Alice Nadine Morrison
Encyclopedia
Alice Nadine Morrison birth name Alice Nadine Lanterman, was an American
songwriter and musician. With her husband Howell Oakdeane "Morrie" Morrison
(1888-1984) she was involved in numerous music-related business ventures, including Morrison Records
.
, while still in her teens she accompanied silent films in local theaters. She married Alabama
-born dance instructor and drummer "Morrie" Morrison in 1912. The couple had a son, Lew, in 1913, and moved to Bellingham, Washington
in 1914. In 1919, she wrote the waltz
"My Love Is All For You." The Morrisons started the Morrison Music Company to publish the sheet music
; it was successful enough that Chicago
-based Forster Publishing licensed the song, issuing it as "Say You'll Be Mine (My Love Is All For You)." The song became a national hit in 1920; a reported half a million copies of the sheet music sold; a player piano
roll was issued in Los Angeles
by Film Music Company and the Green Brothers Novelty Band released a recording on New York
's Emerson Phonograph Co. label.
She and her sister-in-law Nellie Morrison co-wrote a second hit in 1920, "Love's Ship." With Forster's involvement, the sheet music sold a reported million copies. It was included in the score
for the 1920 silent film
Shore Acres. Tenor Joseph O'Hara recorded the song for Brunswick Records
; the Club De Vingt Orchestra released a medley of "My Love Is All For You" and "Love's Ship" on Edison Records
. A third song, "Sweet Anabel," (1922) sold a reported 100,000 sheet copies, published by Seattle's Capitol Music.
She and her husband formed the Morrison's Marimba Xylophone Orchestra and briefly opened Morrison's Dancing Academy in Bellingham, but soon relocated to San Francisco, where they took a suite 502 in that city's Pantages
Theatre Building. Her husband pursued various ventures, including another dancehall/school, while she worked as a song-plugger
at Woolworth's
and Kress
. She also performed in the Fox Follies at the Fox-Oakland Theater and played marimba
solos live on KPO
radio.
However, in San Francisco the Morrisons' star soon faded. Their orchestra became a touring group "performing," Peter Blecha writes, "in upended barns, grange halls, open fields, anywhere and everywhere." Home was successively Sacramento, California
, Weed
, Roseville
, Dunsmuir
, and finally, with somewhat rising fortunes, back to Seattle in 1931. Over the next decade, the Morrisons (now including son Lew) would tour around Washington State, and slowly expand an empire of dance halls that would become the G.T.M. Corporation. By 1940, the G.T.M. Corporation had 128 other dancehalls in the Western United States, six of them in Seattle.
Her songwriting career revived in the 1940s. The Ink Spots
recorded "Goodbye, Little Girl, Goodbye" (1944) and The Andrews Sisters
picked up "Please Don’t Sing That Song Again" (1946). In this same period, her husband started
Morrison Records
. A major part of their business was an offer to "Get Your Poem Set To Music." Alice, husband Morrie, or son Lew would write a tune, the Morrison Recording Orchestra would record it, and one of them, or often the customer, would sing. They also picked up some more major performers (such as Paul Tutmarc
and Bonnie Guitar
and scored a national distribution deal with Vega Records.
An inheritance around 1954 allowed the Morrisons to purchase a mansion at 1025 1st Avenue W on Queen Anne Hill, the pre-World War II residence of the Japanese Consul in Seattle. With the mansion as a headquarters they continued various ventures in music (and even film), but with changing styles in music they never again reached the level of success they had in the 1920s and '40s.
Morrison died in 1978, her husband in 1984. Their son Lew played professionally until about 1994, son Ken (professionally a freelance television producer) remained a locally active musician as of 2005.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
songwriter and musician. With her husband Howell Oakdeane "Morrie" Morrison
Howell Oakdeane Morrison
Howell Oakdeane Morrison , also known as "Morrie" Morrison, was an American musician, dance instructor, impresario and entrepreneur, founder of Seattle-based Morrison Records. From 1912, he was married to songwriter and musician Alice Nadine Morrison .-Life:Born in Alabama, Morrison moved with his...
(1888-1984) she was involved in numerous music-related business ventures, including Morrison Records
Morrison Records (Seattle)
Morrison Records was an independent record label, based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in the 1940s by Howell Oakdeane "Morrie" Morrison and his wife, Alice Nadine Morrison , and appears to have gone out of business around the time of its founders' deaths...
.
Life
Born in Anacortes, WashingtonAnacortes, Washington
Anacortes is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name "Anacortes" is a consolidation of the name Anna Curtis, who was the wife of early Fidalgo Island settler Amos Bowman. Anacortes' population was 15,778 at the time of the 2010 census...
, while still in her teens she accompanied silent films in local theaters. She married Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
-born dance instructor and drummer "Morrie" Morrison in 1912. The couple had a son, Lew, in 1913, and moved to Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
in 1914. In 1919, she wrote the waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
"My Love Is All For You." The Morrisons started the Morrison Music Company to publish the sheet music
Sheet music
Sheet music is a hand-written or printed form of music notation that uses modern musical symbols; like its analogs—books, pamphlets, etc.—the medium of sheet music typically is paper , although the access to musical notation in recent years includes also presentation on computer screens...
; it was successful enough that Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-based Forster Publishing licensed the song, issuing it as "Say You'll Be Mine (My Love Is All For You)." The song became a national hit in 1920; a reported half a million copies of the sheet music sold; a player piano
Player piano
A player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in...
roll was issued in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
by Film Music Company and the Green Brothers Novelty Band released a recording on New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Emerson Phonograph Co. label.
