Joyce Melissa Morgan (usually spelled Meli'sa; born December 6, 1964) is an American R&B/

Soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

singer–songwriter. Morgan had a string of

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

hits from the mid–1980s to the mid–1990s. Most notable include her

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

's "

Do Me, Baby "Do Me, Baby" is a 1981 ballad performed by Prince, from his fourth album, ''Controversy''. Although it was credited as being written by him, it is alleged to have been written by his former bassist and childhood friend André Cymone. It was rel ...

" (1985), "Do You Still Love Me" (1986) and "Still in Love with You" (1992).

Early life

Born in

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, Morgan got her start in the music industry while singing with a church

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

called the Starlets of Corona. Morgan cites Chaka Khan as a major influence.

Career

1982–1992

Her initial chart entry was as the lead singer of the dance group, Shades of Love. They had a single entry at #26 on '' Billboard'' magazine's

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

chart in 1982 with "Body to Body (Keep in Touch)." This was re-popularized in 1994 by new remixes and reached number 1 on the same chart. That same year, music entrepreneur Jacques Fred Petrus asked her to join his newly created studio group, High Fashion, that featured Morgan and two other New York vocalists, Eric McClinton and

Alyson Williams Alyson Williams (born May 11, 1962) is an R&B singer who had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some notable tracks include "Just Call My Name", "Sleep Talk", "My Love Is So Raw" and "I Need Your Lovin". Career The daugh ...

. High Fashion's sole hit, "Feelin' Lucky Lately," reached #32 on the US Black Singles chart. In 1983, Morgan left, and was replaced in the group by the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

vocalist, Marcella Allen. Morgan worked as a backing singer with Chaka Khan,

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...

, and

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...

. As a solo artist, she topped the R&B chart with her

's "

" for 3 weeks, (the title track from her debut album) which also became her only ''Billboard'' Hot 100 entry, peaking at number 46 in 1986. She also had a top 5 R&B single with "Do You Still Love Me" from her debut album. She had several solo hits on the US dance chart as well, including "Still in Love with You," which hit #3 in 1992. A verse from Morgan's 1986 single "Fool's Paradise" was re-vamped, with modified lyrics, by

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the " Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and " Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Award ...

as the chorus to the 1996 Jay-Z single " Can't Knock the Hustle."

2005–present

After a lengthy hiatus, Morgan released her fifth solo album, ''I Remember''. The first single, "Back Together Again", a song originally recorded by

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", " Feel Like Makin' Love", "Wher ...

and Donny Hathaway, received moderate airplay on

radio stations during early 2006 and peaked at number 46 on Billboard's R&B chart. The follow-up singles included "I Remember," "Will You?," and "High Maintenance" which were released in September 2006. New material by Meli'sa Morgan can be heard on a German release by Cool Million, which features Meli'sa Morgan on lead vocals on the opening track "Sweet Baby." In 2014, Morgan was honored with an Unsung Heroine Award by the National R&B Music Society at Resorts Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. Morgan was featured on an episode of TVOne's Unsung which aired in 2015.

Personal life

Morgan was married to playwright, writer, and director Shelly Garrett from 1993 until 1994.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Singles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Melisa 1964 births Living people American soul musicians American dance musicians Musicians from Queens, New York American soul singers American contemporary R&B singers African-American women singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women Singer-songwriters from New York (state)