Jeffrey Morgan is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

writer and photographer who is best known for being the authorized biographer of both

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

and

Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...

and

The Stooges The Stooges, originally billed as the Psychedelic Stooges, also known as Iggy and the Stooges, was an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1967 by singer Iggy Pop, guitarist Ron Asheton, drummer Scott Asheton, and bassist Dave ...

. He is also the writer of the graphic novel ''The Brides of Mister X and Other Stories'' which

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

called "one of the 50 best non-superhero graphic novels". In 2021, New Haven published Morgan's autobiography ''Rock Critic Confidential'' as a hardcover coffee table book containing over fifty years of Morgan's writing and photography. In 2022, New Haven published ''Alice Cooper Confidential'' the second volume of Morgan's autobiography.

Writing

''Creem''

Morgan became the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' Canadian editor of rock music magazine ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential criti ...

'' after he was recruited by its editor,

Lester Bangs Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist, critic, author, and musician. He wrote for ''Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock music c ...

, in the spring of 1974. * Morgan's first published record review, of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's 1965

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherhoo ...

single "

Can't Help Thinking About Me "Can't Help Thinking About Me" is a song written by English musician David Bowie and recorded with his band the Lower Third. Released as a single by Pye Records on 14 January 1966, it was the first one issued under the "David Bowie" name after ...

", was published in the August 1975 issue. Morgan's writing then went on to appear in every issue of ''Creem'' until the magazine's demise in November 1988. * In 2003, at the request of photographer Robert Matheu, Morgan renewed his relationship with the magazine by writing reviews and interviews for Matheu's new Creem website every month for five years until its demise in 2008.

Other writing

1960s

Morgan's first published writing appeared in the November 1965 edition of the Brown Junior Public School magazine ''Brown News and Views''. Morgan had two poems printed: "The Sun" and "ELEVEN DAYS."

1970s

After being discovered by Bangs but prior to his first publication in ''Creem'', Morgan graduated from Northern Secondary high school where he served in his final year as President of the Student Council. Morgan then spent the balance of 1974 honing his craft as a rock critic and rock photographer for

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

's weekly newspaper ''

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...

'' where he reviewed and photographed concerts by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

. * While attending York, Morgan studied

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...

with

James Tenney James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American composer and music theorist. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music, spectral music, microtonal ...

, who performed on

Terry Riley Terrence Mitchell "Terry" Riley (born June 24, 1935) is an American composer and performing musician best known as a pioneer of the minimalist school of composition. Influenced by jazz and Indian classical music, his music became notable for it ...

's album ''

In C ''In C'' is a musical piece composed by Terry Riley in 1964 for an indefinite number of performers. He suggests "a group of about 35 is desired if possible but smaller or larger groups will work". A series of short melodic fragments, ''In C'' is o ...

''. * During this time, Morgan was the host of ''The Air Pirates Show'' on York's

campus radio Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produce ...

station CHRY-FM. * From 1975 to 1978, Morgan was the editor of a free monthly Canadian rock magazine initially titled ''Cheap Thrills'' then ''StageLife'' and finally ''Roxy''. All three incarnations were published by Concert Productions International, which was a major promoter of rock concerts and tours in North America run by

Bill Ballard William Owen Sydney Ballard (November 10, 1946 – March 14, 2014) was a businessman and concert promoter. His father was Toronto Maple Leafs hockey mogul Harold Ballard. The younger Ballard became a director and vice-president of Maple Leaf Garde ...

and future

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

concert promoter

Michael Cohl Michael Cohl is a Canadian concert promoter, theatrical producer and touring impresario. He is the former Chairman of Live Nation. Cohl now runs S2BN Entertainment, with offices in New York and Toronto. Having been named the Howard Hughes of ro ...

. In addition to editing the magazine, Morgan also wrote for it extensively both under his own name and that of the more vociferous

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

he created in April 1975, "Machine Rock". * Six months later, Tee Vee Records in Canada released a compilation album titled ''Machine Rock: 23 Original Hits''. Ballard and Cohl briefly considered suing Tee Vee for damages until they found out that Morgan had not registered his alias as a trademark. * During this period, Morgan was also the staff

copywriter Copywriting is the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or ...

for

CBS Records CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records or CBS/Sony, former name of Sony Music, a global record company * CBS Records International, label for Columbia Records recordings released outside North America from 1962 to 1990 * CBS Records (2006), founde ...

