Jackie Morris
I was born in an attached row house on a busy street in Queens, New York. But whatever romance was lacking in that early world of brick, concrete and cars, was more than made up for in the stories my parents would tell me from their childhood -- stories of European castles, western rodeos and adventure-filled camping trips. And always, there was music: my father on harmonica, accordian or piano; my mother singing the songs of her youth. I guess it made an impression.
By the time I was 13, I started writing my own songs; parodies at first, then real songs at around 17. My childhood ukelele was replaced with a guitar; and by the time I got to college in upstate New York, I landed a weekend gig in a local bar. While I always loved the songs of Joan Baez and Bob Dylan, Lead Belly and Odetta, I seemed to find myself, most often, writing my own material.
I continued strumming my way through a Masters in English at NYU in the heart of Greenwich Village -- paradise! But in the years that followed, my energies turned towards a writing career, raising a family, and the emotional demands of marriage. I went to work as a copywriter - first writing book jackets in New York; then, writing advertising in Los Angeles. Ah, there’s no excuse for having stopped playing...but I did. For many years.
When I finally struck out on my own in 2000, moving to a small town near Santa Barbara, California, it was as if a floodgate had opened. The songs started pouring out again almost with a will of their own. I first included my favorities in, “Where the Legends Grow Like Weeds,” and more recently, in “Money to Burn.”
Many of these songs – in both albums – have grown from the seeds of real stories (“Louise” is, in fact, about my mother; while Online Dating reflects my own escapades in cyberspace; “Apache” is based on a true story about my friend and her horse; and “The Writing on the Wall” concerns the lesson I learned from my father’s narrow escape from the Holocaust). They are all rooted in a folk tradition, but reflect a patchwork of bluegrass, blues, and ballads; early rock, be-bop and contemporary acoustic music.
Despite the different stylings, however, each song shares a common ground -- my heart.
I hope you enjoy them .