HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ella Mae Morse (September 12, 1924 – October 16, 1999) was an American singer of
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
whose 1940s and 1950s recordings mixing jazz, blues, and country styles influenced the development of rock and roll. Her 1942 recording of "
Cow-Cow Boogie "Cow Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay)" is a "country-boogie"-style blues song, with music was written by Don Raye, and lyrics were written by Benny Carter and Gene De Paul. The song was written for the 1942 Abbott & Costello film '' Ride 'Em Cowboy'' ...
" with
Freddie Slack Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader. Life and career Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up ...
and His Orchestra gave
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
its first
gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...
. In 1943, her single "Get On Board, Little Chillun", also with Slack, charted in what would soon become the
R&B charts The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
, making her one of the first white singers to do so. Morse stopped recording in 1957 but continued to perform and tour into the 1990s. In 1960 she received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
.


Career

Morse was born in
Mansfield, Texas Mansfield is a suburban city in the U.S. state of Texas, and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area. The city is located mostly in Tarrant county, with small parts in Ellis and Johnson counties. Its location is approximately 30 mile ...
. She was hired by
Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...
when she was 14 years old. In 1942, at the age of 17, she joined
Freddie Slack Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader. Life and career Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up ...
's band, with whom in the same year she recorded "
Cow-Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay) "Cow Cow Boogie (Cuma-Ti-Yi-Yi-Ay)" is a "country-boogie"-style blues song, with music was written by Don Raye, and lyrics were written by Benny Carter and Gene De Paul. The song was written for the 1942 Abbott & Costello film '' Ride 'Em Cowbo ...
", the first
gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...
released by
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
. " Mr. Five by Five" was also recorded by Morse with Slack, and became a
hit record A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...
in 1942 (Capitol 115). She also originated the wartime hit "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet", which was later popularized by
Nancy Walker Nancy Walker (born Anna Myrtle Swoyer; May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress and comedian of stage, screen, and television. She was also a film and television director (lending her talents to ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'', on wh ...
in the 1944 film ''
Broadway Rhythm ''Broadway Rhythm'' (1944) is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Technicolor musical film. It was produced by Jack Cummings and directed by Roy Del Ruth. The film was originally announced as ''Broadway Melody of 1944'' to follow MGM's ''Broadway Melody' ...
''. In 1943, Morse began to record solo. She reached #1 in the R&B chart with " Shoo-Shoo Baby" in December for two weeks. In the same year she performed "Cow Cow Boogie" in the film '' Reveille with Beverly'' and co-starred in Universal's ''South of Dixie'', ''
Ghost Catchers ''Ghost Catchers'' is a 1944 American comedy horror film. Ole Olson and Chic Johnson are nightclub owners, helping their neighbors rid an old house of ghosts. Their club's headwaiter Jerry (Leo Carrillo) is really a gangster trying to scare off th ...
'' with Olsen and Johnson, and ''How Do You Dooo?'', a vehicle for radio's "Mad Russian", Bert Gordon. She sang in a wide variety of styles, and she had hits on both the
U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
pop and
rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly ...
charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tab ...
. However, she never received the popularity of a major
star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
. The song " Love Me or Leave Me" as recorded by Morse was released by
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of note ...
as catalog number 1922, with the flip side " Blacksmith Blues", which became her biggest hit. In 1946, " House of Blue Lights" by
Freddie Slack Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader. Life and career Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up ...
and Morse, (written by Slack and
Don Raye Don Raye (born Donald MacRae Wilhoite Jr., March 16, 1909 – January 29, 1985) was an American songwriter, best known for his songs for The Andrews Sisters such as "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar", " The House of Blue Lights", "Just for a Thr ...
) saw them perform what was one of many of Raye's songs picked up by black R&B artists.Nick Tosches, ''The Unsung Heroes of Rock 'N' Roll:The Birth of Rock in the Wild Years before Elvis'', 1991, Jim Dawson and Steve Propes, ''What Was The First Rock 'N' Roll Record'', 1992, Her biggest solo success was "Blacksmith Blues" in 1952, which sold over one million copies, and was awarded a
gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
. The same year her version of "
Down the Road a Piece "Down the Road a Piece" is a boogie-woogie song written by Don Raye. In 1940, it was recorded by the Will Bradley Trio and became a top 10 hit in the closing months of the year. Called "a neat little amalgam of bluesy rhythm and vivid, catchy ...
" appeared on Capitol with Slack again on
piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
accompaniment. Morse also recorded a version of "
Oakie Boogie "Oakie Boogie" (sometimes "Okie Boogie") is a Western swing dance song written by Johnny Tyler in 1947. It is recognizable by its refrain: Jack Guthrie's version (Capitol 341) reached number three on the charts in 1947 and is often included in ...
" for Capitol which reached #23 in 1952. Her version was one of the first songs
arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...
by
Nelson Riddle Nelson Smock Riddle Jr. (June 1, 1921 – October 6, 1985) was an American arranger, composer, bandleader and orchestrator whose career stretched from the late 1940s to the mid-1980s. He worked with many world-famous vocalists at Capitol Records ...
. Morse ceased recording in 1957, but continued performing until the early 1990s, under the new management of
Alan Eichler Alan Eichler (born July 17, 1944) is an American theatrical producer, talent manager and press agent who has represented several stage productions, produced Grammy-winning record albums and managed singers including Anita O'Day, Hadda Brooks, Nel ...
, performing at such clubs as Michael's Pub in New York, Ye Little Club in Beverly Hills, the
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a historic hotel located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. It opened on May 15, 1927, and is the oldest continually operating hotel in Los Angeles. History The hote ...
's Cinegrill and the Vine St. Bar and Grill. She appeared regularly at
Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney in ...
for several years with the
Ray McKinley Ray McKinley (June 18, 1910 – May 7, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader. He played drums and later led the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra in Europe. He also led the new Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956. ...
Orchestra, and did a successful tour of
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
shortly before her final illness. Her music career was profiled in
Nick Tosches Nicholas P. Tosches (; October 23, 1949 – October 20, 2019) was an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, '' Hellfire'', was praised by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as "the best rock and roll ...
' 1984 book, ''The Unsung Heroes of Rock 'N' Roll: The Birth of Rock in the Wild Years Before Elvis''. She has a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Californ ...
at 1724 Vine Street. Her entire recorded body of work was issued in a deluxe box set by
Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History The label has been in existence since ...
and a rare live performance, "Ella Mae Morse On Broadway," was released in 2011.


