George Taylor Morris
Encyclopedia
George Taylor Morris was a United States
disk jockey and radio personality
who grew up with and on the radio. Initially working on AM Radio, then switching to the FM Radio format, Morris' career evolved to where he became a "founding father of satellite radio at Sirius XM", according to the station. After working at a number of radio stations, he received media attention in the late 1990s when he popularized the "Dark Side of the Rainbow
" phenomenon, in which the 1973 Pink Floyd
album The Dark Side of the Moon
is said to be synchronized with the images in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz
. Morris was the morning host of the Deep Tracks
classic rock
channel on XM Satellite Radio
and was a host on its interview show XM Artist Confidential.
, California
, Morris had his first job in radio while a high school sophomore, in 1963. and worked as a radio host in Lake Tahoe, Nevada and Santa Barbara, California
after high school graduation. He moved to New York
's Long Island
, where he was news director at WHLI
and was an on-air personality at other area radio stations. He later worked at WHCN
Hartford and WCOZ (now WJMN
) Boston.
He worked at The Source
radio network, starting as a news anchor
in 1979, covering major news events and eventually becoming the network's entertainment director in 1981. From 1984 to 1999 he produced and hosted Reelin' in the Years, a syndicated Album-oriented rock
show.
While at classic rock station WZLX
in Boston
in 1996, Morris became aware of some uncanny similarities between Pink Floyd
's album The Dark Side of the Moon
and the movie The Wizard of Oz
, in which lyrics of the album's songs are related to events taking place on the screen when the movie and album are played at the same time. Some of the connections were said to include the song "Brain Damage
" appearing in time with the Scarecrow
singing "If I Only Had a Brain
" and the heartbeat at the end of the song "Eclipse" coming at the same time that Dorothy
is listening to the Tin Man's
chest. Morris played the two simultaneously and found the first few minutes "kind of interesting", but saw "an amazing series of cosmic coincidences" once Dorothy enters the house. After mentioning the synchronicity
on his radio show, the phenomenon became a media sensation, reported in major newspapers, on NPR and other outlets in the United States, several other countries including Japan, and MTV
.
In 2001 Morris was hired by XM Satellite Radio
as host of XM Music Confidential, where he interviewed artists including Tony Bennett
, Amy Grant
, Ludacris
, Paul McCartney
, Willie Nelson
, Odetta
and P!nk
. Morris also served as program director and morning host of XM's classic rock channel Deep Tracks
.
Morris died at age 62 on August 1, 2009, at his home in Reston
, Virginia
after struggling with throat cancer
. He was survived by Gail Markens Morris, his second wife, and their son, Evan Markens Morris. His first marriage had ended in divorce.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
disk jockey and radio personality
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
who grew up with and on the radio. Initially working on AM Radio, then switching to the FM Radio format, Morris' career evolved to where he became a "founding father of satellite radio at Sirius XM", according to the station. After working at a number of radio stations, he received media attention in the late 1990s when he popularized the "Dark Side of the Rainbow
Dark Side of the Rainbow
Dark Side of the Rainbow – also known as Dark Side of Oz or The Wizard of Floyd – refers to the pairing of the 1973 Pink Floyd album The Dark Side of the Moon with the visual portion of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. This produces moments where the film and the album appear to...
" phenomenon, in which the 1973 Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
album The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
is said to be synchronized with the images in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
. Morris was the morning host of the Deep Tracks
Deep Tracks
Deep Tracks is a Sirius XM Radio channel featuring deep cuts of classic rock music, which encompasses lesser known album tracks, one-hit wonders, concert recordings, "forgotten 45s" and "B-side" tracks. The channel's format resembles progressive rock radio of the early 1970s.Earle Bailey is Deep...
classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
channel on XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
and was a host on its interview show XM Artist Confidential.
