'Blue Velvet' and Other Lee Morris Songs Acquired by Raleigh Music Publishing

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Raleigh Music Publishing is proud to announce that it has acquired the catalog of prolific songwriter Lee Morris.

Morris’s song “Blue Velvet” was a top 20 hit for Tony Bennett in its original 1951 version and the song has since been re-recorded many times, with a 1963 version by Bobby Vinton reaching Billboard No. 1. The 1986, David Lynch neo-noir mystery thriller film “Blue Velvet”, which featured the song throughout, earned Lynch an Academy Award nomination for best director. Publications including Sight & Sound, Time, Entertainment Weekly and BBC Magazine have ranked it among the greatest American films of all time. Additionally, in 2012, Lana Del Rey released a cover version of the song through Interscope Records which has garnered close to 100 million streams.

Morris collaborated on three additional Bobby Vinton songs: “Satin”, “Someone I Used To Know” and “Tina” that found their way onto Vinton’s 1963 album “Mr. Lonely”.

The catalog includes three songs Morris penned for Elvis Presley which were performed in his films, notably “Big Love, Big Heartache” (for “Roustabout”), “Barefoot Ballad” (for “Kissin’ Cousins”) and “You Can’t Say No In Acapulco” (for “Fun In Acapulco”).

Also acquired were the 1948 Billboard charting song, “If I Only Had a Match,” which was recorded by Al Jolson and Frank Sinatra, “I Don’t Want to See Tomorrow” by Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra’s “You Forgot All the Words”.

“Lee Morris was a member of that select fraternity of mid-20^th century songwriters who found inspiration and nourishment in the American popular song idiom. We’re honored that we can continue to preserve his legacy by cultivating his extensive song catalog,” says co-founder Peter Raleigh.

“We are thrilled to own this iconic catalog and look forward to reintroducing and promoting these important songs to generations to come, says co-founder Steven Storch.

Global Music Publisher, Raleigh Music Group, with offices in New York and Los Angeles was founded in 2016 by longtime music execs Peter Raleigh and Steven Storch. The company which prides itself on high touch client services represents the iconic catalogs of Elvis Presley, George Gershwin, Anthony Newley, Bo Diddley, America, Lords of the Underground, Willy Deville, Lester Sill and Muhammad Ali. The company also publishes a select roster of contemporary artists, composers and producers including composer Randy Edelman, Melissa Ferrick, Shawn James, Eliza Shaddad, Jack Larsen, Victor Internet, ISLAND and Mika Means.