She and her sister-in-law Nellie Morrison co-wrote a second hit in 1920, "Love's Ship." With Forster's involvement, the sheet music sold a reported million copies. It was included in the score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
for the 1920 silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
Shore Acres. Tenor Joseph O'Hara recorded the song for Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
; the Club De Vingt Orchestra released a medley of "My Love Is All For You" and "Love's Ship" on Edison Records
Edison Records
Edison Records was one of the earliest record labels which pioneered recorded sound and was an important player in the early recording industry.- Early phonographs before commercial mass produced records :...
. A third song, "Sweet Anabel," (1922) sold a reported 100,000 sheet copies, published by Seattle's Capitol Music.
She and her husband formed the Morrison's Marimba Xylophone Orchestra and briefly opened Morrison's Dancing Academy in Bellingham, but soon relocated to San Francisco, where they took a suite 502 in that city's Pantages
Alexander Pantages
Alexander Pantages was an American vaudeville and early motion picture producer and impresario who created a large and powerful circuit of theatres across the western United States and Canada.-Early life:...
Theatre Building. Her husband pursued various ventures, including another dancehall/school, while she worked as a song-plugger
Song-plugger
A song-plugger was a piano player employed by music stores in the early 20th century to promote and help sell new sheet music, which is how hits were advertised before quality recordings were widely available. Typically, the pianist sat on the mezzanine level of a store and played whatever music...
at Woolworth's
F. W. Woolworth Company
The F. W. Woolworth Company was a retail company that was one of the original American five-and-dime stores. The first successful Woolworth store was opened on July 18, 1879 by Frank Winfield Woolworth in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store"...
and Kress
S. H. Kress & Co.
S. H. Kress & Co. was the trading name of a chain of "five and dime" retail department stores in the United States, which operated from 1896 to 1981....
. She also performed in the Fox Follies at the Fox-Oakland Theater and played marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
solos live on KPO
KNBR
KNBR, The Sports Leader, is the on-air branding used by two AM radio stations in the San Francisco, California, area broadcasting a sports radio format, owned by Cumulus Media....
radio.
However, in San Francisco the Morrisons' star soon faded. Their orchestra became a touring group "performing," Peter Blecha writes, "in upended barns, grange halls, open fields, anywhere and everywhere." Home was successively Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, Weed
Weed, California
Weed is a city located in Siskiyou County, California. As of the 2010 Census, the town had a total population of 2,967, down from 2,979 at the 2000 census. There are several unincorporated communities adjacent to, or just outside Weed proper. These include Edgewood, Carrick, Lake Shastina, Rancho...
, Roseville
Roseville, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Roseville had a population of 118,788. The population density was 3,279.4 people per square mile...
, Dunsmuir
Dunsmuir, California
Dunsmuir is a city in Siskiyou County, California, United States. The population was 1,650 at the 2010 census, down from 1,923 at the 2000 census. It is currently a hub of tourism in Northern California as visitors enjoy fishing, skiing, climbing, or sight-seeing...
, and finally, with somewhat rising fortunes, back to Seattle in 1931. Over the next decade, the Morrisons (now including son Lew) would tour around Washington State, and slowly expand an empire of dance halls that would become the G.T.M. Corporation. By 1940, the G.T.M. Corporation had 128 other dancehalls in the Western United States, six of them in Seattle.
Her songwriting career revived in the 1940s. The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots
The Ink Spots were a popular vocal group in the 1930s and 1940s that helped define the musical genre that led to rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and the subgenre doo-wop...
recorded "Goodbye, Little Girl, Goodbye" (1944) and The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were a highly successful close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews , soprano Maxene Angelyn Andrews , and mezzo-soprano Patricia Marie "Patty" Andrews...
picked up "Please Don’t Sing That Song Again" (1946). In this same period, her husband started
Morrison Records
Morrison Records (Seattle)
Morrison Records was an independent record label, based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in the 1940s by Howell Oakdeane "Morrie" Morrison and his wife, Alice Nadine Morrison , and appears to have gone out of business around the time of its founders' deaths...
. A major part of their business was an offer to "Get Your Poem Set To Music." Alice, husband Morrie, or son Lew would write a tune, the Morrison Recording Orchestra would record it, and one of them, or often the customer, would sing. They also picked up some more major performers (such as Paul Tutmarc
Paul Tutmarc
Paul Tutmarc was a Seattle musician and musical instrument inventor. He was a tenor singer and a performer and teacher of the lap steel guitar and the ukulele. He developed a number of variant types of stringed musical instruments, such as electrically amplified double basses, electric basses, and...
and Bonnie Guitar
Bonnie Guitar
Bonnie Guitar is an American Country-Pop Singer. She is best remembered for her 1957 Country-Pop crossover hit "Dark Moon"...
and scored a national distribution deal with Vega Records.
An inheritance around 1954 allowed the Morrisons to purchase a mansion at 1025 1st Avenue W on Queen Anne Hill, the pre-World War II residence of the Japanese Consul in Seattle. With the mansion as a headquarters they continued various ventures in music (and even film), but with changing styles in music they never again reached the level of success they had in the 1920s and '40s.
Morrison died in 1978, her husband in 1984. Their son Lew played professionally until about 1994, son Ken (professionally a freelance television producer) remained a locally active musician as of 2005.