Bill Morrissey (November 25, 1951 – July 23, 2011) was a Grammy-nominated American

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

singer-songwriter based in

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Early life

Morrissey was born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

. Growing up in Connecticut and Massachusetts, he started playing guitar at age 13 and formed a

jug band A jug band is a band employing a jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washboard, spoons, bones, stovepi ...

in high school. He graduated from

Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Acton-Boxborough Regional High School (ABRHS) is an open-enrollment high school in Acton, Massachusetts, United States. A part of the Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, it serves the Massachusetts towns of Acton and Boxborough and has s ...

in 1969 and studied literature for a short time at

Plymouth State University Plymouth State University (PSU), formerly Plymouth State College, is a public university in the towns of Plymouth and Holderness, New Hampshire. As of fall 2020, Plymouth State University enrolls 4,491 students (3,739 undergraduate students an ...

before beginning his musical career. Morrissey hitch-hiked to Alaska, worked on a fishing boat, then down to California doing odd jobs and trying to get gigs. His travels eventually brought him back to New England, where he found work in a mill in

Newmarket, New Hampshire Newmarket is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 9,430 at the 2020 census. Some residents are students and employees at the nearby University of New Hampshire in Durham. The densely settled center of town ...

. He was influenced by the American

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

Mississippi John Hurt John Smith Hurt (March 8, 1893 – November 2, 1966), better known as Mississippi John Hurt, was an American country blues singer and guitarist. Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself to play the guitar around the age of nine. He w ...

and

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

, the pure country of

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

, the Kansas City jazz of

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

and

Lester Young Lester Willis Young (August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959), nicknamed "Pres" or "Prez", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and occasional clarinetist. Coming to prominence while a member of Count Basie's orchestra, Young was one of the most i ...

, the folk revival of the 1960s, and his own working-class experiences.

Career

His

eponymous An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

first album was released in 1984 on the Reckless label, and then re-recorded for the Philo label. It includes the song "Small Town on the River", which, as with much of his work, reflects life in

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...

s. In this case, it's a song about a small town in New Hampshire after the mill closes. Over the course of a three-decade career, two of Morrissey's twelve albums received Grammy nominations and several earned 4-star reviews in ''Rolling Stone''. Stephen Holden, for the ''New York Times'', wrote, "Mr. Morrissey's songs have the force of poetry...a terseness, precision of detail and a tone of laconic understatement that relate his lyrics to the stories of writers like Raymond Carver and Richard Ford." In addition to his song-writing, Morrissey is also the author of two novels: ''Edson'' (1996) and ''Imaginary Runner'' (posthumously published in November 2011). He said that his writing was influenced by

Raymond Carver Raymond Clevie Carver Jr. (May 25, 1938 – August 2, 1988) was an American short story writer and poet. He contributed to the revitalization of the American short story during the 1980s. Early life Carver was born in Clatskanie, Oregon, a mi ...

and Thomas Williams. Morrissey's last album, ''Come Running'', was co-produced with Billy Conway of

Morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

, and released in 2007 on Morrissey's label, Turn and Spin Media. ''Come Running'' features guitar work by

Dave Alvin David Albert Alvin (born November 11, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He is a former and founding member of the roots rock band the Blasters. Alvin has recorded and performed as a solo artist since the late 1980s a ...

and the remaining members of Morphine, Billy Conway and

Dana Colley Dana Colley (born October 17, 1961) is an American musician, best known as the baritone and tenor saxophonist in the alternative rock band Morphine. Early life Colley was born in Portland, Maine, but he was raised in Hanson, Massachusetts, wh ...

. While Morrissey was best known for his often dark, literate lyrics, he also occasionally wrote humorous songs, such as "Party at the UN" ("It's such a happy community / Everyone's got diplomatic immunity") and "Grizzly Bear", about a frustrated working-class man dating a wealthy young woman who wants to "dance till we dehydrate," while he just wants to "take her home and dance the grizzly bear."

Personal life

Bill Morrissey was married and divorced twice. His first wife was Lisa Glines. His second wife was Ellen Karas. Morrissey continued to work with Ellen Karas professionally after their divorce.

Death

Morrissey died of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

Dalton, Georgia Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the ci ...

on July 23, 2011, during a tour of the Southern US.

Discography

* ''Bill Morrissey'' (1984) * ''North'' (1986) * ''Standing Eight'' (1989) * ''Bill Morrissey'' (re-recording of the 1984 album plus three previously unreleased songs) (1991) * ''

Inside Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

'' (1992) * '' Friend of Mine'' (with Greg Brown) (1993) * '' Night Train'' (1993) * ''You'll Never Get to Heaven'' (1996) * ''Songs of Mississippi John Hurt'' (1999) * ''Something I Saw Or Thought I Saw'' (2001) * ''Bill Morrissey: The Essential Collection'' (2004) * ''Come Running'' (2007)

Bibliography

* Morrissey, Bill (1996). ''Edson''. Knopf. . * Morrissey, Bill (2011). ''Imaginary Runner''. .

References

External links

Artist Site

Fan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrissey, Bill 1951 births 2011 deaths American male singers American folk musicians Songwriters from New Hampshire Fast Folk artists Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut People from Newmarket, New Hampshire Singers from New Hampshire Plymouth State University alumni Songwriters from New York (state) Songwriters from Connecticut American male songwriters