Canada, for whom he wrote back cover

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

for an album of

baroque music Baroque music ( or ) refers to the period or dominant style of Western classical music composed from about 1600 to 1750. The Baroque style followed the Renaissance period, and was followed in turn by the Classical period after a short transiti ...

classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor o ...

ist

Liona Boyd Liona Maria Carolynne Boyd, (born 11 July 1949) is a classical guitarist often referred to as the First Lady of the Guitar. Music career Early years Boyd was born in London and grew up in Toronto. Her father grew up in Bilbao, Spain, and her ...

. After reading them, however, Boyd demanded that Morgan's notes be deleted before the album was released, exclaiming: "You can't print this! He makes me sound like a rock star!" * In 1977, Morgan's poetry was published in

magazine (''Our Lady of Perpetual Motion'') and '' Bakka'' magazine (''Neuromantics I-V''). * In the late 1970s, Morgan was asked by

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

to participate in

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

's annual

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

critics' poll. In 1986, Christgau noted how Morgan skewed the "black caucus" vote by casting 30 points for

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

's album ''

Gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...

''.

1980s

* During the 1980s, Morgan was a contributing writer for

Wayne Green Wayne Sanger Green II (September 3, 1922 – September 13, 2013) was an American publisher, writer, and consultant. Green was editor of '' CQ'' magazine before he went on to found '' 73'', ''80 Micro'', ''Byte'', '' CD Review'', ''Cold Fusion'', ...

's magazine ''Digital Audio and Compact Disc Review''. In 1986, several of his reviews were reprinted in ''Digital Audio's Guide To Compact Discs'' which was published by

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...

. * During the mid-1980s, Morgan was the host of ''The Machine Rock Show'' on the Rogers Television community channel in Toronto. * During the late 1980s, Morgan was the host of ''The Air Pirates Show'' on

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

's campus radio station

CKLN-FM CKLN-FM was a community radio station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1983 to 2011, CKLN Radio Inc. was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission as a campus-community FM radio station affiliated with Ry ...

1990s

* During the 1990s, Morgan wrote reviews and biographies for

LAUNCH Media ''Arista Records, LLC v. LAUNCH Media, Inc.'', 578 F.3d 148 (2d Cir. N.Y. 2009), is a legal case brought by Arista Records, LLC, Bad Boy Records, BMG Music, and Zomba Recording LLC (collectively, "BMG") alleging that the webcasting service provid ...

, including a concert review of

Diamanda Galás Diamanda Galás (born August 29, 1955) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, visual artist, and soprano. She has campaigned for AIDS education and the rights of the infected. Galás's commitment to addressing social issues and her involve ...

on her '' Malediction & Prayer'' tour, which Galás posted on her website. * During the early 1990s, Morgan was the host of ''Cyberphonics'' on

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popular ...

station CFCR-FM in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

, which featured a five-minute spoken word segment, ''The Nuclear Hoedown'', where he voiced the ''Jazz Geek'' and ''The Kapusta Kid''

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. * In 1992, Morgan was asked by Rob Bowman to name the

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

anthology that he was assembling with Reed for

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

. Morgan named the three disc box set '' Between Thought and Expression'', after his favorite

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...

song "Some Kinda Love". In return, Bowman thanked Morgan in his booklet liner notes to the anthology. * In 1997, Morgan's ''Creem'' interview with

William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...

was translated into Spanish and reprinted in Barcelona's AVUI newspaper.

2000s

* Between 2004 and 2009, Morgan wrote an award-winning weekly newspaper column for Detroit's

Metro Times The ''Detroit Metro Times'' is a progressive alternative weekly located in Detroit, Michigan. It is the largest circulating weekly newspaper in the metro Detroit area. History and content Supported entirely by advertising, it is distributed f ...

titled ''Jeffrey Morgan's Media Blackout''. In 2010, the column relocated first to rocksbackpages.com and then to Morgan's own website. * In 2006, Morgan was asked to submit a list of his ten favorite Canadian albums for tabulation in

Bob Mersereau Bob Ellis Mersereau is a Canadian arts journalist.Rockingham, Graham �"Randy Bachman: lord of the song"''The Spec'' He is a music columnist and longtime arts reporter for CBC Television in New Brunswick.The Top 100 Canadian Albums ''The Top 100 Canadian Albums'' is a book by journalist Bob Mersereau, published in 2007 by Goose Lane Editions. Mersereau surveyed 600 music journalists, retailers, musicians and disc jockeys of all ages, from all parts of Canada, who each submi ...

