum record for Something in Red; gold record for Watch Me.

Addresses: Record company BNA Entertainment/RCA Records, 1 Music Circle N., Nashville, TN 37203.

Dont Go Changing. She also earned a regular slot singing at the Grand Ole Opry. Shortly afterwards, she attracted the notice of Ralph Emery, who first featured her on his WSM Nashville radio show, and then on the cable channel The Nashville Network (TNN). Country superstar Dolly Parton noticed Morgans talents, and told her manager about the young singer, suggesting that he sign her. Before anything could come of it, reported Allen, the partners in Partons management company dissolved and Morgan got lost in the shuffle.

Disillusioned, Morgan began to despair of achieving success on a national level. She was particularly frustrated with what she felt was the lack of respect afforded her by music executives. They take you for granted, they really do, Morgan explained to Allen. I sat for years and watched newcomers come into town and have hit records and become overnight sensations. I often wondered what it was that I was doing wrong, until it finally dawned on me that I was being taken for granted as just another local girl singer.

Ironically it was her personal life that was largely responsible for her rise to national fame. Morgan married country singer Keith Whitley in November of 1986 and the couple quickly became the darlings of the country circuit. When Whitleys 1988 album Dont Close Your Eyes achieved critical acclaim and best-seller status, Whitley persuaded RCA to sign his wife to a recording contract and work was soon begun on Morgans first album, Leave the Light On.

On a promotional trip to Alaska, one week prior to the albums release, Morgan suffered a devastating blow with the news of her husbands death. Whitley, who had long struggled with a drinking problem, died of alcohol poisoning in May of 1989. In another cruel twist of fate, the funeral nearly coincided with the release date of Morgans debut album. She managed to cope by adhering to a gruelling schedule that left no time for grief.

Leave the Light On had a successful debut. Dedicated to Whitley, the first single, Dear Me, quickly climbed the charts. Follow-up singles, Out of Your Shoes and Five Minutes, met with even greater success. Morgan was grateful for the support of her fans during a very difficult time, telling Country Music that the people, the fans, have all been extremely understanding and good to me. ... I really thought Id get raked over the coals [for performing so soon after Whitleys death]. But everyone whos come up to me has just said, We love you, we loved Keith, and were proud of you.1 People kindly summed up Morgans first solo album as a set of smoothly and sweetly rendered love-gone-wrong laments.

In 1991 Morgan released Something in Red. Warmly received by both critics and fans, the album produced four Top Ten singles, achieved platinum status and established Morgan as one of countrys top female vocalists. Later that year, she married third husband Brad Thompson, the driver of country star Clint Blacks tour bus.

Morgans third album, Watch Me, though highly touted by her new record label, BNA, met with considerably less praise. Critics attacked it as dull, predictable, middle-of-the-road. George Fletcher of Country Music concluded that the challenging edge that made Lorrie better than a lot of her peers is just not there.

After less than two years of marriage, Morgan and Thompson filed for divorce. With her life once again in transition, Morgan turned her attention to actingand to dating Troy Aikman, the Dallas Cowboy quarterback selected as one of People magazines 50 most beautiful people.

With several music videos to her credit, Morgans latest project is a starring role in Proudheart, a made-forcable movie scheduled to be shown on TNN in late 1993. She felt the time was right to pursue a career in acting. I dont know if I would have been ready for this a few years ago, she admitted to Video Vision columnist Bob Paxman. I wouldnt have had the heart to do it. But the more experienced Ive become, the more Im willing to try new things.

Selected discography

Leave the Light On (includes Dear Me, Out of Your Shoes, Five Minutes, Train Wreck of Emotion, and Its Too Late), RCA, 1989.

Something in Red (includes Something in Red, We Both Walk, Hand Over Your Heart, Except for Monday, Best Woman Wins, Autumns Not That Cold, A Picture of Me (Without You), and Tears on My Pillow), RCA, 1991.

Watch Mefmcludes Watch Me(includes Watch Me, I Guess You Had to Be There, You Leave Me Like This, Behind His Last Goodbye, From Our House to Yours, Half the Way Home, Friends, What Part of No, Someone to Call Me Darling, Its a Heartache, and Woman Walk the Line), RCA, 1992. Christmas From London, BNA, 1993.

(Contributor) Sounds of the Season, BNA, 1993.

Also recorded singles for Hickory and MCA Records, including Dont Go Changing.

Sources

Bargain Finder, March 31, 1993.

Country Music, January/February 1990; July/August 1991; January/February 1993; May/June 1993.

People, July 10, 1989; May 7, 1990; April 19, 1993.

Rocky Mountain News, April 30, 1993.

Additional information for this profile was obtained from BNA Entertainment press materials, 1992.

