Morris Jennings was an American drummer and musician from Chicago. He recorded as Moe Jennings, M. Jennings, Maurice Jennings, Morris "Gator" Jennings, and Morris Jennings Jr. Jennings played drums on the ''

Electric Mud ''Electric Mud'' is the fifth studio album by Muddy Waters, with members of Rotary Connection playing as his backing band. Released in 1968, it presents Muddy Waters as a psychedelic music, psychedelic musician. Producer Marshall Chess suggested ...

'' album by

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who was an important figure in the post-World War II blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of moder ...

, the 1969 album ''

The Howlin' Wolf Album ''The Howlin' Wolf Album'' is a studio album by Howlin' Wolf, released in 1969. It features members of Rotary Connection as his backing band. The album mixed blues with psychedelic rock arrangements of several of Wolf's classic songs. Howlin' Wol ...

'' by

Howlin' Wolf Chester Arthur Burnett (June 10, 1910January 10, 1976), better known by his stage name Howlin' Wolf, was an American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player. He was at the forefront of transforming acoustic Delta blues into electric Chica ...

, and the 1972

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Dubbed the " Gentle Genius", he is considered one of the most influential musicians of soul and socially conscious Afric ...

album ''Super Fly''. His work at Chess Records includes "

California Soul "California Soul" is a funk-soul tune written by Ashford & Simpson, issued originally as the B-side of the Messengers' single "Window Shopping" in 1967 under the Motown group of labels. Other recordings *Nick Ashford released his own version i ...

" by

Marlena Shaw Marlina Burgess (September 22, 1939 – January 19, 2024), professionally known by her stage name Marlena Shaw, was an American singer. Shaw began her singing career in the 1960s and continued to perform until her death. Her music has often been ...

, which includes an unusual two-bar break early in the song. Jennings died at his South Side Chicago home of natural causes at age 77 on June 3, 2016.·Morris 'Moe' Jennings, studio drummer at Chess Records, dies at 77."
''Chicago Tribune''. Retrieved June 16, 2016.

Discography

With

Roy Buchanan Leroy "Roy" Buchanan (September 23, 1939 – August 14, 1988) was an American guitarist and blues rock musician. A pioneer of the Telecaster sound, Buchanan worked as a sideman and as a solo artist, with two gold albums early in his career and t ...

* ''When a Guitar Plays the Blues'' (Alligator, 1985) * ''Dancing On the Edge'' (Alligator, 1986) * ''Hot Wires'' (Alligator, 1987) With

Terry Callier Terrence Orlando "Terry" Callier (May 24, 1945 – October 27, 2012) was an American soul music, soul, Folk music, folk and jazz guitarist and singer-songwriter. Life and career Callier was born in the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and was ...

* ''

What Color Is Love ''What Color Is Love'' is a 1972 studio album by American musician Terry Callier. Released by Cadet Records, it is Callier's third album and the second of a trilogy that he recorded in short succession for Cadet with producer Charles Stepney. It ...

'' (Cadet, 1972) * ''I Just Can't Help Myself'' (Cadet, 1973) * ''Fire On Ice'' (Elektra, 1978) * ''TimePeace'' (Talkin' Loud 1998) * ''Lifetime'' (Blue Thumb, 1999) * ''Lookin' Out'' (Columbia, 2004) With

Tyrone Davis Tyrone Davis (born Tyrone D. Fettson or Tyrone D. Branch, October 3, 1937 – February 9, 2005) (although many sources have his date of birth as May 4, 1938), was an American blues and soul singer with a long list of hit records over more th ...

* ''Can't You Tell It's Me'' (Columbia, 1979) * ''I Just Can't Keep On Going'' (Columbia, 1980) * ''Tyrone Davis'' (Highrise 1982) * ''Sexy Thing'' (Future, 1985) * ''Flashin' Back'' (Future, 1988) * ''For the Good Times'' (Life 1994) * ''In the Mood with Tyrone Davis'' (Big Break, 2013) * ''Love and Touch'' (Solid/Funkytowngrooves, 2015) * ''Everything in Place'' (Solid/Funkytowngrooves, 2017) With

The Dells The Dells were an American R&B vocal group. Formed in high school in 1953 by founding members Marvin Junior, Verne Allison, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill, under the name the El-Rays. They released their first r ...