, which was published in 2007 by

Goose Lane Editions Goose Lane Editions is a Canadian book publishing company founded in 1954 in Fredericton, New Brunswick as Fiddlehead Poetry Books by Fred Cogswell and a group of students and faculty from the University of New Brunswick associated with ''The Fid ...

. * In 2008, Morgan wrote the introduction "What Is and What Will Always Be" for the hardcover book ''Sonic Boom: The Impact of Led Zeppelin''. * In 2009, Morgan told the story of how Bangs discovered him in ''Curse You, Lester Bangs!!!'' which appears in the hardcover book ''CREEM: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine'' published by

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

. * Also in 2009, Morgan wrote a feature review of the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

album ''

Hot Space ''Hot Space'' is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 21 May 1982 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US. Marking a notable shift in direction from their earlier work, they employed many el ...

'' for the hardcover

Voyageur Press The Quarto Group is a global illustrated book publishing group founded in 1976. It is domiciled in the United States and listed on the London Stock Exchange. Quarto creates and sells illustrated books for adults and children, across 50 countri ...

book ''Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock''.

2010s

* In 2010, Morgan wrote a review of the

Bachman–Turner Overdrive Bachman–Turner Overdrive, often abbreviated BTO, were a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba, founded by Randy Bachman, Robbie Bachman and Fred Turner in 1973. Their 1970s catalogue included five top-40 albums and six US top-40 single ...

song " Takin' Care of Business" for Mersereau's follow-up hardcover book, ''The Top 100 Canadian Singles''. * In 2012, a previously unpublished

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

concert review of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

performing at

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

on July 15, 1972, which was written by Morgan "the very next day in the heat of the moment", was published in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

in the limited edition hardcover book ''Rolling Stones em Portugal''. Morgan's review was illustrated with a previously unpublished photograph of the Stones playing

Cobo Hall Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Washi ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, taken by Robert Matheu the night before on July 14, 1972. * In 2013, Morgan wrote a feature review of the first Rush album ''Rush'' for Voyageur's hardcover book ''Rush: The Illustrated History''. * In 2014, Morgan wrote the liner notes for the album ''Wicked'' by the 24th Street Wailers.Liner Notes by Jeffrey Morgan
/ref> * Also in 2014, Morgan was interviewed by

Punk Globe ''Punk Globe'', is a punk fanzine and online magazine started by Ginger Coyote in July 1977. It was originally distributed on photocopied pages folded together. After its first anniversary, Chris Coyle, manager for SVT, a San Francisco–ba ...

Magazine about his writing and photography Rock Writer And Biographer The One And Only: JEFFREY MORGAN
/ref> * In 2015, Morgan was interviewed by North Toronto Post magazine about his student days at Northern Secondary including his tenure as Student Council President, his rock photography, and his career as a rock critic and biographer. * In 2017, Morgan was interviewed by Hard Rock Daddy's ''Inferno of Rock Report'' about his career as a rock critic and photographer.'CREEM' OF THE CROP – JEFFREY MORGAN
/ref>

2020s

* In 2020, Morgan wrote the introduction "Call Me Crazy" for the hardcover book ''Headquartered: A Timeline of The Monkees Solo Years''. * Also in 2020, Morgan signed with New Haven Publishing Ltd. in the United Kingdom to write his memoirs. * In 2021, New Haven published Morgan's autobiography ''Rock Critic Confidential'' as a hardcover coffee table book containing over fifty years of Morgan's writing and photography. * In 2022, New Haven published the second volume of Morgan's autobiography ''Alice Cooper Confidential''.

Alice Cooper

In 1992, Morgan began writing the authorized biography of

, which would take him seven years to complete. His finished biography, titled ''Alcohol and Razor Blades, Poison and Needles: The Glorious Wretched Excess of Alice Cooper, All-American'', appears in the box set ''

The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper ''The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper'' (1999) is a 4-CD box set by Alice Cooper. It includes select tracks from every studio album released until then, plus many B-sides, unreleased songs, and other rarities. It also includes Alice Cooper's auth ...

