Lee Morse was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and guitarist, who worked primarily in the genres of jazz and blues music in the 1920s and 1930s. She garnered significant fame in the mid-1920s, and became one of the most celebrated recording artists in the world. She was marketed as "America’s Leading Singer of Blues and Southern Mammy Songs."
Morse's discography includes over 60 singles of both self-composed and cover recordings, most of which were released by Perfect and Columbia Records in the 1920s. Morse continued to release singles with Columbia throughout the 1930s, as well as several releases for Decca Records. By the 1930s, however, Morse's professional career was in decline, as she struggled significantly with alcoholism. She frequently missed live engagements during this period, and her output of recorded material dwindled by the latter half of the decade.
Morse released two singles in 1950 through Decca, before dying unexpectedly in 1954. Several compilation albums chronicling her career have been released posthumously.
Singles
1920s
| Year | Title (A-side / b-side) | Label | Cat. # | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | "Bring Back Those Rock-A-Bye Baby Days" / "Mail Man Blues" | Perfect | 12165 | ||
| 1925 | "Me Neenyah" / "Golden Dream Girl" | Perfect | 12182 | ||
| 1925 | "I Like Pie, I Like Cake" / "Home" | Perfect | 12189 | ||
| 1925 | "In Old Madrid" / "Juanita" | Perfect | 11216 | ||
| 1925 | "A Miss in Mississippi" / "Don't Try to Cry Your Way Back to Me" | Perfect | 12197 | ||
| 1925 | "Are You Sorry" / "The Shadows On The Wall" | Perfect | 11581 | As Miss Lee Morse and Her Bluegrass Boys | |
| 1925 | "Too Tired" / "I Want To See My Tennessee" | Perfect | 12179 | ||
| 1925 | "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" / "Ukulele Lady" | Pathé | 10949 | ||
| 1925 | "Sweet Man" / "I'se Gwine Back To Dixie" | Perfect | 11591 | As Miss Lee Morse and Her Bluegrass Boys | |
| 1925 | "Dallas Blues" / "Rocking Chair Blues " | Perfect | 11582 | ||
| 1925 | "Cecilia" / "Blue Soldier Blues" | Perfect | 11586 | ||
| 1925 | "What-Cha-Call-'Em-Blues" / "Only This Time I'll Be True" | Perfect | 11590 | As Miss Lee Morse and Her Bluegrass Boys | |
| 1925 | "All Alone" / "Lee's Lullaby" | Perfect | 12181 | ||
| 1926 | "Lonesome and Sorry" / "A Little Love" | Pathé | 25184 | As Miss Lee Morse and Her Bluegrass Boys | |
| 1926 | "My Old Kentucky Home" / "Old Folks At Home" | Perfect | 11600 | ||
| 1926 | "He's Still My Baby" / "Sad and Lonesome Little Pickaninny" | Perfect | 25194 | ||
| 1926 | "Bolshevik" | Perfect | 11273 | ||
| 1926 | "To-Night You Belong to Me" / "If You're Missing Me" | Perfect | 11631 | ||
| 1926 | "I Wonder Where My Baby Is To-Night" / "My Sugar Babe" | Perfect | 11599 | ||
| 1926 | "Animal Crackers" / "My Red-Headed, Blue-Eyed Colleen" | Perfect | 11624 | As Miss Lee Morse and Her Bluegrass Boys | |
| 1927 | "The Little White House" / "Lonely Nights " | Perfect | 11635 | As Miss Lee Morse and Her Bluegrass Boys | |
| 1927 | "Side By Side" / "My Idea Of Heaven" | Columbia | 947-D | ||
| 1927 | "We" / "Rosita" | Columbia | 1082-D | ||
| 1927 | "I've Looked All Over For A Girl Like You" / "Dawning" | Columbia | 1149-D | ||
| 1927 | "Where the Wild Flowers Grow" / "I'd Love to Be in Love" | Columbia | 1011-D | ||
| 1927 | "Somebody Said" / "I Hate to Say Goodbye" | Columbia | 1063-D | ||
| 1927 | "Did You Mean It?" / "Old-Fashioned Romance" | Columbia | 1199-D | ||
| 1928 | "Keep Sweeping the Cobwebs off the Moon" / "Give Me a Good-Night Kiss" | Columbia | 1276-D | ||
| 1928 | "Poor Butterfly Waits For Me" / "After We Kiss" | Columbia | 1328-D | ||
| 1928 | "In the Sing Song Sycamore Tree" / "I'm Lonely" | Columbia | 1381-D | ||
| 1928 | "When I Lost You" / "Lonesome For You" | Columbia | 1434-D | ||
| 1928 | "Be Sweet to Me" / "Don't Keep Me in the Dark, Bright Eyes" | Columbia | 1466-D | ||
| 1928 | "Mother and Dad" / "Shadows on the Wall" | Columbia | 1497-D | ||
| 1928 | "We (My Honey and Me)" / "Rosita" | Columbia | 1082-D | ||
| 1928 | "Mississippi Mud" / "I Must Have That Man!" | Columbia | 1584-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1928 | "Let's Do It" / "If You Want the Rainbow" | Columbia | 1659-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1928 | "You Are My Own" / "Where the Shy Little Violets Grow" | Columbia | 1716-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1928 | "Main Street" / "Susianna" | Columbia | 1752-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1929 | "Old Man Sunshine, Little Boy Blue Bird" / "Don't Be Like That" | Columbia | 1621-D | With the Blue Grass Boys |
1930s
