Sterling Morrison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sterling Morrison | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Holmes Sterling Morrison Junior | |
| Born | August 28, 1942 East Meadow, New York, USA |
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| Died | August 30, 1995 (aged 53) Poughkeepsie, New York, USA |
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| Genre(s) | Rock Psychedelic Experimental Rock Protopunk Art Rock |
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| Instrument(s) | Guitar Bass Guitar |
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| Associated acts |
The Velvet Underground Nico |
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Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. (East Meadow, New York, August 28, 1942 – August 30, 1995 in Poughkeepsie, New York) was one of the founding members of influential rock group The Velvet Underground, playing lead, rhythm and bass guitar and singing backing vocals.
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[edit] Biography
Morrison majored in English at Syracuse University; it was here that he met Lou Reed, a fellow English student. Although the two jammed together, they drifted apart after Morrison quit his studies and Reed graduated in 1964. They met again in New York City in 1965. By this time, Reed had met John Cale and was interested in starting a band, so when they encountered Morrison, he was invited to join.
Morrison primarily played guitar on the band's first two albums, although when Cale — the band's nominal bassist — played viola or keyboards on a record, Morrison often filled in on bass. Other songs, however, (including "Heroin" and "Sister Ray") featured Reed and Morrison on guitars while Cale played viola or organ. Although Morrison was an accomplished bassist (witness his playing on "Sunday Morning" or "Lady Godiva's Operation"), he disliked playing the instrument.
After Cale left the group in 1968, Morrison always played guitar. There was no established "lead" or "rhythm" guitar hierarchy in the Velvet Underground: both Reed and Morrison traded roles regularly. Additionally, Morrison did backing vocals and the occasional lead vocal spot ("The Murder Mystery").
In 1970, when the band was back in New York City to play an entire summer's engagement at Max's Kansas City, Morrison seized the opportunity to complete his studies and graduate (from City College). In 1971 he was offered, and accepted, a position at the University of Texas at Austin, which meant leaving the band. He played his last gig with them on August 21 in Houston.
Sometime in the 1980s, Morrison left his academic career to become the captain of a Houston tugboat; he pursued this well into the 1980s. After leaving the Velvet Underground, Morrison's musical career was primarily limited to informal sessions for personal enjoyment, though he played in a few bands around Austin, Texas, most notably the Bizarros. Morrison's tenure in the capital of Texas made him a well-loved and admired member of the local music community as well as an influential voice. During John Cale's renaissance in the late 1970's, Sterling could be seen playing with his former bandmate on stages such as the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin. From the mid-Eighties on, however, he occasionally recorded or performed with Reed, Cale, and Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker, who had by then, started a solo career of her own. Morrison was part of her touring band for most of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In 1992, the core Velvet Underground line-up of Reed, Cale, Morrison and Tucker decided to reform for a tour and possible album. The band extensively toured Europe in 1993, alternatively as headline act or supporting U2. Morrison's playing held up well, and his performances were generally agreed to be top-notch. By the end of the tour, relationships had soured again and plans for a US tour and MTV Unplugged album were scrapped.
The European tour turned out to be the last for the Velvet Underground. Sterling joined Maureen Tucker's band for a tour in 1994, and later that year, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, from which he died on August 30, 1995, two days after his 53rd birthday. Upon their induction in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, Reed, Cale and Tucker performed a song entitled "Last Night I Said Goodbye to My Friend," which was dedicated to Morrison.
In March 2001, Sterling Morrison was remembered through a tribute set at the Austin Music Awards during the South by Southwest Festival. John Cale performed "Some Friends," a song he'd composed in Morrison's memory, with Alejandro Escovedo, who played "Tugboat," also written for Morrison. An SXSW panel on Sterling successfully convened that year, with Cale and others remembering their fallen friend. Morrison was also the subject of an oral history, Velvet Underdog, in the Austin Chronicle that year. The story featured quotes by John Cale, Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker, and other Morrison associates.
His surviving family includes his widow, Martha, and his son, Thomas, who reside in Poughkeepsie, New York.
[edit] Discography with the Velvet Underground
Only those titles featuring Morrison are listed. For a full discography, please see The Velvet Underground article.
[edit] Singles
- "All Tomorrow's Parties" / "I'll Be Your Mirror" (1966)
- "Sunday Morning" / "Femme Fatale" (1966)
- "White Light/White Heat" / "Here She Comes Now" (1968)
- "What Goes On" / "Jesus" (promo, 1969)
- "Who Loves the Sun" / "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" (1971)
- "Foggy Notion" / "I Can't Stand It" (promo, 1985)
- "Venus in Furs" / "I'm Waiting for the Man" (live, 1994)
[edit] Original albums
- The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)
- White Light/White Heat (1968)
- The Velvet Underground (1969)
- Loaded (1970)
- Live at Max's Kansas City (1972)
- Live MCMXCIII (1993)
[edit] Later releases of archive material
- 1969: The Velvet Underground Live (1974)
- VU (1985)
- Another View (1986)
- Peel Slowly and See (box set, 1995)
- Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes (live, 2001)
- The Very Best of the Velvet Underground (2003)
[edit] Additional Recording History
- Nico - Chelsea Girl (1967)
- Plays guitar on "Chelsea Girls" (which includes a rare Morrison writing credit) and "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams"
- Luna - Bewitched (1994)
- Plays guitar on "Friendly Advice" and "Great Jones Street"
- Moe Tucker - Dogs Under Stress (1994)
- Plays guitar on "Me, myself and I" "I don't understand" "Little Girl" and "I wanna"; plays electric sitar on "Danny Boy"
| The Velvet Underground |
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| John Cale | Sterling Morrison | Lou Reed | Maureen Tucker | Doug Yule |
| Willie Alexander | Angus MacLise | Walter Powers | Billy Yule |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: The Velvet Underground and Nico | White Light/White Heat | The Velvet Underground | Loaded | Squeeze |
| Live albums: Live at Max's Kansas City | 1969 | Live MCMXCIII | Final V.U. | The Quine Tapes |
| Box sets and outtake compilations: VU | Another View | What Goes On | Peel Slowly and See |
| Selected best-of compilations: Rock and Roll | The Very Best of The Velvet Underground | Gold |
| See also |
| Chelsea Girl | Exploding Plastic Inevitable | Lou Reed | Nico | Steve Sesnick | Songs for Drella | Andy Warhol |