'' which was published by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

on April 20, 1999. * Morgan also wrote the liner notes for two other Cooper albums: 2001’s '' Mascara and Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper'' and the 2002 reissue of '' Welcome To My Nightmare''. * In 2003, the ''International Journal of Academic Psychiatry'' cited Morgan’s authorized biography in their paper "From Alice Cooper to Marilyn Manson: The Significance of Adolescent Antiheroes". * In 2011, the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

further cited Morgan’s authorized biography as "Recommended Reading" about Alice Cooper, alongside Alice’s own 1976 autobiography ''Me, Alice''. * In 2012, Morgan appeared with Cooper and record producer

Bob Ezrin Robert Alan Ezrin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian music producer and keyboardist, best known for his work with Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, Andrea Bocelli and Phish. As of 2010, Ezrin' ...

on the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

radio documentary ''The Bizarre and Influential World of Alice Cooper''. * In 2021, Cooper wrote the afterword to Morgan's autobiography ''Rock Critic Confidential'' which was published by New Haven on June 28, 2021. * In 2022, Alice Cooper Group bass guitarist

Dennis Dunaway Dennis Dunaway (born December 9, 1946, in Cottage Grove, Oregon) is an American musician, best known as the original bass guitarist for the rock band Alice Cooper (1962–1975, 1999, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021). He co-wrote some of the b ...

wrote the afterword to the second volume of Morgan's autobiography ''Alice Cooper Confidential'' which was published by New Haven on September 15, 2022.

The Stooges

In 2008, Morgan and collaborator Robert Matheu began co-writing the authorized biography of

. Their finished biography, titled ''The Stooges, Yes'' appears in ''The Stooges: The Authorized and Illustrated Story'' which was edited by Morgan and published in hardcover by

Abrams Abrams may refer to: * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname * '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war * M1 Abrams, main battle tank * Abrams, W ...

on October 1, 2009. * After reading the biography,

wrote Morgan: "Jeffrey, you're a smartass--watch it!"

Photography

In 1974,

's weekly newspaper ''

'' published Morgan's photographs of

and

. In 2013, Morgan exhibited both photos on his website. * In 1975, Morgan's first appearance in ''Creem'' was as a

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

with a 1974

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...

and

singing "Goodnight Ladies" together on stage at

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. An intimate theatre, it was originally designed to seat ...

, which Lester Bangs used to illustrate his infamous March 1975 cover story '' Let Us Now Praise Famous Death Dwarves''. In 2013, Morgan exhibited a second portrait from this concert on his website. * Also in 1975, Morgan's portrait of

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

artist Barry Smith was published in

Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " ...

's magazine ''Mediascene''. * Between 1975 and 1978, Concert Productions International published many of Morgan's photographs in their rock magazines, often without credit, including portraits of Bowie, Reed, and

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

. * In May 1978, ''Creem'' published Morgan's portrait of

Amanda Lear Amanda Lear (; born 1939) is a French singer, songwriter, painter, television presenter, actress, and former model. She began her professional career as a fashion model in the mid-1960s, and went on to model for Paco Rabanne, Ossie Clark, and ...

. In 2013, Morgan exhibited the photo on his website. * Also in 1978, Morgan received a Photography

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom *Castle Grant United States * Grant, Alabama *Grant, Inyo County, C ...

from the

Ontario Arts Council The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) is a publicly-funded Canadian organization in the province of Ontario whose purpose is to foster the creation and production of art for the benefit of all Ontarians. Based in Toronto, OAC was founded in 1963 by O ...

for a portfolio of work done at York while studying with photographer Shin Sugino. * In 1988, author Nancy Baker commissioned Morgan to photograph her for the June 1988 issue of ''

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ' ...

's The Twilight Zone Magazine''. In 2012, Morgan's portrait was used as the backdrop for Baker's appearance at the

World Fantasy Convention The World Fantasy Convention is an annual science fiction convention, convention of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of fantasy. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the event. Other features include an art sh ...

