Lee Morris

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Colby College (class of 1933), Lee Morris (born Maurice Zeserson) made his living as a history teacher in a junior high school in Boston, Massachusetts. In the 1940s he began writing parody lyrics to pop songs for night club performers, notably entertainer Carl Brisson, the Maurice Chevalier of Sweden and Norway. Later he wrote entire shows and staged them in Boston, New York and Florida. In 1948 he had his first successful original song, "If I Only Had a Match," ... [ more ] A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Colby College (class of 1933), Lee Morris (born Maurice Zeserson) made his living as a history teacher in a junior high school in Boston, Massachusetts. In the 1940s he began writing parody lyrics to pop songs for night club performers, notably entertainer Carl Brisson, the Maurice Chevalier of Sweden and Norway. Later he wrote entire shows and staged them in Boston, New York and Florida. In 1948 he had his first successful original song, "If I Only Had a Match," which was recorded by Al Jolson and Frank Sinatra, and became Morris’ first US Billboard chart success. “Thirsty For Your Kisses” followed in 1950 and was recorded by the Mills Brothers, Ray Anthony’s Orchestra and more famously by The Ames Brothers whose rendition reached #21 on the US Cashbox and #26 on the US Billboard charts.

"Blue Velvet", arguably his most popular song, arrived in 1950 and was co-written with composer Bernie Wayne. A top 20 hit for Tony Bennett in its original 1951 version, the song has since been re-recorded many times, with a 1963 version by Bobby Vinton reaching No. 1 and staying in that position in the Billboard charts for four weeks. Bobby Vinton wrote the arrangement to “Blue Velvet” in twenty minutes, and while performing at the Howard Johnson’s hotel in Boston, collaborated with Morris on three more songs “Satin”, “Someone I Used To Know” and “Tina” that found their way onto Vinton’s 1963 album “Mr. Lonely”.

Morris’ friendship with songwriter Dolores Fuller, resulted in a chance introduction at a Hollywood party to producer Hal B. Wallis. Wallis was producing several Elvis Presley films which resulted in Morris penning three songs for the ‘King’ notably “Big Love, Big Heartache” (for “Roustabout”), “Barefoot Ballad” (for “Kissin’ Cousins”) and “You Can’t Say No In Acapulco” (for “Fun In Acapulco”). “I Don’t Want To See Tomorrow” was chosen to be recorded by Al Martino and another legend of pop royalty Nat ‘King’ Cole in 1964. In fact, Nat chose the song himself while playing through a stack of unreleased songs that Morris brought to him. Prophetically it proved to be Nat’s last recorded song.

As was typical during the pop songwriting years of the 1940’s and 1950’s, Morris wrote songs under several different pen names: E. H. Jay, Eve Morris, Jay Cabot, Miriam Lewis, and Eve Jay. Most famously Frank Sinatra chose a song written under this last pseudonym which could have been the title of Morris’ autobiography. The song, selected for Sinatra’s seminal “No One Cares” Capitol album turned out to be the haunting “You Forgot All The Words (While I Remember The Tune)”. No, Lee Morris’ words will never be forgotten and the tunes will live on in our collective consciousness as part of the fabric of the American Pop Songbook. [ less ]

Lee Morris

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