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'{{Infobox musical artist | name = Sterling Morrison | image = Sterling Morrison 1965.jpg | caption = Morrison in 1965. | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1942|08|29}} | birth_place = [[East Meadow, New York]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1995|8|30|1942|8|29}} | death_place = [[Poughkeepsie (city), New York|Poughkeepsie, New York]] | genre = {{hlist|[[Rock music|Rock]]|[[experimental rock]]|[[proto-punk]]|[[art rock]]}} | occupation = Musician | instrument = {{hlist|Guitar|bass guitar|vocals}} | years_active = {{hlist|1965–1971|1990-1995}} | associated_acts = {{hlist|[[The Velvet Underground]]|[[Nico]]}} | notable_instruments = {{unbulleted list|[[Gibson SG]]|[[Fender Stratocaster]]|[[Fender Jaguar]]|[[Gibson ES-335]]|[[Fender Precision Bass]]|[[Vox Phantom]]|[[Gretsch|Gretsch Tennessean]]}} }} '''Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr.''' (August 29, 1942 &ndash; August 30, 1995)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sterling-morrison-mn0000749365 |title=Sterling Morrison |first=Richie |last=Unterberger |authorlink=Richie Unterberger |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |accessdate=December 10, 2013 }}</ref> was one of the founding members of the [[rock group]] [[the Velvet Underground]], usually playing [[electric guitar]], occasionally [[bass guitar]], and singing [[Backing vocalist|backing vocals]]. ==Biography== ===Early years=== Morrison was born Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. on August 29, 1942 in the [[Long Island]] town of [[East Meadow, New York]]. He had two brothers and three sisters. His parents divorced when he was a youngster and his mother remarried.<ref name="nytobit">{{cite news | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE3D81138F931A3575AC0A963958260 | title = Sterling Morrison | publisher = ''[[The New York Times]]'' | accessdate = 2014-10-24 | date=September 2, 1995 | first=Lawrence | last=Van Gelder}}</ref> He first met future Velvet Underground drummer [[Maureen Tucker]] during childhood, through her brother Jim, who attended [[Division Avenue High School]] in [[Levittown, New York]] with Morrison.<ref>{{cite web|title=Holmes Morrison - Division Avenue High Class of 1960|url=http://divisionavenuehighschool.org/alumni/5159513/holmes-morrison.html|website=Division Avenue High School|accessdate=October 23, 2014}} James Tucker is also listed.</ref> Originally playing [[trumpet]], Morrison switched to [[guitar]] after his teacher was drafted.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bockris|first1=Victor|title=Uptight: The Velvet Underground Story|date=2009|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=0857120034|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=C-Ne8rSuNRoC&pg=PT29&lpg=PT29&dq=sterling+morrison+trumpet+teacher+drafted&source=bl&ots=pkXBQmSye4&sig=R_MwaLTMg_q8fgfAZwSMLLj4ufw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UklJVJ6jA86HsQTq3oDoDQ&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=sterling%20morrison%20trumpet%20teacher%20drafted&f=false}}</ref> Morrison majored in [[English language|English]] at the [[City College of New York]]. While visiting his friend Jim Tucker at [[Syracuse University]], he met [[Lou Reed]], a friend of Tucker's and a fellow English [[student]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bockris|first1=Victor|title=Transformer: The Lou Reed Story|date=1994|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-684-80366-6|pages=33–34|quote=Most importantly for Lou musically, it was at Syracuse that he met fellow guitarist Sterling Morrison...Sterling, who was never actually enrolled at Syracuse but spent a lot of time there hanging out and sitting in on some classes, was visiting another student, Jim Tucker, who occupied the room below Lou's.}}</ref> Before Reed graduated in 1964, they met again in [[New York City]] in 1963. By this time, Reed had met [[John Cale]] and was interested in starting a band, so when they encountered Morrison, he was invited to join.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bockris|first1=Victor|title=Transformer: The Lou Reed Story|date=1994|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-684-80366-6|page=91}}</ref> ===The Velvet Underground (1965–1971)=== [[File:Sterling Morrison.jpg|thumb|Sterling Morrison in 1968.]] Reed, Cale, Morrison and original percussionist [[Angus MacLise]] constituted the original line-up of the Velvet Underground, taking the name from Michael Leigh's [[The Velvet Underground (book)|sadomasochistic novel of the same name]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Jovanovic|first1=Rob|title=Seeing the Light: Inside the Velvet Underground|date=2012|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=978-1250000149|page=38|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=UVsdu300fq8C&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=velvet+underground+named+after+paperback+by+michael+leigh&source=bl&ots=yMvQsxstAY&sig=waDV7BY1gh2Dr97cX8tKD7ZhBuw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wnpKVNHNF5S1sQSD5YDADQ&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=velvet%20underground%20named%20after%20paperback%20by%20michael%20leigh&f=false}}</ref> Reed sang and played [[guitar]], Morrison played guitar, Cale played [[viola]], [[bass guitar|bass]] and [[keyboard instrument|keyboards]] and MacLise was playing [[bongos]], [[hand drums]], [[tabla]], [[tambourines]] and the [[cimbalom]], but when the group were offered $75 for a gig at [[Summit High School (New Jersey)|Summit High School]] in [[Summit, New Jersey]], MacLise abruptly quit because he refused to play for a specified time or conform to the notion of when to start and stop playing and also viewed accepting money for art as a [[sell-out]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sisario|first1=Ben|title=The Velvet Unknown, Now Emerging|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/arts/music/angus-maclise-of-velvet-underground-in-dreamweapon.