Howell Oakdeane Morrison
Encyclopedia
Howell Oakdeane Morrison (1888-1984), 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
(1892-1978).
, Morrison moved with his family to Marysville, Washington
in 1900. His older brothers played in a variety of bands and he traveled with circuses for a while. By 1907 he was a dance instructor and a drummer in a local dance band. He met the young Alice Nadine Lanterman, who accompanied silent films in Anacortes, Washington
-area theaters; they married in 1912, had a son, Lew, in 1913, and moved to Bellingham, Washington
in 1914, where he started a dancing school.
The couple started the Morrison Music Company to promote Alice's 1919 waltz
"My Love Is All For You." The song was picked up by Chicago
's Forster Publishing, and became a national hit, the first of several for Alice. The Morrisons formed Morrison’s Marimba Xylophone Orchestra, and briefly expanded the dance school, before moving to San Francisco in 1922. There they took a suite 502 in that city's Pantages
Theatre Building and began a series of musical ventures. While Alice worked as a song-plugger
and performer, Morrie opened another dancehall/school and produced a successful stage show King of Melody Land.
However, success in San Francisco did not last. 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.
Two more hits for Alice provided the money for a US$
20,000 musical extravaganza Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow at Seattle's Metropolitan Theatre; it was a flop. In the same period, with more success, he founded Morrison Records
. Initially selling dance-oriented songs to his dance students, the label went on to record many local amateurs and eventually professionals such as Paul Tutmarc
and Bonnie Guitar
.
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. Morrison records, although always a bit of a mom-and-pop business, expanded to handle all aspects of the record-making process except for cutting pressing masters from tape.
By the mid-1950s Morrison was selling "motion picture reels and prerecorded tapes" of his dance lessons. In 1955 he issued a 75-page booklet Morrie Morrison’s Dance Book: A Journey In The Land of Terpsichore, a work Peter Blecha describes as "eccentric." A later venture into film—Morrie Morrison’s Unique and Colorful Motion Picture, the Discovery of the Elysian Phenomena and A Show Of Shows was, according to Blecha "seemingly based on a charmingly eccentric blend of mystifyingly cosmic concepts and straight-up aerobic
principles." In 1975, roughly a decade into production of the film, the Morrisons sold their mansion. The film was eventually completed; it did not find any substantial audience.
Alice died in 1978, Morrie 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...
musician, dance instructor, impresario and entrepreneur, founder of Seattle-based 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...
. From 1912, he was married to songwriter and musician Alice Nadine Morrison
Alice Nadine Morrison
Alice Nadine Morrison , birth name Alice Nadine Lanterman, was an American songwriter and musician. With her husband Howell Oakdeane "Morrie" Morrison she was involved in numerous music-related business ventures, including Morrison Records.-Life:Born in Anacortes, Washington, while still in her...
(1892-1978).
Life
Born in AlabamaAlabama
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...
, Morrison moved with his family to Marysville, Washington
Marysville, Washington
Marysville is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 60,020 at the 2010 census. Marysville is known as "The Strawberry City" due to the large number of strawberry farms that once surrounded the city in its earlier days. Over the past decade, and continuing...
in 1900. His older brothers played in a variety of bands and he traveled with circuses for a while. By 1907 he was a dance instructor and a drummer in a local dance band. He met the young Alice Nadine Lanterman, who accompanied silent films in Anacortes, Washington
Anacortes, 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...
-area theaters; they married in 1912, 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, where he started a dancing school.
The couple started the Morrison Music Company to promote Alice's 1919 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 song was picked up by 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...
's Forster Publishing, and became a national hit, the first of several for Alice. The Morrisons formed Morrison’s Marimba Xylophone Orchestra, and briefly expanded the dance school, before moving to San Francisco in 1922. There 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 and began a series of musical ventures. While Alice 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...
and performer, Morrie opened another dancehall/school and produced a successful stage show King of Melody Land.
However, success in San Francisco did not last. 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.
Two more hits for Alice provided the money for a US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
20,000 musical extravaganza Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow at Seattle's Metropolitan Theatre; it was a flop. In the same period, with more success, he founded 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...
. Initially selling dance-oriented songs to his dance students, the label went on to record many local amateurs and eventually professionals 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"...
.
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. Morrison records, although always a bit of a mom-and-pop business, expanded to handle all aspects of the record-making process except for cutting pressing masters from tape.
By the mid-1950s Morrison was selling "motion picture reels and prerecorded tapes" of his dance lessons. In 1955 he issued a 75-page booklet Morrie Morrison’s Dance Book: A Journey In The Land of Terpsichore, a work Peter Blecha describes as "eccentric." A later venture into film—Morrie Morrison’s Unique and Colorful Motion Picture, the Discovery of the Elysian Phenomena and A Show Of Shows was, according to Blecha "seemingly based on a charmingly eccentric blend of mystifyingly cosmic concepts and straight-up aerobic
Aerobic exercise
Aerobic exercise is physical exercise of relatively low intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process. Aerobic literally means "living in air", and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise via aerobic metabolism...
principles." In 1975, roughly a decade into production of the film, the Morrisons sold their mansion. The film was eventually completed; it did not find any substantial audience.
Alice died in 1978, Morrie 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.