Ruth Mary "Ruthie" Morris (born March 5, 1964) is the guitarist for the rock band

Magnapop Magnapop is an American rock band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 1989, the band has consistently included songwriting duo Linda Hopper as vocalist and Ruthie Morris on guitar. Magnapop first achieved recognition in the Benelux countries o ...

. Her

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, an ...

guitar style helped to define the band's sound and she has co-written their minor hit singles " Slowly, Slowly" and " Open the Door".

History

Morris is originally from

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

, Florida and began playing music there as a member of The Pockets after first learning guitar at the age of 20. In 1989, she transplanted herself to

East Atlanta East Atlanta is a neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta, Georgia, United States The name East Atlanta Village primarily refers to the neighborhood's commercial district. Geography East Atlanta lies entirely within DeKalb County and is boun ...

, where she met

Linda Hopper Linda Elizabeth Hopper is the vocalist for the Atlanta, Georgia-based rock group Magnapop. Her pop punk/power pop vocal style helped to define the band's sound and she has co-written their minor hit singles " Slowly, Slowly" and " Open the Door" ...

—a member of the

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the ...

music scene in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The two became friends and began writing songs together, forming the core of Magnapop. Magnapop went on to record four

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s and three studio albums through the 1990s and released two minor hit

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

on the

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart—" Slowly, Slowly" and " Open the Door". The band also toured the music festival circuit and opened for major

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

acts such as

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternati ...

After the 1996 release of '' Rubbing Doesn't Help'', Magnapop found themselves dropped by their record label, and unable to record for seven years due to contractual obligations. In this time, Morris moved to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

. In 2004, she played with the one-off group The New Candidates with

Curtis Hall Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin from the Old French ''curteis'' ( Modern French ''courtois'') which derived from the Spanish Cortés (of which Cortez is a variation) and the Portuguese and Gal ...

and released the 7" single "I'm Coming Down"/"Set It on Fire" on Mt. Fuji Records, with recording and mixing by John Randolph; recording, mixing, vocals, and percussion by Mike Jaworski; and bass guitar by Ben Larson. Hopper, Morris, and a group of Seattle musicians also demoed some Hopper/Morris songs during this period. In 2005, Magnapop released their first album in nine years—''

Mouthfeel Mouthfeel refers to the physical sensations in the mouth caused by food or drink, making it distinct from taste. It is a fundamental sensory attribute which, along with taste and smell, determines the overall flavor of a food item. Mouthfeel ...

''—on

Amy Ray Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemo ...

Daemon Records Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemo ...

. The re-formed group toured to support the record throughout the United States and the festival circuit in Europe and has continued to perform and record through 2010. The self-released album '' Chase Park'' was made available in late 2009. In the 2009 Georgia floods, Morris lost much of her musical equipment, Magnapop memorabilia, and the first Compact Disc pressing of '' Chase Park''. Atlanta musicians—including former Magnapop bandmate Tim Lee and

—threw a

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

to assist her in replacing her losses on December 15, 2009. In 1993, Juliana Hatfield wrote "Ruthless" in honor of Morris after the two had a conversation about

Camille Paglia Camille Anna Paglia (; born April 2, 1947) is an American feminist academic and social critic. Paglia has been a professor at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since 1984. She is critical of many aspects of modern cultu ...

while touring in 1992 ("We're all gushin', but I swear we really mean it, man/We're all sucking up to Ruthie.") It appeared as a B-side on the Juliana Hatfield Three singles "

Spin the Bottle Spin the bottle is a kissing party game commonly played by teenagers. The game was very popular among teenagers during the second half of the 20th century because it fostered "sexual" interactions between boys and girls. It has even been describe ...

" and " My Sister".

Musical style

Morris is known for her particularly aggressive guitar-playing and its interaction with Linda Hopper's pop-influenced vocals. Critics have compared her style to punk acts like

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

as well as softer

musicians such as

Johnny Marr Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English musician, songwriter and singer. He first achieved fame as the guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. He has since performed with numerou ...

Discography

Morris' non-Magnapop releases include: * Holy Gang – "Free Tyson Free!" from the album ''Free Tyson Free!'' (1994) :

Sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

guitar *New Candidates – "I'm Coming Down"/"Set It on Fire" (2004) :Guitar, songwriting, and vocals

References

External links

Magnapop homepage
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Ruthie 1964 births Alternative rock guitarists Alternative rock singers American alternative rock musicians American punk rock guitarists American rock songwriters American women rock singers Lead guitarists Living people Magnapop members Musicians from Atlanta Singers from Florida Musicians from Seattle People from Decatur, Georgia People from West Palm Beach, Florida Resonator guitarists Songwriters from Florida Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Songwriters from Washington (state) 20th-century American women guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American women guitarists 21st-century American guitarists Singers from Georgia (U.S. state) Singers from Washington (state) Guitarists from Florida Guitarists from Georgia (U.S. state) Guitarists from Washington (state) 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Women punk rock singers

History

Musical style

Discography

See also

References

External links