Gary Gwyn Morris (born December 7, 1948) is an American singer and stage actor who charted a string of hits on the

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

charts throughout the 1980s. Morris is known for the 1983 ballad " The Wind Beneath My Wings", although his credits include more than twenty-five other chart singles on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country charts, including five No. 1 hits. He has also released nine studio albums, mostly in the

country pop Country pop (also known as urban cowboy or even urban country) is a fusion genre of country music and pop music that was developed by members of the country genre out of a desire to reach a larger, mainstream audience. Country pop music blends g ...

vein, with his 1983 album ''Why Lady Why'' having earned a

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

certification from the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Early life

Morris was born in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. He has two siblings, a twin sister, Carey, and a younger brother, Mark. Even though Morris was best known for pop-oriented hits in the 1980s, he was descended from a long line of traditional

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

singers Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, who sang hard-twang country and also

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

. Gary's family moved from Fort Worth to North Richland Hills, Texas in the late 1950s. Morris, a good athlete, played four sports at Richland High School, which led to a scholarship with Cisco Junior College in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It was during college that singing became Morris's chosen vocation, and he decided to move to

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. He and his two friends formed a trio, and asked a Colorado Springs bartender if they could get up on the bandstand and perform a few songs, and the audience's response (and tips) convinced Morris to put his college plans on hold and to pursue a performing career. In the early 1970s, Morris made a living by singing in nightclubs in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. He also wrote a few commercial jingles for

Frontier Airlines Frontier Airlines, Inc. is a major American ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Denver, Colorado. It operates flights to over 120 destinations in the United States, Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, and employs more than 5,000 staff. ...

. In 1976, Morris signed on with

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

's presidential campaign and sang at fundraisers during Carter's campaign. This job led to Morris' performing at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

following Carter's election. In the audience was

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

country music producer Norro Wilson, to whom Morris later gave a demo tape. Wilson liked what he heard, and soon signed Morris to his label

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

Recording career

Morris signed his recording contract with Warner Bros. in 1980. After a pair of minor hits landed just inside the top 40 of the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart, he scored his breakthrough hit with "Headed for a Heartache"; that song reached No. 8 on the country chart in late 1981. Two follow-up singles also reached the top 15. Morris' 1983 album, ''Why Lady Why'' focused more on ballads. One of the album's four singles was " Wind Beneath My Wings", which showcased Morris' soaring tenor. Written by

Larry Henley Larry Joel Henley (June 30, 1937 – December 18, 2014) was an American singer and songwriter, best known for co-writing (with Jeff Silbar) the 1989 hit record " Wind Beneath My Wings". Early life Henley was born to Carl Henley and Helen Quinn in ...

and Jeff Silbar, the song about heroes — which Morris recorded as a ballad — became one of the earliest hit versions of the song; a better-known version by

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

would top the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1989. The ''Why Lady Why'' album also featured the ballad "The Love She Found in Me", the mid-tempoed "Velvet Chains" and the up-tempoed title track as singles; all of them peaked in the top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart. Also during this time, Morris recorded a duet with

Lynn Anderson Lynn René Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, " Rose Garden", was a number one hit internationally. She also charted five number one ...

called "You're Welcome to Tonight", which became a top 10 hit. After two more top 10 hits in 1984 — "Between Two Fires" and "Second Hand Heart" — Morris scored his first No. 1 country hit in March 1985 with " Baby Bye Bye". During what was his most prolific hitmaking part of his career, Morris had three more solo No. 1 hits during the next two years: " I'll Never Stop Loving You", " 100% Chance of Rain" and " Leave Me Lonely". He also recorded a chart-topping duet with

Crystal Gayle Brenda Gail Webb (born January 9, 1951), known professionally as Crystal Gayle, is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same ...

, " Makin' Up For Lost Time (The Dallas Lovers Song)". Although he rarely saw any success outside country music, many of Morris' hit songs were in the pop-country vein during the height of his career. Morris had two more hits in 1987: the solo "Plain Brown Wrapper" and another duet with Gayle called " Another World". The latter song was used for almost a decade as the theme song for the NBC soap opera. After that, Morris' success on the country charts began to fade, as tastes switched once again to neo-traditional country music. Morris later opened a music publishing office in Nashville, with one of his employees being future star

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American Country music, country singer. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold almost 50 million albums worldwide ...

