She is undeniably one of the most eloquently emotive vocalists of modern times.
Lorrie Morgan, the first woman in her genre to begin her career with three consecutive Platinum albums, recently completed a new album with award-winning producer Richard Landis. Sadly, it is the final producing credit of Landis’ illustrious career, as he passed in 2023 prior to the completion of the album. Dead Girl Walking (Cleopatra Records) is sure to be yet another collection showcasing the rainbow of emotions, from darkest heartache to bright, shiny humor, that is the hallmark of Morgan’s range. The album is set for release in 2024.
"Where I am in my life right now, I'm not afraid to express what I feel," she says. “I'm not afraid to express my views on anything, especially on being a woman and my experiences in this business and in life.”
She has been a daughter, a bride, a mother, a divorcee, a widow, a single mother, a breadwinner and, ultimately, a survivor. In many ways, Lorrie is a living, breathing country song, and she knows what she sings.
"I didn't want to just do another album. I want it to be something that really moves me. When I listened to songs for it, I'd think, 'No, not that one. I'm not going to be able to sing that one, because I'm not going to be able to feel it.' It is very important to me for this album to reflect the things that I am feeling today."
Morgan is known for her lustrous vocal phrasing and the down-to-earth believability of her torchy performances. On records such as “A Picture of Me Without You" and "I Guess You Had to Be There," the ache is palpable. She is feisty and sassy on "Watch Me," "What Part of No" "Five Minutes" and "I Didn't Know My Own Strength." She has kicked up her stiletto heels in fun on her hits "Except for Monday" and "Go Away." On her epic "Something in Red" she is an honest, struggling everywoman.
In addition to the project with Landis, Lorrie is excited to be co-writing a second project in collaboration with Larry Gatlin.
She is a peerless song interpreter, drawing from a deep personal well that spans enormous tenderness to cheeky hutzpah. Whether covering a classic or sharing one of her own songs, Morgan is truly a song stylist in the grandest tradition.
"I have always been a songwriter and I do love to write," she comments. "But I’m only comfortable co-writing with a few people, and I don’t like appointment writing at all. Plus, I'm not one of those people who says, 'If I didn't write it, I'm not going to record it.' If somebody else's song is better, I'm going to record it and not my own."
Lorrie Morgan has been around great songs all her life. She is a Nashville native who is the daughter of Country Music Hall of Fame member George Morgan. She made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage at age 13, singing "Paper Roses." Her father died suddenly of a heart attack at age 51. She was l6 at the time and just beginning her musical career. Lorrie Morgan began making her own records shortly thereafter and was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry at just 24 years old.
Morgan married fellow country singer Keith Whitley in 1986. She was signed to RCA Records in 1987, and her onslaught of hits began the following year. Whitley's tragic death of an alcohol overdose in 1989 left her a widowed working mother. Their duet "Til a Tear Becomes a Rose" earned her a 1990 CMA award.
Her first three albums, Leave the Light On (1989), Something in Red (1991) and Watch Me (1992), all earned Platinum Record awards. Her Greatest Hits collection (1999) is also Platinum. War Paint (1994), Greater Need (1996) and Shakin' Things Up (1997) are all Gold Record winners.
She sang "The Sad Cafe" on Common Threads: Songs of the Eagles, which was named the CMA Album of the Year in 1994. Country fans voted Lorrie Morgan their TNN/Music City News Female Vocalist of the Year in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998.
Lorrie Morgan maintained her recording pace in the new millennium, releasing collections in 2002, 2004, 2009 and 2010. In 2012 and 2013, Morgan starred and sparkled in the lavish Enchanted Christmas productions at the opulent Opryland Resort in Nashville. She took that show on the road in 2014.
Morgan has recorded in collaboration with her father, as well as Whitley, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis, Tammy Wynette, The Beach Boys, Dolly Parton, Andy Williams, the New World Philharmonic, and Pam Tillis. She has toured with George Jones and shared a stage with Jerry Lee Lewis, newly inducted into the Country Music Hall Fame along with Whitley.
“My children and I are thrilled to see Keith’s name added to the list of stars who’ve earned their place in the Country Music Hall of Fame,” she says. “It is a well-deserved honor, though Keith himself would’ve been painfully humbled. I am happy for his family and the many, many fans who continue to point to Keith as one of the all-time greats.”
In 2013, Morgan first teamed with fellow Opry star Pam Tillis, daughter of Country Music Hall of Famer Mel Tillis. for the duet CD Dos Divas. The two hit makers then embarked on a joint tour that sold out every appearance in its initial two-year run. The stars continue to perform their collaborative Grits & Glamour shows, as schedules allow. The women connected as working mothers, as businesswomen, and as second-generation performers. They share an understanding, and a finely honed, if occasionally bawdy, sense of humor.
On the outside, Lorrie is very lighthearted. Still, on the inside, she carries a lot of pain. Singing is her therapy, she has said.
"My dad used to say, 'You should never take yourself too seriously,' and I got my sense of humor from my dad. I love to have fun. I've reached the age where I feel that I deserve good company around me, people who can make me laugh, who love music and who love to have a good time.”