Elizabeth Wenning

Morgan, Lorrie

views updated Jun 08 2018

Lorrie Morgan

Singer

For the Record

Selected discography

Selected writings

Sources

Lorrie Morgan has endured much during her rise to .the top of the country charts. Plagued by personal tragedy, financial setbacks, management disputes, and numerous marriages that ended in divorce, her steadfast determination to overcome adversity saw her emerge as one of country musics leading ladies of song. Its evident, wrote Bargain Findercolumnist and friend Ken Carlile, that giving up is not part of this ladys vocabulary.

Christened Loretta Lynn before her parents had ever heard of the coal miners daughter, Morgan came by her country roots naturally. Her father, Grand Ole Opry veteran George Morgan, had crooned his way onto the country charts with the hit songs Roomful of Roses and Candy Kisses. His daughter, however, showed little interest in country music until her father persuaded her to perform one song at the Opry.

The song was Paper Roses, and when the teenaged Morgan received a standing ovation for her debut performance she never looked back. My little 13 year-old knees were absolutely knocking, she told People. But I saw Dad standing there just bawling, and those people gave me a standing ovation. I thought, This is what Im doing the rest of my life.

Morgan toured with her father until his death during heart surgery. Afterward, in an attempt to carry on the family tradition, she went on the road with her fathers band for nearly two years before deciding to try her luck at a solo career. In 1979, after a stint as a demo singer and several performances at the Opryland U.S.A. amusement park, Morgan landed a recording contract with Hickory Records, a small Nashville label.

The company released several singles by Morgan that did well on the local area charts. At about the same time, she met and married Ron Gaddis, a bass player for country star George Jones, and though the marriage lasted only a year, it produced both a daughter and a career opportunity for Morgan; after the divorce Gaddis suggested she try out for a spot in Joness band. Morgan was hired after one audition and made concert appearances with Jones for almost two years before deciding to take a break from the music business.

Morgan told Bob Allen of Country Music that Jones was a great man to work for. But Id have to say in all honesty that if I had to go back and do it all over again, I wouldnt do it. For someone as young as I was then, to step into something that mind-boggling was very hard. I just couldnt handle it.

By 1984 Morgan felt ready to resume her career. She recorded briefly with MCA, releasing a single titled Dont Go Changing. She also earned a regular slot singing at the Grand Ole Opry. Shortly afterwards, she attracted the notice of Ralph Emery, who first featured

For the Record

Born Loretta Lynn Morgan on June 27, 1959; daughter of George Morgan (a singer); married Ron Gaddis (a musician), c. 1979; divorced, c. 1980; married Keith Whitley (a singer), 1986; died, 1989; married Brad Thompson (a bus driver), 1991; divorced, 1993; married son (a bus driver), 1991; divorced, 1993; married Sammy Kershaw (a singer), 2002; children: (with Gaddis) Morgan Anastasia, (with Whitley) Jesse Keith.

Sang with her father at Grand Ole Opry, Nashville, TN, during her early teens; sang with her fathers band, c. 1975; performed with bluegrass band at Opryland U.S.A. amusement park; began recording career, 1979; sang with George Joness band, c. 1981-83; regular singer at the Grand Ole Opry, beginning in 1984; solo recording artist and concert performer, 1988.

Awards: Country Music Award, Vocal Event of the Year for Til a Tear Becomes a Rose, 1990; TNN Music City News Award, Vocal Collaboration of the Year (with Keith Whitley), 1991; Country Music Television Award, Femalle Vocalist of the Year, 1992; Country Music Award, Album of the Year for Common Thread, 1994; TNN Music City News Award, Female Artist of the Year, 1994, 1996-98; TNN Music City News Award, Vocal Collaboration of the Year (with Jon Randall), 1997.

Addresses: Record company BNA Entertainment/RCA Records, 1 Music Circle N., Nashville, TN 37203. Booking Buddy Lee Attractions Nashville, 38 Music Square East, Nashville, TN 37203, website: http://www.buddyleeattractions.com, phone: (615) 244-4336, fax: (615) 726-0429. WebsiteLorrie Morgan Official Website: http://www.lorrie.com.

her on his WSM Nashville radio show, and then on the cable channel The Nashville Network (TNN). Country superstar Dolly Parton noticed Morgans talents, and told her manager about the young singer, suggesting that he sign her. Before anything could come of it, reported Allen, the partners in Partons management company dissolved and Morgan got lost in the shuffle.

Disillusioned, Morgan began to despair of achieving success on a national level. She was particularly frustrated with what she felt was the lack of respect afforded her by music executives. They take you for granted, they really do, Morgan explained to Allen. I sat for years and watched newcomers come into town and have hit records and become overnight sensations. I often wondered what it was that I was doing wrong, until it finally dawned on me that I was being taken for granted as just another local girl singer.

Ironically it was her personal life that was largely responsible for her rise to national fame. Morgan married country singer Keith Whitley in November of 1986 and the couple quickly became the darlings of the country circuit. When Whitleys 1988 album Dont Close Your Eyes achieved critical acclaim and best-seller status, Whitley persuaded RCA to sign his wife to a recording contract and work was soon begun on Morgans first album, Leave the Light On.