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|publisher=The New York Times|date=May 5, 2011}}</ref> With no time to audition a replacement drummer, the group turned to [[Maureen Tucker]] to replace him, initially for that one show, but she soon became a permanent member and her rhythms would be an integral part of the band's music, despite the initial objections of Cale.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bockris|first1=Victor|title=Transformer: The Lou Reed Story|date=1994|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-684-80366-6|pages=99, 101|quote=Cale, horrified by the mere suggestion that a 'chick' should play in their great group, had to be placated by the promise that it was strictly temporary.}}</ref> Morrison primarily played [[guitar]] on the band's first two albums, although when Cale, the band's nominal bassist, played viola or keyboards in the studio or on stage, Morrison often filled in on bass. Other songs, however, (including "[[Heroin (The Velvet Underground song)|Heroin]]" and "[[Sister Ray]]") featured Reed and Morrison on guitars while Cale played viola and organ respectively with nobody on bass. There were at least three occasions where Cale played both [[piano]] and bass while Reed and Morrison played their usual guitars and these three were "[[I'm Waiting for the Man]]", "[[Femme Fatale (song)|Femme Fatale]]" and "[[White Light/White Heat (song)|White Light/White Heat]]" and two songs where Cale played both viola and bass with Reed and Morrison on guitars: "[[Here She Comes Now]]" and "[[The Black Angel's Death Song]]", the former of which saw Cale doubling on piano. Although Morrison was a proficient bassist (as exemplified by his performances on "[[Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)|Sunday Morning]]", "[[Venus in Furs (song)|Venus in Furs]]", "[[All Tomorrow's Parties]]" and "[[Lady Godiva's Operation]]"), he disliked playing the instrument.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hoffman|first1=Eric|title=Examinations: An Examination of John Cale|url=http://www.mentalcontagion.com/mcarchive/examinations/examinations0409.html|website=Mental Contagion|accessdate=24 October 2014|quote=When I had to play viola, Sterling had to play bass, which he hated.}} According to the website, the quote is from John Cale’s autobiography, ''What’s Welsh for Zen'' (NY: St. Martin’s Press (2000).</ref> After Cale left the group in 1968, Morrison always exclusively played guitar{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}. During the Cale era, there was no established "[[lead guitar|lead]]" or "[[rhythm guitar|rhythm]]" guitar hierarchy in the Velvet Underground; both Reed and Morrison traded roles regularly. From [[The Velvet Underground (album)|the third album]] on though, Morrison almost always took the role of lead guitarist as Reed concentrated more on his singing and rhythm playing. Additionally, Morrison frequently sang backing vocals and the occasional lead vocal spot (he recited many verses of Reed's poetry in "The Murder Mystery" and sang one line in "I'm Sticking With You").<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=The Velvet Underground (album) |titlelink=The Velvet Underground (album) |others=[[The Velvet Underground]] |year=1969 |page=1 |type=booklet |publisher=[[MGM]]}} "STERLING MORRISON - vocals, guitar, co-vocal on THE MURDER MYSTERY"</ref> Whilst Reed was the main writer, there has been some conjecture that both Morrison and Cale made more songwriting contributions than is specified in the credits as Morrison later told [[Victor Bockris]], "Lou really did want to have a whole lot of credit for the songs, so on nearly all of the albums we gave it to him. It kept him happy. He got the rights to all the songs on Loaded so now he's credited for being the absolute and singular genius of the Underground, which is not true. There are a lot of songs I should have coauthorship on, and the same holds true for [[John Cale]]. The publishing company was called Three Prong because there were three of us involved. I'm the last person to deny Lou's immense contribution and he's the best songwriter of the three of us. But he wanted all the credit, he wanted it more than we did, and he got it, to keep the peace."<ref>http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sterling-morrison-mn0000749365/biography</ref> Nevertheless, Morrison got co-writing credits on "[[European Son]]", "[[Here She Comes Now]]", "[[The Gift (The Velvet Underground song)|The Gift]]", "[[Sister Ray]]", "[[Chelsea Girls]]", "Hey Mr. Rain", "Ferryboat Bill", "I'm Gonna Move Right In", "Coney Island Steeplechase" and "Guess I'm Falling in Love". In 1970, when the band was back in New York City to play an entire summer's engagement at [[Max's Kansas City]], Morrison seized the opportunity to complete his undergraduate degree at the [[City College of New York]]; along with Tucker, he remained in the Velvet Underground as lead guitarist after Reed left the band in acrimonious circumstances in August 1970. In 1971, however, he began graduate studies at the [[University of Texas at Austin]], where he would earn a [[PhD]] in medieval literature<ref name="nytobit" /> (with a dissertation on the four signed poems of [[Cynewulf]]) in 1986.