Michael Robert Morgan (born November 30, 1959 in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

) is an American

and

electric blues Electric blues refers to any type of blues music distinguished by the use of electric amplifier, amplification for musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneers T-Bone Walker in the ...

musician. He has released 14

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

s to date, on various

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

s including

Rounder Rounder(s) or The Rounder(s) may refer to: Film and television * ''The Rounders'' (1914 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounder'' (1930 film), a comedy short * ''The Rounders'' (1965 film), a western comedy * ''Rounders'' (film), a 1998 poker f ...

, Black Top and

Severn Records Severn Records is an American independent record label that concentrates on blues music. Its motto is "Roots Music for the 21st Century". History On July 11, 1997, a company named Echo Records was incorporated in Maryland by David Earl. By the t ...

. The majority of his releases have featured his long standing backing band, The Crawl. Morgan has played alongside

Darrell Nulisch Darrell Nulisch (born September 14, 1952, Dallas, Texas) is an American electric blues singer and harmonica player. Prior to his solo career, he was a member of Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets and The Broadcasters. Nulisch's repertoire inco ...

Lee McBee Lee McBee (March 23, 1951 – June 24, 2014) was an American electric blues musician, singer and harmonica player from Kansas City, Missouri. Though he was primarily a regional blues act in the midwest, McBee gained national attention in the lat ...

Gary Primich Gary Primich (April 20, 1958 – September 23, 2007) was an American blues harmonica player, singer, guitarist and songwriter. He is best known for his 1995 album, ''Mr. Freeze''. Biography Gary Alan Primich was born in Chicago, Illinois, b ...

, and

Randy McAllister Randy McAllister is an American blues and Americana drummer, harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was nominated for a Grammy Award for his 2002 album, ''Givers and Takers''. ''Living Blues'' noted that McAllister is a "first rate drumme ...

Biography

Morgan was born in Dallas, but grew up in

Hillsboro, Texas Hillsboro is a city in and the county seat of Hill County, Texas, Hill County, Texas, United States. The population was 8,221 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Hillsboro was named for Hill County. At one point during Bon ...

. He received his first guitar at an early age, and initially concentrated on playing

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

. In 1985 he converted to blues and blues-rock, before relocating back to Dallas in 1986. There he met

, who both were founding members of The Crawl. The

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

was named for a

Lonnie Brooks Lonnie Brooks (born Lee Baker Jr., December 18, 1933 – April 1, 2017) was an American blues singer and guitarist. The musicologist Robert Palmer, writing in ''Rolling Stone'', stated, "His music is witty, soulful and ferociously energetic, br ...

song. Mike Morgan and the Crawl earned a reputation playing around Dallas and the

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

area, before Nulisch left them in 1989, to be replaced by the singer and

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

player,

. Following a performance at the

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...

, their debut 1990

, ''Raw & Ready'', saw them undertake national and international tours. Further albums including ''Full Moon Over Dallas'', and ''Ain't Worried No More'' ensued, before Morgan recorded without his backing group on ''Let The Dogs Run'' (1994) with Jim Suhler. In 1994 Mike Morgan and the Crawl appeared on the bill at the

Notodden Blues Festival Notodden Blues Festival (NBF) is one of the largest blues music festivals in Europe and the largest in Scandinavia. The festival is held in Notodden, Norway, usually in early August. It has been running annually since 1988. The festival does not ...

. Later group releases included their Black Top swansong, ''I Like the Way You Work It'', but at the end of the 1990s McBee left the band. Buoyed by the experience of playing behind Nulisch, Keith Dunn, and Chris Whynaught, 2000's ''Texas Man'' saw Morgan's vocalist debut. ''Live in Dallas'' (2004) followed before Morgan's latest effort, ''Stronger Every Day'', released in March 2008, included further accompaniment from McBee and

. Recent activity has seen a reduction in touring, and Morgan working as a sales manager in a

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a suburban city located east of the city of Dallas, Texas, in the United States. Most of the city is located in Dallas County, though a small portion extends into Kaufman County. As of 2019 census estimates, the population was 140 ...

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...

dealership.

Discography

*''Raw & Ready'' (1990) - Black Top *''Mighty Fine Dancin (1991) - Black Top *''Full Moon over Dallas'' (1992) - Black Top *''Ain't Worried No More'' (1994) - Black Top *''Let the Dogs Run'' (1994) - Black Top *''Looky Here!'' (1996) - Black Top *''Lowdown & Evil'' (1997) - Zensor *''The Road'' (1998) - Black Top *''I Like the Way You Work It'' (1999) - Black Top *''Texas Man'' (2000) - Severn Records *''Live in Dallas'' (2004) - Severn Records *''Free Ourselves'' (2005) - Mike Morgan *''Stronger Every Day'' (2008) -

*''The Lights Went Out in Dallas'' (2022) - M.C. Records

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Mike 1959 births Living people American blues guitarists American male guitarists American blues singers American male singers Songwriters from Texas American blues harmonica players Harmonica blues musicians Electric blues musicians Musicians from Dallas Texas blues musicians Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists People from Hillsboro, Texas 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters

Biography

Discography

See also

References

External links