Biography
Born in King CityKing City, California
King City is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. King City is located on the Salinas River southeast of Salinas, at an elevation of 335 feet . It lies along U.S. Route 101 in the Salinas Valley of the Central Coast of California. King City is a member of the Association of...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Morris had his first job in radio while a high school sophomore, in 1963. and worked as a radio host in Lake Tahoe, Nevada and Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
after high school graduation. He moved to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, where he was news director at WHLI
WHLI
WHLI is a radio station located at 1100 AM broadcasting a standards format. Licensed to Hempstead, New York, the station has its studios in Farmingdale, New York and is owned by the Long Island Radio Group, itself a subsidiary of Barnstable Broadcasting....
and was an on-air personality at other area radio stations. He later worked at WHCN
WHCN
WHCN is a classic hits music formatted radio station based in Hartford, Connecticut. The city of license is Hartford. The Clear Channel Communications outlet broadcasts at 105.9 MHz with an effective radiated power of 16,000 watts from West Peak State Park in Meriden, CT. Its format blends...
Hartford and WCOZ (now WJMN
WJMN (FM)
WJMN is a successful Rhythmic Top 40 radio station licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, USA, under the ownership of Clear Channel Communications. Its current slogan is "Hip Hop and Today's Hit Music!" and can be heard as far north as the White Mountains under good conditions, and in portions of...
) Boston.
He worked at The Source
The Source (network)
The Source was a radio network operated in the 1970s and 1980s by the NBC Radio Network, with newscasts and features focusing on 18- to 34-year-olds. The network was sold, along with the rest of NBC's radio operations, to Westwood One in August 1987...
radio network, starting as a news anchor
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
in 1979, covering major news events and eventually becoming the network's entertainment director in 1981. From 1984 to 1999 he produced and hosted Reelin' in the Years, a syndicated Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
show.
While at classic rock station WZLX
WZLX
WZLX is a prominent classic rock radio station in the Boston, Massachusetts market. WZLX was one of the first classic rock FM stations in America...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in 1996, Morris became aware of some uncanny similarities between Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's album The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon
The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure...
and the movie The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, in which lyrics of the album's songs are related to events taking place on the screen when the movie and album are played at the same time. Some of the connections were said to include the song "Brain Damage
Brain Damage (song)
"Brain Damage" is the ninth track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyd's 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. It was sung by Roger Waters. David Gilmour took over as lead vocalist when the band performed it live on the band's 1994 tour...
" appearing in time with the Scarecrow
Scarecrow (Oz)
The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
singing "If I Only Had a Brain
If I Only Had A Brain
"If I Only Had a Brain" is a song by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg . The song is sung in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz by the characters that meet Dorothy...
" and the heartbeat at the end of the song "Eclipse" coming at the same time that Dorothy
Dorothy Gale
Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
is listening to the Tin Man's
Tin Woodman
The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...
chest. Morris played the two simultaneously and found the first few minutes "kind of interesting", but saw "an amazing series of cosmic coincidences" once Dorothy enters the house. After mentioning the synchronicity
Synchronicity
Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events that are apparently causally unrelated or unlikely to occur together by chance and that are observed to occur together in a meaningful manner...
on his radio show, the phenomenon became a media sensation, reported in major newspapers, on NPR and other outlets in the United States, several other countries including Japan, and MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
.
In 2001 Morris was hired by XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
as host of XM Music Confidential, where he interviewed artists including Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....
, Amy Grant
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...
, Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Odetta
Odetta
Odetta Holmes, known as Odetta, was an American singer, actress, guitarist, songwriter, and a human rights activist, often referred to as "The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement". Her musical repertoire consisted largely of American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals...
and P!nk
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....
. Morris also served as program director and morning host of XM's classic rock channel Deep Tracks
Deep Tracks
Deep Tracks is a Sirius XM Radio channel featuring deep cuts of classic rock music, which encompasses lesser known album tracks, one-hit wonders, concert recordings, "forgotten 45s" and "B-side" tracks. The channel's format resembles progressive rock radio of the early 1970s.Earle Bailey is Deep...
.
Morris died at age 62 on August 1, 2009, at his home in Reston
Reston, Virginia
Reston is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 58,404, at the 2010 Census and 56,407 at the 2000 census...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
after struggling with throat cancer
Head and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...
. He was survived by Gail Markens Morris, his second wife, and their son, Evan Markens Morris. His first marriage had ended in divorce.