Robert E. "Rob" Morsberger (August 9, 1959 – June 2, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and classically trained composer. As a sideman/arranger, his credits include Patti Smith, the Grammy-winning

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

soundtrack album,

My Morning Jacket My Morning Jacket is an American rock band formed in Louisville, Kentucky in 1998. The band consists of vocalist/guitarist Jim James, bassist Tom Blankenship, drummer Patrick Hallahan, guitarist Carl Broemel, and keyboardist Bo Koster. The ba ...

, Crash Test Dummies,

Marshall Crenshaw Marshall Howard Crenshaw (born November 11, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for hit songs such as " Someday, Someway," a US top 40 hit in 1982, " Cynical Girl," and "Whenever You're on My Mind." He i ...

, Willie Nile,

Jules Shear Jules Mark Shear (born March 7, 1952) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He wrote the Cyndi Lauper hit single " All Through the Night" and The Bangles' hit "If She Knew What She Wants", and charted a hit as a performer with "Stead ...

, Loudon Wainwright III, and more.

Personal life

Morsberger was born in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, raised in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, England and studied composition at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He composed music for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

programs including Masterpiece Theatre,

NOVA A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

and

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

. He was composer for the award-winning PBS series NOVAscienceNOW for its first five seasons. Morsberger was diagnosed with grade 4 Glioblastoma in September 2011. After he was diagnosed with brain cancer he concentrated solely on his own career, including the 2012 albums ''A Part of You'' and '' Midnight Garden'', the latter being a collaboration with his friend

Brad Roberts Bradley Kenneth Roberts (born January 10, 1964) is the lead singer and guitarist for the Canadian folk-rock band Crash Test Dummies. He sings in the bass-baritone range. The band is best known internationally for their 1993 album God Shuff ...

of the Crash Test Dummies. He had been working on a documentary about living with terminal brain cancer.

Death

He died on June 2, 2013, at age 53. Prior to his death, he lived with his family in the

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

, just north of New York City.

Discography

Solo

* ''A Periodic Rush of Waves'' (2006) * ''The End of Physics'' (2008) * ''Relativity Blues'' (2008) * ''The Chronicle of A Literal Man'' (2010) * ''Ghosts Before Breakfast'' (2011) * ''A Part of You'' (2012) * ''A Gesture and a Word'' (2013)

Collaborations

* '' Midnight Garden'' (with

)(2012)

References

External links

* *
List of reviews
at robmorsberger.com 1959 births 2013 deaths Singer-songwriters from Ohio Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Deaths from brain cancer in the United States {{singer-songwriter-stub