Background information
Birth name:Lena Corinne Taylor
Born:
November 30, 1897 (1897-11-30)
Origin:
Cove, Oregon
Died:
December 16, 1954 (aged 57)
Genre(s):
Jazz, Blues
Occupation(s):
Singer, Actress
Instrument(s):
vocals, guitar
Years active:
1923-1953
Label(s): Pathe, Perfect, Columbia
She was 5 feet tall. She was less than 100 lbs "soaking wet". She spent her childhood in Oregon and Idaho yet was proud of her family's Southern roots. She could hunt and fish and, if you deserved it, she could punch your lights out! She was Lee Morse, one of the most popular female recording artists during the Jazz Age 20's and 30's.
And, she is worth remembering.
~Ian House
LEE MORSE: Echoes of a Songbird
curated content from Flickr
Biography
Birth and Family Background
Morse was born Lena Corinne Taylor in Portland, Oregon, the ninth of twelve children (and the third daughter) born to Pleasant John Taylor, a local pastor, and his wife, the former Olive Higgins Fleming. The Taylor family was a musical one and, prior to Lena's birth, had toured around Idaho by covered wagon under the name of the Taylor Family Concert Company. Young Lena spent her early years in the small town of Kooskia, Idaho. She reputedly learned to sing around the time she was three years old by impersonating her brothers' voices, which may account for her later ability to master deeper registers in her vocal rage.The Taylor family moved in 1908 to Clearwater Valley, a town three miles east of Kooskia, Idaho. During this time, Lena Taylor would often be heard singing on her way to and from school.
First marriage and early career
Vaudeville
Lee Morse's family was involved in politics as well as music. In 1920 her father was elected as a delegate to the Democratic Convention. Morse accompanied her father to San Francisco and, while there, performed in a convention at the Hotel St. Francis. As a result, she was noticed by Will King, a famous vaudeville producer of the day, who subsequently signed her to a contract.Morse seized the opportunity for a career in the vaudeville of the West Coast, she left Kooskia - and her husband Elmer - behind for good. Her brother Glen would later observed "she left home when we were barefoot and had the best suite in a Portland hotel when I saw her again."
In 1921, Morse began working in musical revues under Kolb and Dill. In 1922, she joined the Pantages circuit with a 15-minute act titled Do You Remember One Small Girl a Whole Quartet. One reviewer observed "she sings a baritone 'Silver Moon,' then swings into a bass with 'Asleep in the Deep' and finishes in a soprano with 'Just a Song of Twilight.'" In November 1922 the reviewer for Variety noted "She gives the impression of a male impersonator, yodels rather sweetly, sings the 'blues' number better than the majority."
Hitchy Koo and Artists and Models
In 1923, Morse won a role in the touring version of the revue Hitchy Koo. The cast included star Raymond Hitchcock, as well as Marion Green, Irene Delroy, Al Sexton, Busby Berkeley, and Ruth Urban.Her next performed in the Schubert revue Artists and Models, which opened on Broadway on August 20, 1923.
First recordings
In 1924, Morse began her recording career with a contract with the Pathé label. During this era of acoustic recording, the power of her voice was essential to the success of her recordings. Also during this time, she was given the opportunity to record many of her own compositions. Among her notable recordings from this period are "Telling Eyes," "Those Daisy Days," "An Old-Fashioned Romance" ( which she re-recorded for Columbia in 1927), "Blue Waltz", "The Shadows on the Wall," "Deep Wide Ocean Blues," "A Little Love," and "Daddy's Girl."Pathé gave Morse the opportunity to indulge in a level of experimentation, not only by recording her own songs, but also through the opportunity to explore the limits of her vocal abilities. Prevalent on these early recordings are her characteristic whoops and yodels. Although dismissed by some as a gimmick, these techniques added a personality to her voice and enabled her to fully demonstrate her multi-octave range.
Divorce
Morse retained custody of Jack after her divorce from her husband. The photo belies the general belief that Morse's relationship with her son was often a strained one.Lee Morse's success as an entertainer took its toll on her personal life. Her husband, Elmer Morse, had created a home for her complete with furnishings he'd built himself. On February 18, 1925 he filed for divorce on the grounds of desertion and abandonment. Although she had deserted her husband and child five years earlier, Morse was able to keep custody of their son Jack. Sadly, in October 1926, Elmer Morse died of scarlet fever in Spokane at the young age of 35.
Lee Morse with her son Jack, c.1924.