* ''Freedom Means...'' (Cadet, 1971) * ''The Dells Sing Dionne Warwicke's Greatest Hits'' (Cadet, 1972) * ''Whatever Turns You On'' (20th Century Fox, 1981) * ''I Touched a Dream'' (20th Century Fox, 1980) With

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

* ''Light My Fire'' (Cadet, 1969) * ''Heavy Exposure'' (Cadet, 1969) With

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five RIAA certification, gold records and three Grammy Awards ...

* '' Them Changes'' (Cadet, 1970) * '' Back to the Roots'' (Cadet, 1971) * '' Upendo Ni Pamoja'' (Columbia, 1972) * ''

Ramsey Lewis' Newly Recorded All-Time Non-Stop Golden Hits ''Ramsey Lewis' Newly Recorded All-Time Non-Stop Golden Hits'' (often shortened to ''Ramsey Lewis' Golden Hits'') is a studio album by pianist Ramsey Lewis, recorded in 1973 on Columbia Records. The album reached No. 22 on the Billboard Top Jazz ...

'' (Columbia, 1973) * ''

Funky Serenity ''Funky Serenity'' is an album by the pianist Ramsey Lewis, released in 1973 on Columbia Records. The album got to No. 6 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. Samples "Dreams" was sampled by A Tribe Called Quest on the song " Electric Relaxation", ...

'' (Columbia, 1973) * ''

Solar Wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the Sun's outermost atmospheric layer, the Stellar corona, corona. This Plasma (physics), plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy betwee ...

'' (Columbia, 1974) * '' Sun Goddess'' (Columbia, 1974) * ''

Don't It Feel Good ''Don't It Feel Good'' is a 1975 funk/jazz-funk album by Ramsey Lewis released on Columbia Records. The album peaked at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Top Jazz Albums chart and No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Top Soul Albums chart. Overview The album r ...

'' (Columbia, 1975) * ''Ramsey'' (Columbia, 1979) * ''Three Piece Suite'' (Columbia, 1981) * ''Chance Encounter'' (Columbia, 1982) * ''Les Fleurs'' (Columbia, 1983) With

* '' Super Fly'' (RCA, 1972) * ''

Honesty Honesty or truthfulness is a facet of moral character that connotes positive and virtue, virtuous attributes such as integrity, truthfulness, straightforwardness (including straightforwardness of conduct: Good faith, earnestness), along with the ...

'' (Boardwalk, 1982) * ''We Come in Peace with a Message of Love'' (CRC, 1985) With others * Green Lyte Sunday, ''Green Lyte Sunday'' (RCA, 1970) *

Inez Andrews Sister Inez Andrews, born Inez McConico (April 14, 1929 – December 19, 2012) and better known as Inez Andrews, was an American gospel singer, who was noted for her powerful, wide-ranging voice. The ''Chicago Tribune'' stated that "Andrews' thr ...

, ''If Jesus Came to Your Town Today'' (Ichiban, 1988) *

Ben Branch Ben F. Branch (January 8, 1928 – August 27, 1987)Odell Brown Odell Elliott Brown Jr. (February 2, 1940 – May 3, 2011) was an American jazz organist. He was active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, playing soul jazz and jazz funk with his backing band as Odell Brown & the Organ-Izers. Biography Brown was ...

, ''Free Delivery'' (Cadet, 1970) * Oscar Brown Jr., ''Fresh'' (Atlantic, 1974) *

Milton Brunson Milton R. Brunson (June 28, 1929 – April 1, 1997) was an American gospel musician and former pastor and music director of Christ Tabernacle Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois. Brunson released his first musical project in 1988, ''Available to ...

, ''To All Generations'' (Creed, 1979) *

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson ( ; born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the hit singles " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", "You're Looking Like ...

, ''

Reaching for the Sky ''Reaching for the Sky'' is the second album by soul vocalist Peabo Bryson. Reception Released in 1978, ''Reaching for the Sky'' was Bryson's debut album on Capitol Records, charting with Quiet Storm staple "Feel the Fire" at number 13 on t ...

'' (Capitol, 1977) *

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (December 8, 1939 – February 20, 2025) was an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, who were inducted into the Rock and ...