Musical style

As Morse's musical style blended jazz, blues, and country, she has sometimes been called the first rock 'n' roll singer. A good example is her 1942 recording of the song "Get On Board, Little Chillun", which, with strong gospel, blues, boogie, and jive sounds as a genuine precursor to the later rockabilly/ rock 'n roll songs. Her records sold well to both Caucasian and African-American audiences. As she was not well known at the time of her first solo hits, many people assumed she was African-American because of her 'hip' vocal style and choice of material.


Personal life

Morse had six children from four marriages,Coffey, Kevin (1997). ''Ella Mae Morse'' booklet, Bear Family box set BCD 16117 EI several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and an estranged sister named Flo Handy who was also a singer. In 1999 Morse died of
respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...
in Bullhead City, Arizona, at the age of 75.


Discography


Albums as a leader

*''Dynamite Texas Diva Live'' (1940s live recordings, released by Collectors Choice, 2003) *''Barrelhouse, Boogie and the Blues'' with Big Dave and his orchestra (
Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...
, 1957) *''Morse Code'' (Capitol, 1957) compilations: *''Morse Code Collection'' (
Jasmine Records Jasmine Records is a London-based record label that specialises in jazz reissues. History The label was founded in 1982 as part of Hasmick Promotions, issuing LPs and cassettes of jazz and popular vocalists. Jasmine diversified into country mu ...
, 2005) *''Singles Collection, 1942-57'' (Acrobat Records, 2018)


Hit singles


As a collaborator or side performer

*Ella Mae Morse and
Freddie Slack Frederick Charles Slack (August 7, 1910 – August 10, 1965) was an American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader. Life and career Slack was born in Westby, Wisconsin, United States. He learned to play drums as a boy. Later he took up ...
, ''The Hits of Ella Mae Morse and Freddie Slack'' (Capitol, 1962) *
Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (incl ...
, Ella Mae Morse,
Jimmy Giuffre James Peter Giuffre (, ; April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He is known for developing forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating f ...
, ''Sessions, Live'' (Calliope, 1976) * Red Norvo Quintet, '' With Guest Vocalists Mavis Rivers And Ella Mae Morse'' (United, 1962; released by Studio West, 1990)


See also

*
List of jump blues musicians The following is a list of jump blues musicians. * Alberta Adams * Sil Austin * LaVern Baker *Big Maybelle * Big Three Trio * Calvin Boze *Tiny Bradshaw * Jackie Brenston *Nappy Brown * Roy Brown *Ruth Brown *Arnett Cobb *Floyd Dixon *Willie ...
* List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart *
First rock and roll record The origins of rock and roll are complex. Rock and roll emerged as a defined musical style in the United States in the early to mid-1950s. It derived most directly from the rhythm and blues music of the 1940s, which itself developed from earlie ...


References


External links

*
Prescottlink.comElla Mae Morse Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (1995) {{DEFAULTSORT:Morse, Ella Mae 1924 births 1999 deaths Jump blues musicians Deaths from respiratory failure People from Bullhead City, Arizona Singers from Texas American women jazz singers American jazz singers People from Mansfield, Texas 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers Capitol Records artists Jazz musicians from Texas