Gary Morris

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Gary Morris
Background information
Birth nameGary Gwyn Morris
Born (1948-12-07) December 7, 1948 (age 75)
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
OriginNorth Richland Hills, Texas
GenresCountry, progressive country[1]
Occupation(s)Singer, actor
Years active1981–present
Labels
Websitegarymorrismusic.com

Gary Gwyn Morris (born December 7, 1948)[2] is an American singer and stage actor who charted a string of hits on the country music charts throughout the 1980s.

Morris is known for the 1983 ballad "

RIAA
.

Early life

Morris was born in

singers, who sang hard-twang country and also gospel
.

Gary's family moved from Fort Worth to

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.[4]

In the early 1970s, Morris made a living by singing in nightclubs in

Warner Bros. Records
.

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 Singles chart, he scored his breakthrough hit with "Headed for a Heartache";[2] 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",[2] 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;[2] 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",[2] 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.[2]

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 "

Makin' Up For Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers Song)".[2] 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 almost a decade as the theme song for the NBC soap opera.[2] 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.[5]

In early 2008, Morris released two gospel albums. 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.

Acting career

Morris took a break from touring to pursue a serious acting career. One of his first big roles was in the Broadway production of

La Boheme with fellow country/pop singer Linda Ronstadt.[2]

In the 1980s, he did a stint on The Colbys as blind country music singer Wayne Masterson,[2] signed to Dominique Deveraux's label. On the show, he sang "Try Gettin' Over You" from his Anything Goes release.

In the 1990s, he spent a great deal of time working on music projects, such as the

Moscow, Russia, in the 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 The North American Sportsman. In 1992, he appeared in an episode of Designing Women as Julia's surgeon.

Discography

Main article: Gary Morris discography

References

  1. ^ Manheim, James. "Gary Morris Biography by James Manheim". AllMusic. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-85112-726-6
    .
  3. ^ *North Richland Hills, Tex. : CitiCable, [1986]NRH profiles [DVD], Arlita W. Hallam interview.
  4. ^ Gary Morris Biography, AllMusic
  5. ^ Williams, Janet E. (1998). "Faith Hill". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 240.
  6. ^ Gary Morris biography at his official website Archived December 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine

External links

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