Country music is in Lorrie Morgan’s DNA—literally. Born in Nashville on this day (June 27) in 1959, she is the fifth child of George Morgan, a Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry member best known for his 1949 hit “Candy Kisses”. She is also the widow of Keith Whitley and the ex-wife of Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw, all of whom are also country singers. But make no mistake, Lorrie Morgan’s voice—and success—are entirely her own. Today, we’re honoring the two-time Country Music Association Award winner as she celebrates her 67th birthday.
How Tragedy Marked Lorrie Morgan’s Path to Stardom
Loretta Lynn “Lorrie” Morgan—surprisingly not named after her fellow country music trailblazer—made her Grand Ole Opry debut at age 13, when her father welcomed her onto country music’s most sacred stage to perform “Paper Roses”.
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However, Morgan’s life took a turn when her father died in 1975 of a heart attack after undergoing open heart surgery. Just 16 years old, she began touring with the surviving members of his band.
Eventually—much like Hank Williams Jr.—Morgan realized she couldn’t turn her career into a shrine to her father.
Parting ways with George’s band in 1977, she toured with popular country music entertainer Roy Wiggins before landing a job as a receptionist, songwriter, and demo singer for Acuff-Rose.
“I loved my dad, but I knew early on that my music and his were different,” Morgan recalled in 2014. “I had a blast going out with his old band, but I knew I needed to go in a different direction.”
Finding Her Way
By the early 1980s, Lorrie Morgan had scored several entries on the lower echelons of the Hot Country Songs chart.
She opened for Jeannie Seely, sang backup for George Jones, and became the youngest-ever Grand Ole Opry inductee in 1984.
By the end of the decade, Morgan had signed with RCA Records Nashville, releasing her debut album, Leave the Light On, in 1989.
Four of the album’s five singles reached the top 10 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) chart, with “Five Minutes” ascending all the way to number one.
Leave the Light On went Platinum, as did her subsequent two albums, Something in Red (1991) and Watch Me (1992).
Sending more than 40 singles to the Hot Country Songs chart, Lorrie Morgan has collaborated with everyone from Frank Sinatra to the Beach Boys to Tammy Wynette.
Continuing to release music into the 20th century, she is also fiercely committed to keeping alive the legacy of her late husband, Keith Whitley. The country music sensation died of alcohol poisoning in May 1989 at just 34 years old.
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