. In early 2008, Morris released two gospel albums. His most recent CD is called, ''Faith and Freedom,'' dedicated to the military troops. Gary Morris performed two songs featured on

Juice Newton Juice Newton (born Judith Kay Newton; February 18, 1952) is an American pop and country singer, songwriter, and musician. Newton has received five Grammy Award nominations in the Pop and Country Best Female Vocalist categorieswinning once in 198 ...

's album ''Duets: Friends & Memories'', which was released in October 2010.

Acting career

Morris took a break from touring to pursue a serious acting career. One of his first big roles was in the Broadway production of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

,'' as

Jean Valjean Jean Valjean () is the protagonist of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. The story depicts the character's struggle to lead a normal life and redeem himself after serving a 19-year-long prison sentence for stealing bread to feed his ...

. The full symphonic recording of ''Les Misérables'' is a platinum-selling,

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

-winning album and features Morris' vocals throughout in the role of Valjean, including his version of the song "Bring Him Home".Gary Morris biography at his official website
Morris has also appeared in a production of Puccini's opera '' La Boheme'' with fellow country/pop singer

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is an American singer who has performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin music. Ronstadt has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three A ...

. In the 1980s, he did a stint on ''

The Colbys ''The Colbys'' (originally titled ''Dynasty II: The Colbys'') is an American prime time soap opera that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from November 20, 1985, to March 26, 1987. Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and E ...

'' as blind country music singer Wayne Masterson, signed to

Dominique Deveraux Dominique Deveraux is a fictional character on the ABC prime time soap opera ''Dynasty'' and its spin-off, ''The Colbys''. Portrayed by Diahann Carroll from 1984 to 1987, the character is the surprise half-sister of millionaire Blake Carrington ( ...

's label. On the show, he sang "Try Gettin' Over You" from his ''Anything Goes'' release. In the 1990s, he spent a great deal of time working on music projects, such as the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

special concert production, in

Moscow, Russia Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, in the

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Muscovite merchant Pavel ...

. He returned to country music in the 1990s, performing in concerts and as a

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

. Morris hosted and also produced TNN’s ''The North American Sportsman.'' In 1992, he appeared in an episode of ''Designing Women'' as Julia's surgeon.

Discography

Awards and nominations

American Music Awards

, - ,

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, Gary Morris , Favorite Country Male Video Artist ,

Music City News Country Awards

, - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, rowspan=3, Gary Morris , Star of Tomorrow , , - ,

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

, rowspan=2, Male Artist of the Year , , - , 1986 ,

Academy of Country Music Awards

, - ,

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

, Gary Morris , Top New Male Vocalist , , - ,

, " Wind Beneath My Wings" , Song of the Year , , - , rowspan=3,

, Gary Morris , Top Male Vocalist of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, " Second Hand Heart" , Song of the Year , , - , Video of the Year , , - , rowspan=3, 1986 , Gary Morris , Top Male Vocalist of the Year , , - , " I'll Never Stop Loving You" , Song of the Year , , - , rowspan=2,

and Gary Morris , rowspan=2, Top Vocal Duo of the Year , , - , rowspan=2,

, , - , " 100% Chance of Rain" , Video of the Year , , - , 1988 ,

and Gary Morris , Top Vocal Duo of the Year ,

Country Music Association Awards

, - ,

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, , - , " Second Hand Heart" , rowspan=2, Music Video of the Year , , - , rowspan=3, 1986 , " 100% Chance of Rain" , , - , Gary Morris , Male Vocalist of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, Gary Morris and

, rowspan=2, Vocal Duo of the Year , , - ,

References

External links

CMT.com profile
*Millard, Bob (1998). "Gary Morris". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. p. 358.
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Gary 1948 births Living people American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters American male stage actors Male actors from Fort Worth, Texas People from North Richland Hills, Texas Progressive country musicians Singer-songwriters from Texas Country musicians from Texas Cisco College alumni