Lee Morse | |
|---|---|
 Morse circa 1930 | |
| Born | Lena Corinne Taylor November 30, 1897 |
| Died | December 16, 1954 (aged 57) |
| Resting place | Riverside Cemetery, Rochester, New York, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Spouses | Elmer Morse (m. 1915–1925)Ray Farese (m. 1946) |
| Relatives | Glen Taylor (brother) |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1917–1954 |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
| Signature | |
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Lena Corinne "Lee" Morse (née Taylor; November 30, 1897 – December 16, 1954) was an American jazz and blues singer-songwriter, composer, guitarist, and actress. Morse's greatest popularity was in the 1920s and early 1930s as a torch singer, although her career began around 1917 and continued until her death in 1954.
Morse was known for her strong, deep singing voice and vocal range, which often belied her petite frame. She possessed a contralto vocal range, and one of her trademarks was her unique style of yodeling.[1] Recording over 200 songs over her career, Morse was one of the most recorded female singers of the 1920s.[2] She was also moderately successful as an actress on the Broadway stage. Her life and career, however, were marred by alcoholism. Morse's group the Blue Grass Boys had no relation either Bill Monroe's later band of the same name nor to the bluegrass genre.
In 2014, Morse's rendition of "If You Want the Rainbow" was used in an episode of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire.[3]
- ^ Plantenga 2013, p. 87.
- ^ Kolb, Elzy (January 4, 2007). "Leon Redbone says last 50 years of music a bust". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ^ "Season 5: 56 - Eldorado (Music)". HBO. Retrieved September 21, 2015.