Columbia and Simple Simon
In 1927, along with other prominent artists of her era, Morse moved to the Columbia Columbia label. From 1927 to 1932, she was one of the label's most popular female performers, second only to Ruth Etting. Morse continued to do vaudeville and other stage work during this time, landing a role in Ziegfeld's Simple Simon that may have made her an even bigger star. Sadly, her alcoholism left her ill and unable to perform a mere 24 hours before the show's Broadway debut on February 18, 1930. Minus their star, the producers asked Ruth Etting to step up in the eleventh hour to fill Morse's shoes. As a result, the show's memorable "Ten Cents a Dance" became Etting's signature while Morse's once promising Broadway career abruptly ended. Second marriage
In the mid-1920s, Morse met pianist Bob Downey. He became her accompanist on stage and companion in life. They subsequently lived together as a couple, although whether or not they were ever actually married remains questionable. She and Downey eventually opened a small club in Texas, which they operated until it burned down in 1939. Later they resettled in Rochester, New York. Downey eventually left Morse for a striptease dancer. This end to their relationship left Morse devastated and ever more dependent upon alcohol, which by the 1930s had become a constant companion. Three short films
Although Morse's Broadway prospects had dimmed by the 1930s, she could still be seen in a number of musical film shorts, including A Million Me's (Paramount, April 25, 1930), The Music Racket (Vitaphone, June 30, 1930), and Song Service (Paramount, October 24, 1930).Lee had always preferred stage audiences to small clubs, once commenting "I get nervous! I can't stand it! I want to scream!" However, as the business changed in the 1930s, she found herself taking club dates when stage gigs grew scarce. In fact, in the mid-1930s, she and then-partner Downey opened a small club in Texas. After the 1939 fire, they resettled in Rochester, New York, an area that had been kind to her over the years.
Lee Morse in A Million Me's,
the first of three one-reel
films she made in 1930.
curated content from YouTube
LEE MORSE in Song Service (Paramount -1930)
powered by Youtube
Lee Morse-The Music Racket-1930
powered by Youtube
Third marriage and final years
After her relationship with Bob Downey ended in the late 1930s, Morse weathered a rocky period that left those closest to her worried for her health. Life improved when she met Ray Farese, whom she married in 1946. Farese helped her revitalize her career by getting her a Rochester-based radio show and securing local club dates. She attempted a comeback with the song "Don't Even Change a Picture on the Wall," written in the 1940s for the World War II soldiers and finally recorded in 1951. Although the song enjoyed local success, it failed to launch her to the heights she had once enjoyed. Death and aftermath
Lee Morse died suddenly onDecember 16, 1954 while
visiting a neighbor.
She was only 57 years old.
After her death, her husband, Ray Farese, turned her photos and scrapbook over to Rochester-based journalist Howard Hosmer, who apparently produced a Morse career retrospective for a local station. Farese died before Hosmer could return Lee's mementos. Hosmer himself died in the 1960s or 1970s.
curated content from YouTube
Poll
Loading poll. Please Wait...
Music
![Echoes of a Songbird-50 Recordings from 1924-30 [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/5188WGdzOpL._SL160_.jpg)
Echoes of a Songbird-50 Recordings from 1924-30 [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED]
Amazon Price: $13.52 (as of 05/26/2012)
List Price: $19.99
Used Price: $18.02
A Musical Portrait: 1925-1951
Amazon Price: $11.46 (as of 05/26/2012)
List Price: $16.99
Used Price: $10.88
Links
- Lee Morse -Echoes of a Songbird
- The Home of Everything Lee Morse. This is a beautiful site and tribute to Lee Morse by Mr. Ian House.
- Lee Morse on Red Hot Jazz
- Lee Morse biography. A history of Jazz before 1930. This site contains over 1000 songs from this era in Real Audio 3 format, as well as hundreds of biographies and discographies of Jazz musicians.
- Lee Morse
- This site is dedicated to the life and career of the outstanding and very unique songwriter and vocalist, Miss Lee Morse. Here you will find photos, sound clips and links to resources for those who love the music of Lee Morse and her contemporaries.
- Lee Morse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Lee Morse From Wikipedia
- Lee Morse on Yahoo! Music
- A torchsong singer renowned for her versatility, Lee Morse's troubles with alcohol prevented from attaining the fame her talents promised. ...
- University of Idaho Library Digital Collections : Browse
- Morse, Lee, d. 1954, To Lee and Bob you are Two of the sweetest artist I have ever worked ... Lee Morse, Morse, Lee, d. 1954, Identical photo to LM.0022 ...
- Lee Morse (1897 - 1954) - Find A Grave Memorial
- Search Amazon for Lee Morse. Burial: Riverside Cemetery Rochester Monroe County New York, USA. Maintained by: Find A Grave Record added: Dec 29 2007 ...
- compiling a Lee Morse discography... - Dismuke's Message Board
- I've been trying to compile a comprehensive discography for Lee Morse. ... If you would like to help compile the Lee Morse Discography, please contact me ...
- Lee Morse (III)
- Lee Morse at the Internet Movie Database
- Lee Morse | IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information
- The official source for Broadway information, statistics, dates, cast, crew and creative staff credits, roles and related facts
- Lee Morse on FaceBook
Lee Morse Group
on Yahoo
Other Lenses of Interest...
by confetta
DON'T FORGET!
ADD ME, NKAY?
follow confetta at http://twitter.com
Get the ON THIS DAY IN JAZZ AGE MUSIC! widget and many other great free widgets...
more »
- 113 featured lenses
- Winner of 9 trophies!
- Top lens » The Flappers!
Feeling creative?
Create a Lens!
Explore related pages
- Renee Olstead - Actress and Singer Renee Olstead - Actress and Singer
- Joni Mitchell Joni Mitchell
- Ruth Etting Ruth Etting
- Bonnie Raitt, Musician Bonnie Raitt, Musician
- VOX MINI3 Modeling Guitar Amplifier VOX MINI3 Modeling Guitar Amplifier
- Melody Gardot | American Jazz Singer-Songwriter Melody Gardot | American Jazz Singer-Songwriter
