June 27: Country music singer Lorrie Morgan is 52-years-old today.

PR Photos

Loretta Lynn "Lorrie" Morgan was born in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father, George Morgan, was a country music singer who charted several hit singles between 1949 and his death in 1975. Lorrie charted her first single in 1978, although she did not break into the top of the U.S. country charts until her 1989 single, "Trainwreck of Emotion."

Since then, she has charted more than 25 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, with three number one hits: "Five Minutes," "What Part of No" and "I Didn't Know My Own Strength."

She has also recorded more than 15 studio albums and sold over 6 million records worldwide.

Morgan made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry at age 13, performing Fred Spielman and Janice Torre's "Paper Roses." After her father died in 1975, she took over his band at age 16 and began leading the group. In the mid-1970s, she disbanded the group, and in 1977 she joined the Little Roy Wiggins band.

She then became a receptionist and demo singer at Acuff-Rose Music, where she also wrote songs. In the late 1970s, she was the featured vocalist on a morning television show hosted by Ralph Emery, on Nashville's WSM-TV.

Morgan had one minor hit single in 1978; the following year she recorded another minor hit with "I'm Completely Satisfied With You," an electronically dubbed duet with her late father. She began touring Nashville nightclubs and opened for a number of acts, including Jack Greene, Billy Thunderkloud and Jeannie Seely. She toured as a duet partner with George Jones and spent two years as part of the Opryland USA bluegrass show and as a regular singer on TNN's Nashville Now.

(Continued below video and Amazon portals ...)

(Press album cover for direct link to the entire Amazon Website):

-----

In 1984, Morgan scored a minor hit with "Don't Go Changing." That year she became the youngest singer ever to join the Grand Ole Opry. Four years later, she signed with RCA Records, her first major label. Her first album on that label, Leave the Light On, was released in 1989.

In 1990, Morgan had her first number one single, "Five Minutes." Morgan's second album, Something in Red, was released in 1991 and went platinum. Watch Me, her third album, was released on RCA's newest label, BNA Records; it contained the number-one single, "What Part of No." Watch Me also was certified platinum, making Morgan the first female country artist to have three albums in a row to be certified platinum.

In 1994 she was voted "Female Vocalist of the Year" by the fans in TNN's Music City News Awards. She would earn this honor again in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Morgan also appeared on Frank Sinatra's Duets II album, singing a version of "How Do You Keep the Music Playing" intertwined with Sinatra's "My Funny Valentine."

Morgan's Greatest Hits album, which produced her third and, to date, last number-one single in the song "I Didn't Know My Own Strength," was released in 1995. The next year, Morgan was featured on the Beach Boys' now out-of-print album, Stars and Stripes Vol. 1, performing a cover of their 1964 hit, "Don't Worry Baby." The Beach Boys provided the harmonies and backing vocals. Lorrie appeared on the 2006 album She Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool: A Tribute to Barbara Mandrell.

Lorrie's album A Moment in Time was released on October 27, 2009, on the Stroudavarious label. It features 14 covers of traditional country favorites. Lorrie released her new album I Walk Alone on iTunes and Amazon download December 2010.



In 2010 Morgan appeared on Broadway in the show Pure Country. She played Lula, the manager of the lead character Dusty, played by fellow country artist Joe Nichols.


####