Thomas Morgan Edwards (December 4, 1932 – June 23, 2022) was an American harmonicist and

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

, who had been active since the 1950s. He was considered one of the most heard harmonica players in the world, playing in over 500 feature films. Morgan's extraordinarily prolific career spanned seven decades, and included playing on (and occasionally composing) themes and incidental music for dozens of major Hollywood films, and hundreds of episodes of American television series, including main themes for The Rockford Files and Sanford and Son. Although frequently uncredited in his earlier career (as was typical for session musicians of that era), Morgan also has a huge list of credits in popular music—among the most notable in that field are his prominent contributions to the seminal mid-1960s recordings by

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

, including the ''

Pet Sounds ''Pet Sounds'' is the eleventh studio album by the American Rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, released on May 16, 1966, by Capitol Records. It was produced, arranged, and primarily composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. R ...

'' album, their number one single "

Good Vibrations "Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock music, rock band the Beach Boys, produced and composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. Released as a single on October 10, 1966, it achieved immediate critical and commercial success, ...

" and the recordings made for their uncompleted ''Smile'' project. He retired after a stroke in late 2013 and died at the age of 89 on June 23, 2022.

Awards

In 2001, Morgan received a Special Lifetime Achievement Award from The Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica.

Collaborations

* ''

Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter, arranger, pianist, composer, conductor and orchestrator. He is known for his non-rhotic Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early America ...

'' -

(1968) * "

Rainy Days and Mondays "Rainy Days and Mondays" is a song by the The Carpenters, Carpenters from their Carpenters (album), self-titled third album, with instrumental backing by the The Wrecking Crew (music), Wrecking Crew. It was written by Paul Williams (songwriter), P ...

" -

The Carpenters The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining ...

(1971) * '' Playing Possum'' -

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...

(1975) * '' Beautiful Noise'' -

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

(1976) * '' Making a Good Thing Better'' -

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

(1977) * '' I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight'' -

(1977) * '' Don't Cry Out Loud'' -

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

(1978) * '' Change of Heart'' -

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (August 11, 1949 – March 2024) was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of the Raspberries, with whom he recorded the hit " Go All the Way" and four albums. He embarked on a so ...

(1978) * '' Barry'' -

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

(1980) * '' Dolly, Dolly, Dolly'' -

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...

(1981) * '' Peter Cetera'' - Peter Cetera (1981) * ''

Looking Back with Love ''Looking Back with Love'' is the debut album by American musician Mike Love of the Beach Boys, released in 1981 by Boardwalk Records. Produced by Curt Boettcher, the album includes a mix of covers and originals. Songs The lyrics to the title t ...

'' -

Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who is one of the vocalists of the Beach Boys, of which he was an original member alongside his cousins Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson, and Carl Wilson and their frien ...

(1981) * '' Love Will Turn You Around'' -

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

(1982) * '' Lush Life'' -

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 ...

(1984) * '' Jump!'' -

Van Dyke Parks Van Dyke Parks (born January 3, 1943) is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, arranger, record producer, singer, and former Warner Bros. Records executive whose work encompasses orchestral pop, elaborate recording experiments, Ame ...

(1984) * ''

Emotion Emotions are physical and mental states brought on by neurophysiology, neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavior, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or suffering, displeasure. There is ...

'' - Juice Newton (1987) * '' The Rumour'' -

(1988) * '' Bellybutton'' -

Jellyfish Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the #Life cycle, medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animal ...

(1990) * '' The Crossing'' - Paul Young (1993) * '' The Christmas Album, Volume II'' -

(1994) * '' Orange Crate Art'' -

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

(1995) * '' White Christmas'' - Rosemary Clooney (1996) * '' Signs of Life'' -

Steven Curtis Chapman Steven Curtis Chapman (born November 21, 1962) is an American contemporary Christian music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist. Chapman began his career in the late 1980s as a songwriter and performer of cont ...

(1996) * ''Peace on Earth'' -

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 ...

(1997) * '' Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor'' - Richard Carpenter (1998) * '' A Love Like Ours'' -

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

(1999) * '' October Road'' -

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

(2002) * ''

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours. ...

'' - Diane Schuur (2003) * '' That Lucky Old Sun'' -

(2008) * ''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

'' -

(2010) * ''Red Dead Redemption Soundtrack (2010)'' * '' It's the Girls!'' -

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 ...

(2014)

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

* * * *
Interview on the Brian and Danielle Show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Tommy 1932 births 2022 deaths American harmonica players American session musicians Musicians from Los Angeles