Russell Morris
| Russell Morris | |
|---|---|
Morris at the 2014 ARIA Music Awards
Sydney, 26 November 2014 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Russell Norman Morris |
| Born |
31 July 1948 Australia |
| Origin | Australian |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, songwriter, guitarist, bassist |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels |
EMI Wizard Festival Records Mushroom Records |
| Associated acts |
Somebody's Image Russell Morris Band Russell Morris & the Rubes Burns Cotton & Morris Cotton Keays & Morris |
| Website | russellmorris.com.au |
| Notable instruments | |
| Acoustic guitar, bass guitar | |
Russell Norman Morris (born 31 July 1948) is an Australian singer-songwriter who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s. On 1 July 2008, the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) recognised Morris' iconic status when he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
The Real Thing was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry in 2013.
Morris' career started in September 1966, when Morris was 18 years old with the formation of the Melbourne group Somebody's Image, together with Kevin Thomas (rhythm guitar), Phillip Raphael (lead guitar), Eric Cairns (drums) and Les Allan (aka "Les Gough") (bass guitar). Somebody's Image quickly developed a strong following at Melbourne's premier venues. It wasn't long before the band came to the notice of Go-Set staff writer Ian Meldrum and the group had a local hit version of the Joe South song "Hush", which peaked at number 15 on the national chart. (the song reaching #2 on the local Melbourne charts)
Meldrum's support and hard work promoting the band helped them to secure a firmer recording deal with EMI Records. The result was their third single "Hide And Seek" which peaked at #32 in Melbourne. It was their last release with their original singer with Russell leaving Somebody's Image in September 1968.
Morris' debut solo single was a near seven-minute production extravaganza around a song called "The Real Thing", released in March 1969. "The Real Thing" was written by Johnny Young, produced by Ian Meldrum and engineered by John L Sayers. The backing track was performed by members of Melbourne soul band The Groop, which included Brian Cadd, Richard Wright (drums) and Don Mudie (bass) as well as Zoot guitarist Roger Hicks (who developed the acoustic guitar riff) and backing vocalists Ronnie Charles (The Groop), the Chiffons (including Maureen Elkner) and Marcie and The Cookies' Sue Brady and Judy Condon.
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