. * In 2020, Reelin' In The Years Productions became the authorized representatives of Morgan's photographic archive to license it worldwide. * In 2021, Morgan's photograph of Lou Reed and Alice Cooper on stage at Massey Hall was printed in ''That Night At Massey Hall''. * Also in 2021, New Haven published Morgan's autobiography ''Rock Critic Confidential'' as a hardcover coffee table book containing over fifty years of Morgan's writing and photography.

Comics

In 1966, Morgan's second published writing appeared when

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

printed Morgan's letter in the

letters section of

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

#182. * Later that decade, Morgan began writing numerous letters to the Marvel Comics Group, many of which were printed during the early 1970s in the letters section of such Marvel comics as ''

Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover dated Nov. 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first ...

'' #95, ''

The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a bim ...

'' #82, ''

Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos ''Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos'' was a comic book series created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics from 1963 to 1981. The main character, Sgt. Nick Fury, later became the leader of Marvel's super-spy agency, S.H.I.E. ...

'' #78, '' The Avengers'' #73 and ''

Conan the Barbarian Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and '' Conan the Destroyer'') ...

'' #5. More often than not, whenever one of Morgan's letters wasn't published, he received a compensatory Marvel

No-Prize The Marvel No-Prize is a fake or satirical award given out by Marvel Comics to readers. Originally for those who spotted continuity errors in the comics, the current "No-Prizes" are given out for charitable works or other types of "meritorious ser ...

in the mail. * It was during this second letter writing phase that Morgan’s first known piece of

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming or e ...

writing was published. In the letters section of ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' #122, he had two consecutive letters printed: the first under his own name and home address and, directly beneath it, a second separately-sent letter from "Toronto, Ontario" which he'd signed with the name of deceased villain

Baron Zemo Baron Zemo () is the name of two supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Heinrich Zemo and his son Helmut Zemo have both been depicted as a major adversary of Captain America and the Avengers, as well as t ...

. In it, "Zemo" implored Marvel writer/editor

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

against resurrecting Cap’s former

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

teen partner

Bucky Barnes James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally introduced as a sidekick to Captain America, the character was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and first appeared ...

in favor of himself: "I’m begging you, Stan--keep the kid dead and let me return!" Lee, who had met Morgan eighteen months earlier in Toronto, wrote the following editorial reply: "Sooo! The infamous Baron Zemo is alive and well in Toronto, ehhh? (TORONTO?!?)". * Over the next few years, Morgan’s style of comic book letter writing would become so distinctive that the iconoclastic American humor magazine National Lampoon parodied his letter writing style in their "Is Nothing Sacred?" issue (January 1972). In the Marvel pastiche ''Son-O’-God Comics'' which was written by Canadian associate editor

Michel Choquette Michel Choquette (born March 14, 1938) is a Canadian humorist who has written for print, for television and for film, and a comedian who has performed for television. Life and career Choquette was born March 14, 1938, in Montreal, Quebec to a Fre ...

, the first letter in the fake letters section at the end of the story was attributed to having been written by "Stan Spooner, Toronto, Canada". This parody letter accurately spoofed Morgan’s writing style in tone and spirit, right down to its similar use of a spiritual closing salutation (Morgan:

Pacem in Terris ''Pacem in terris'' () was a papal encyclical issued by Pope John XXIII on 11 April 1963 on the rights and obligations of individuals and of the state, as well as the proper relations between states. It emphasized human dignity and equality a ...

; Spooner: Yours in Christ). * In 1973, Morgan began writing letters to ''Creem'', which led to his hiring, a year later, by Lester Bangs. * One of Morgan's first instances as a

writer appeared in issue #16 (April 1979) of the

alternative press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

series ''

Star*Reach ''Star Reach'' (also spelled ''Star*Reach'') was an American science fiction and fantasy comics anthology published from 1974 to 1979 by Mike Friedrich Mike Friedrich (; born March 27, 1949) is an American comic book writer and publisher be ...

''. His 16-page

cover story Cover story or Cover Story may refer to: * A magazine or newspaper article whose subject appears on that issue's front cover, and may be profiled in depth. * A fictitious explanation intended to hide one's real motive; see disinformation, cover-u ...