On a promotional trip to Alaska, one week prior to the albums release, Morgan suffered a devastating blow with the news of her husbands death. Whitley, who had long struggled with a drinking problem, died of alcohol poisoning in May of 1989. In another cruel twist of fate, the funeral nearly coincided with the release date of Morgans debut album. She managed to cope by adhering to a grueling schedule that left no time for grief.

Leave the Light On had a successful debut. Dedicated to Whitley, the first single, Dear Me, quickly climbed the charts. Follow-up singles, Out of Your Shoes and Five Minutes, met with even greater success. Morgan was grateful for the support of her fans during a very difficult time, telling Country Music that the people, the fans, have all been extremely understanding and good to me I really thought Id get raked over the coals [for performing so soon after Whitleys death]. But everyone whos come up to me has just said, We love you, we loved Keith, and were proud of you. People kindly summed up Morgans first solo album as a set of smoothly and sweetly rendered love-gone-wrong laments.

In 1991 Morgan released Something in Red. Warmly received by both critics and fans, the album produced four Top Ten singles, achieved platinum status and established Morgan as one of countrys top female vocalists. Later that year, she married third husband Brad Thompson, the driver of country star Clint Blacks tour bus.

Morgans third album, Watch Me, though highly touted by her new record label, BNA, met with considerably less praise. Critics attacked it as dull, predictable, and middle-of-the-road. George Fletcher of Country Music concluded that the challenging edge that made Lorrie better than a lot of her peers is just not there. With several music videos to her credit, Morgan turned to acting, taking on a starring role in Proudheart, a made-for-cable movie that was shown on TNN in late 1993.

After less than two years of marriage, Morgan and Thompson filed for divorce. With her life once again in transition, Morgan turned her attention to actingand to dating Troy Aikman, the Dallas Cowboy quarterback selected as one of People magazines 50 most beautiful people. She was also romatically linked to country star Kenny Rogers and Tennessee senator Fred Thompson following her divorce. Morgan married again in 1997, this time to singer Jon Randall. The following year, she published her first novel, an autobiographical account of the years she spent with second husband Keith Whitley titled Forever Yours, Faithfully: My Love Story. People noted, She doesnt do much soul-searching about the four marriages shes racked up And when she fails to even mention her current spouse, singer Jon Randall, you cant help but size him up as a future ex-husband. Their prediction came true when Morgans fourth marriage ended in divorce in 2000.

Morgan released a string of certified gold records, including War Paint, Greater Need, and Shakin Things Up, following the platinum Watch Me. Her following albums, Secret Love, My Heart, and Side by Side, were critically successful but failed to match the sales numbers that her earlier albums reached. As her marriage to Randall was ending, Morgan met the then-married country singer Sammy Kershaw. The scandal of their love affair regularly made headlines in Nashville over the next two years, until both Morgan and Kershaws respective divorces were finalized and they were free to wed; she for the fifth time and he for the fourth. It felt like a first time wedding for me, Morgan told People in May of 2001. Lord knows, we both have our pasts. That is something we cant change. [But] we can change what happens from here on.

The newly wed couple collaborated on an album of solo number and duets, I Finally Found Someone. A cover of Louis Armstrongs What a Wonderful World, a tune Morgan described to People as our song, is also found on the album. They then opened up a Nashville-based restaurant, Hotchickens.com, which was an immediate success. Morgan released The Color of Roses, featuring a live concert recording and exclusive interview, in 2002 on DVD and double-CD formats and embarked on a tour with Tanya Tucker to support her new release.

Selected discography

Leave the Light On, RCA, 1989.

Something in Red, RCA, 1991.

Watch Me, RCA, 1992.

Christmas From London, BNA, 1993.

War Paint, BMG, 1994.

Greater Need, BNA, 1995.

Shakin Things Up, BMG, 1997.

Secret Love, BNA, 1998.

My Heart, BNA, 1999.

Side by Side, Universal, 2000.

I Finally Found Someone, RCA, 2001.

Selected writings

Forever Yours, Faithfully: My Love Story, Ballantine Books, 1997.

Sources

Periodicals

Bargain Finder, March 31, 1993.

Billboard, January 22, 2000.

Country Music, January/February 1990; July/August 1991; January/February 1993; May/June 1993.

Entertainment Weekly, November 28, 1997.

People, July 10, 1989; May 7, 1990; April 19, 1993; June 17, 1996; December 2, 1996; November 9, 1998; May 21, 2001.

Rocky Mountain News, April 30, 1993.

Online

Lorrie Morgan, All Music Guide, http://www.allmusic.com (January 17, 2003).

Lorrie Morgan Official Website, http://www.lorrie.com (February 10, 2003).

Additional information for this profile was obtained from BNA Entertainment press materials, 1992.

Elizabeth Wenning