| Year | Title (A-side / b-side) | Label | Cat. # | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | "Until Love Comes Along" / "Blue, Turning Grey Over You" | Columbia | 2101-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1930 | "Tain't No Sin (To dance around in your bones)"/ "I'm Following You " | Columbia | 2136-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1930 | "Cooking Breakfast for the One I Love" / "Sing, You Sinners" | Columbia | 2165-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1930 | "Swingin' in a Hammock" / "Seems to Me" | Columbia | 2225-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1930 | "Little White Lies" / "Nobody Cares if I'm Blue" | Columbia | 2248-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1930 | "Just a Little While" / "When the Organ Played at Twilight" | Columbia | 2308-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1930 | "Wasting My Love on You" / "Loving You the Way I Do" | Columbia | 2333-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1930 | "You're Driving Me Crazy!" / "He's My Secret Passion" | Columbia | 2348-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1930 | "The Little Things in Life" / "Tears" | Columbia | 2365-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1931 | "I'm One of God's Children (Who Hasn't Got Wings)" / "Blue Again" | Columbia | 2388-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1931 | "Walkin' My Baby Back Home" / "I've Got Five Dollars" | Columbia | 2417-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1931 | "The Tune That Never Grows Old" / "By My Side" | Columbia | 2436-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1931 | "Let's Get Friendly" / "I'm Thru with Love" | Columbia | 2474-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1931 | "It's the Girl!" / "I'm An Unemployed Sweetheart (Looking for Someone to Love)" | Columbia | 2497-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1931 | "Love Letters in the Sand" / "Mood Indigo" | Columbia | 2530-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1931 | "Call Me Darling (Call Me Sweetheart, Call Me Dear)" / "I'm For You a Hundred Percent" | Columbia | 2564-D | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1932 | "One Hour With You" / Medley - "Paradise" Waltz | Columbia | 18001-D | With Eddy Duchin and His Central Park Casino Orchestra | |
| 1932 | "When the Lights Are Soft and Low" / "Lawd, You Made the Night Too Long" | Columbia | 2650-D | ||
| 1932 | "Moonlight on the River" / "Something in the Night" | Columbia | 2705-D | ||
| 1933 | "In the Little White Church on the Hill" / "The Rest of the World is Sleeping" | Bluebird | B-5044 | ||
| 1933 | "Pettin' in the Park" / "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song" | Bluebird | B-5052 | ||
| 1938 | "When I Lost You" / "Shadows on the Wall" | Decca | 1919 | ||
| 1938 | "Careless Love" / "Sing Me a Song Of Texas" | Decca | 63364 |
1950s
| Year | Title (A-side / b-side) | Label | Cat. # | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | "Don't Even Change a Picture on a Wall" / "Longing" | Decca | 27163 | With the Blue Grass Boys | |
| 1950 | "Lonesome Darlin'" / "If Only You Knew" | Decca | 27066 | With the Blue Grass Boys |
Compilation albums
| Year | Title | Label | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Lee Morse Revisited | Take Two | LP record | |
| 1990 | Lee Morse (1925 - 1938): I'm a Real Kind Mama | Harlequin | CD | |
| 1998 | A Musical Portrait | Take Two | 2-CD set | |
| 2005 | Echoes of a Songbird: 50 Recordings from 1924-1930 | Jasmine | 2-CD set | |
| 2016 | Sweeping the Cobwebs | Asherah Records | LP record | |
| 2020 | Anthology: The Deluxe Collection | Master Tape Records | MP3 album |
References
- ^ Perry, Douglas (May 10, 2019). "Oregon's great Jazz Age star, Lee Morse, captured the blues on stage and in tragic personal life". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019.
- ^ "Lee Morse Collection, circa 1924-1941". Archives West. University of Idaho. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017.
- ^ Laird 1996, p. 394.
- ^ Laird 1996, p. 395.
- ^ Laird 1996, p. 397.
- "PATHE numerical listing discography: 10100 - 12000".
- Laird 1996, p. 396.
- ^ "The Lee Morse Columbia Records". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. March 27, 1929. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Lee Morse (vocalist) discography". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California, Santa Barbara. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017.
- ^ "Lee Morse (leader)". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California, Santa Barbara. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017.
- "One Hour With You". Library of Congress. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019.
- "Lee Morse Revisited". Amazon. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
- "Lee Morse (1925 – 1938): I'm a Real Kind Mama". Amazon. Retrieved June 10, 2019.
- "A Musical Portrait". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
- "Echoes of a Songbird: 50 Recordings from 1924-1930". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 11, 2019. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
Sources
- Laird, Ross (1996). Moanin' Low: A Discography of Female Popular Vocal Recordings, 1920-1933. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-29241-5.
External links
- Lee Morse at Discogs
- Miss Lee Morse and Her Blue Grass Boys at Discogs
- Lee Morse (1897-1954) Red Hot Jazz Archive
- Lee Morse and her Bluegrass Boys Red Hot Jazz Archive