, ''The Sagittarius Movement'' (Mercury, 1971) *

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in the state outside the Chicago metr ...

, ''How 'Bout Us'' (Columbia, 1981) *

The Chi-Lites The Chi-Lites (, ) are an American R&B/soul vocal quartet from Chicago. Forming at Chicago's Hyde Park High School in 1959, the group's original lineup consisted of singers Robert Lester, Eugene Record, Creadel Jones, Clarence Johnson, Burt ...

, ''Me and You'' (20th Century Fox, 1981) *

Otis Clay Otis Lee Clay (February 11, 1942 – January 8, 2016) was an American R&B and soul singer, who started in gospel music. In 2013, Clay was inducted to the Blues Hall of Fame. Early life Clay was born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, to a musical fami ...

, ''The Only Way Is Up'' (Blues R&B 1985) *

Linda Clifford Linda Clifford (born June 14, 1948) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B, disco and house music singer who scored hits from the 1970s to the 1980s, most notably "If My Friends Could See Me Now", "Bridge over Troubled Water (song), Bridge over ...

, ''I'll Keep On Loving You'' (Capitol, 1982) *

Albert Collins Albert Gene Collins (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993)Skeely, Richard. "Albert Collins: Biography" Allmusic.com. was an American electric blues guitarist and singer with a distinctive guitar style. He was noted for his powerful playing ...

, ''Cold Snap'' (Sonet, 1986) *

Jessy Dixon Jessy Dixon (March 12, 1938 – September 26, 2011) was an American gospel music singer, songwriter, and pianist, with success among audiences across racial lines. He garnered seven Grammy Award nominations during his career. Musicians with wh ...

, ''You Bring the Sun Out'' (Light 1979) *

Charles Earland Charles Earland (May 24, 1941 – December 11, 1999) was an American jazz organist. Biography Earland was born in Philadelphia and learned to play the saxophone in high school. He played tenor with Jimmy McGriff at the age of 17 and in 1960 fo ...

, ''Earland's Jam'' (Columbia, 1982) *

Cleveland Eaton Cleveland Josephus Eaton II (August 31, 1939 – July 5, 2020) was an American jazz double bassist, producer, arranger, composer, publisher, and head of his own record company in Fairfield, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. His most famous accom ...

, ''Half and Half'' (Gamble, 1973) * Cleveland Eaton, ''Plenty Good Eaton'' (Black Jazz, 1975) *

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

, ''I'm Tired of Driving'' (RCA Victor, 1978) *

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

, '' Everything Is Everything'' (ATCO, 1970) * Donny Hathaway, ''

'' (ATCO, 1971) *

Loleatta Holloway Loleatta Holloway (, ; November 5, 1946 – March 21, 2011) was an American singer known for disco songs such as "Hit and Run" and " Love Sensation". In December 2016, ''Billboard'' named her the 95th-most successful dance artist of all time. Acc ...

, ''Loleatta Holloway'' (Gold Mind, 1979) *

, ''

'' (Cadet, 1969) *

Melvin Jackson Melvin "Lil' Son" Jackson (August 16, 1915, Tyler, TexasMay 30, 1976, Dallas) was an American blues guitarist and singer. He was a contemporary of Lightnin' Hopkins. Biography Jackson's mother played gospel guitar, and he played early on in a ...

, ''Funky Skull'' (Limelight, 1969) *

Syl Johnson Sylvester Johnson (born Sylvester Thompson; July 1, 1936 – February 6, 2022) was an American blues and soul singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. His most successful records included "Different Strokes" (1967), " Is It Because I' ...

, ''Back in the Game'' (Delmark, 1994) * Syl Johnson, ''Bridge to Legacy'' (Antone's 1998) *

John Klemmer John T. Klemmer (born July 3, 1946) is an American saxophonist, composer, songwriter, and arranger. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and began playing guitar at the age of five and alto saxophone at the age of 11. His other earl ...

, ''Blowin' Gold'' (Cadet, 1969) * John Klemmer, ''Magic Moments'' (Chess, 1976) *

The Manhattans The Manhattans are an American R&B vocal group. Their songs " Kiss and Say Goodbye", recorded in 1976, and 1980's " Shining Star", both sold millions of copies. The Manhattans have recorded 45 hits on the ''Billboard'' R&B Chart, including tw ...