, ''Murphy’s Law'', was illustrated by

Ken Steacy Ken Steacy (born January 8, 1955) is a Canadian comics artist and writer best known for his work on the NOW Comics comic book series of ''Astro Boy'' and of the Comico comic series of '' Jonny Quest'', as well as his graphic novel collaborations ...

''Mister X''

* In November 1988, Morgan was hired to write volume two of

Dean Motter Dean Motter is an illustrator, designer and writer who has worked for many years in Canada (Toronto) and the United States (New York City and Atlanta). He is best known for his album cover designs, two of which won Juno Awards. He is also the crea ...

Vortex Comics Vortex Comics is a Canadian independent comic book publisher that began operation in 1982. Under the supervision of president, publisher, and editor Bill Marks, Vortex was known for such titles as Dean Motter's ''Mister X (Vortex), Mister X'', How ...

series '' Mister X'', the first volume of which ran 12 issues cover-dated June 1984 to August 1988. When Motter left the first, color series to work on other projects, he asked Morgan to assume the writing duties for a second, black-and-white volume, which ran 12 issues cover-dated April 1989 to March 1990.Grand Comics Database
''Mister X'' - Volume 2, Number 1 (April 1989) * In 2008, again at Motter's behest, Morgan wrote 'Motivation By Obsession: The Architect + The Archetype' as the introduction to Volume One of

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

' hardcover omnibus ''Mister X: The Archives''. * In 2011, Dark Horse reprinted Morgan's ''Mister X'' stories in a 320-page deluxe hardcover edition titled ''The Brides of Mister X and Other Stories''. * In 2013, Schreiber & Leser reprinted Morgan's ''Mister X'' introduction as 'Motivation Durch Obsession: Der Architekt + Der Archetyp' in their German language edition of ''Mister X: The Archives'' * In 2018, Cosmo Comics reprinted Morgan's ''Mister X'' introduction as 'Motivato Dall'Ossessioneion: L'Architetto + L'Archetipo' in their Italian language edition of ''Mister X: The Archives'' * In 2019,

magazine said "Mister X is one of the greats: the speed-addicted, sleepless, sunglasses wearing architect of the insanity-inducing Radiant City. A high-contrast blend of Art Deco design, noir accents and flying cars, ''Mister X'' remains a high point of retro-futurist comic coolness and is one of the 50 best non-superhero graphic novels" and provided a link to Morgan's graphic novel.

Music

In 1975, Morgan met conceptual illustrator and graphic designer

, with whom he would collaborate on a number of projects. Between 1977 and 1980, they recorded an "ambient electronic avant-garde progressive art rock album" called ''Thrilling Women'' under the collective band name of the Air Pirates, in tribute to the original

Air Pirates The Air Pirates were a group of cartoonists who created two issues of an underground comic called ''Air Pirates Funnies'' in 1971, leading to a famous lawsuit by Walt Disney Productions. Founded by Dan O'Neill, the group also included Bobby Lo ...

. The album featured vocalist Paul Robinson of

The Diodes The Diodes are a Canadian punk rock band formed in 1976 in Toronto. They released five albums: ''Diodes'' (1977), ''Released'' (1979), ''Action-Reaction'' (1980), ''Survivors'' (1982), and ''Time/Damage Live 1978'' (2010). They were one of the ...

, guitarist Toby Swann of Battered Wives, and saxophonist Andy Haas of

Martha And The Muffins Martha and the Muffins are a Canadian rock band, active from 1977 to the present. Although they only had one major international hit single " Echo Beach" under their original band name, they had a number of hits in their native Canada, and th ...

. * In 2002, a song from the album, "A Darkened Stretch", was released by Bongo Beat Records on the compilation ''Driving In The Rain: 3AM (Songs To Get Lost With)''. * In 2011, Bongo Beat released the complete album ''Thrilling Women: The Lost Air Pirates Sessions - Toronto: 1977 - 1980'' as a

music download A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...

.''Thrilling Women: The Lost Air Pirates Sessions – Toronto: 1977 – 1980''
/ref> * In 2022, Bongo Beat will release the album as a physical

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...

with a 24-page booklet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Jeffrey Living people Rock critics Canadian biographers Canadian male non-fiction writers Male biographers Canadian satirists Canadian music critics Canadian magazine editors Canadian comics writers Canadian graphic novelists Canadian male novelists Year of birth missing (living people)