, ''Black Tie'' (CBS, 1981) * The Manhattans, ''Forever by Your Side'' (Columbia, 1983) *

Brother Jack McDuff Eugene McDuffy (September 17, 1926 – January 23, 2001), known professionally as "Brother" Jack McDuff or "Captain" Jack McDuff, was an American jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. He was most prominent during the hard bop and soul jazz era ...

, ''The Natural Thing'' (Cadet, 1968) * Brother Jack McDuff, ''

Gin and Orange ''Gin and Orange'' is a 1969 album by organist Jack McDuff, Brother Jack McDuff recorded both live and in the studio which was his third release on the Cadet Records, Cadet label.Barry Melton Barry "The Fish" Melton (born June 14, 1947) is the co-founder and original lead guitarist of Country Joe and the Fish and Dinosaurs. He appears on all the Country Joe and the Fish recordings and he also wrote some of the songs that the band re ...

, ''Bright Sun Is Shining'' (Vanguard, 1970) *

Gatemouth Moore Arnold Dwight "Gatemouth" Moore (November 8, 1913 – May 19, 2004) was an American blues and gospel singer, songwriter, radio disc jockey, community leader and pastor, later known as Reverend Gatemouth Moore. During his career as a recording ar ...

, ''After Twenty-One Years'' (BluesWay, 1973) * Plush, ''Fed After Hours'' (P-Vine, 2002) *

Eugene Record Eugene Booker Record (December 23, 1940 – July 22, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer. He was best known as the lead vocalist of the Chicago-based vocal group The Chi-Lites. He had international hits w ...

, ''Trying to Get to You'' (Warner Bros., 1978) *

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

, ''

Speak No Evil Speak No Evil is a phrase from the " see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" adage. It may refer to: Film * ''Speak No Evil'' (2013 film), an American horror film * ''Speak No Evil'' (2022 film), a Danish-Dutch psychological thriller film * '' ...

'' (RCA Victor, 1976) * Rockie Robbins, ''Rockie Robbins'' (A&M, 1979) *

Rotary Connection Rotary Connection was an American psychedelic soul band, formed in Chicago in 1966. In addition to their own recordings, including their 1967 debut album '' Rotary Connection'', the band backed Muddy Waters on his 1968 psychedelic blues album ...

, ''The Rotary Connection'' (Chess, 1967) *

Sonny Stitt Sonny Stitt (born Edward Hammond Boatner Jr.; February 2, 1924 – July 22, 1982) was an American jazz saxophonist of the bebop/hard bop idiom. Known for his warm tone, he was one of the best-documented saxophonists of his era, recording over ...

, ''Soul Girl'' (Paula 1973) *

Phil Upchurch Phillip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American soul music, R&B, jazz and blues guitarist and bassist. Career Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfiel ...

, ''

Upchurch Upchurch is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Borough of Swale, Swale district of Kent, England. It is situated about north of the A2 road (Great Britain), A2 road, between Rainham, Kent, Rainham and Sittingbourne. ...

'' (Cadet, 1969) * Phil Upchurch, '' The Way I Feel'' *

, ''

'' (Cadet, 1968) * Muddy Waters, ''After the Rain'' (Cadet, 1969) *

Katie Webster Katie Webster (January 11, 1936 – September 5, 1999), born Kathryn Jewel Thorne, was an American boogie-woogie pianist. Career Webster was initially best known as a session musician behind Louisiana musicians on the Excello and Goldband re ...

, '' No Foolin'!'' (Alligator, 1991) *

Marvin Yancy Marvin Jerome Yancy (May 31, 1950 – March 22, 1985) was an American gospel musician, pastor and Grammy-winning record producer, and former pastor of Fountain of Life Baptist Church. He started his music career, in 1971, with The Independents, w ...

, ''Heavy Load'' (P.S., 1987) * Paul Kahn, ''These Ears And Eyes'' (Redwing Music, 1999) * Catherine Russell, ''Cat'' (World Village / Harmonia Mundi, 2006)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Morris American jazz drummers 2016 deaths Drummers from Chicago Jazz musicians from Illinois American male drummers