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Morrison|first1=Holmes Sterling|title=Historiographical perspectives in the signed poems of Cynewulf|date=1986|publisher=University of Texas at Austin|url=http://books.google.com/books/about/Historiographical_perspectives_in_the_si.html?id=VQpQnQEACAAJ|accessdate=24 October 2014}}</ref> Morrison's last performance with the band was on August 21, 1971 at Liberty Hall in [[Houston]]. When it was time for the band to return to New York, Morrison packed an empty suitcase and accompanied them to the gate of their departing plane, before finally telling them he was staying in Texas and leaving the band, the last founding member to quit.<ref name="austin">{{cite news | url = http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2000-03-17/76343/ | title = Velvet Underdog: Sterling Morrison: An Oral History With Interviews | publisher = ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]'' | accessdate = 2014-10-24 | date = March 17, 2000 | first = Margaret | last = Moser }}</ref> ===Post-Velvet Underground life (1971–1990)=== [[File:The Moe Tucker Band and Sterling Morrison.jpg|thumb|Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker in [[Augsburg]], Germany in 1992]] Morrison began to work on Houston tugboats as a [[deckhand]] to supplement his income in the mid-70s; when he was forced to relinquish his teaching assistantship some years later, he was licensed as a [[master mariner]] and became the [[Captain (nautical)|captain]] of a Houston [[tugboat]], a vocation he pursued throughout the 1980s.<ref name="austin" /> After leaving the Velvet Underground, Morrison's musical career was primarily limited to informal sessions for personal enjoyment, though he played in a few bands around Austin, Texas, most notably the Bizarros.<ref>Which also included later record company executive and record producer [[Bill Bentley (producer)|Bill Bentley]] on drums. Morrison joined the band at Bentley's invitation. Morrison was subsequently fired from the band, acrimoniously, with Bentley being the only band member voting to continue with Morrison. See Margaret Moser, [http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/1999-12-17/75120/ Back Door Man: The Man Behind ''More Oar'', Bill Bentley]. ''[[Austin Chronicle]]'', December 17, 1999; www.austinchronicle.com. See also Margaret Moser, [http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:76343 Velvet Underdog: Sterling Morrison - An Oral History With Interviews](sic). ''Austin Chronicle'', March 17, 2000; www.austinchronicle.com. According to this latter history, Morrison first applied to doctoral studies at the University of Texas in 1969.</ref> Morrison's tenure in the capital of Texas made him a well-loved and admired member of the local music community as well as an influential voice. During John Cale's renaissance in the late 1970s, Morrison occasionally sat in with his former bandmate on stages such as the [[Armadillo World Headquarters]] in Austin. From the mid-1980s on, however, he occasionally recorded or performed with Reed, Cale, and Velvet Underground [[drummer]] [[Maureen Tucker]], who had by then started a solo career of her own. Morrison was part of her touring band for most of the late 1980s and early 1990s. ===Velvet Underground reunion, lymphoma diagnosis and death=== In 1992, the core Velvet Underground line-up of Reed, Cale, Morrison and Tucker decided to reform for a tour and possible album. Morrison argued that [[Doug Yule]], who had replaced Cale in 1968, should be included to fill out the sound, but Reed and Cale vetoed him. The band extensively toured [[Europe]] in 1993, alternatively as headline act or supporting [[U2]]. Morrison's playing held up well, and his performances were generally agreed to be top-notch. But by the end of the tour, relationships had soured again and plans for a US tour and ''[[MTV Unplugged]]'' album were scrapped.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bockris|first1=Victor|title=Transformer: The Lou Reed Story|date=1994|publisher=Simon & Schuster|location=New York, NY|isbn=0-684-80366-6|pages=400–405}}</ref> The European tour turned out to be the last for the Velvet Underground. Morrison joined Maureen Tucker's band for a tour in 1994, and later that year was diagnosed with [[non-Hodgkin's lymphoma]], from which he died on August 30, 1995, one day after his 53rd [[birthday]].<ref name="nytobit" /> Upon their induction in the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1996, Reed, Cale and Tucker performed a song entitled "Last Night I Said Goodbye to My Friend," which was dedicated to Morrison.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rutledge-Borger|first1=Meredith E.|title=Rare Performances: the Velvet Underground Live in 1996|url=http://rockhall.com/blog/post/rare-performances-the-velvet-underground-in-1996/|website=Rock & Roll Hall of Fame|accessdate=24 October 2014}}</ref> In March 2001, Sterling Morrison was remembered through a tribute set at the Austin Music Awards during the [[South by Southwest]] Festival. John Cale performed "Some Friends," a song he'd composed in Morrison's memory, with [[Alejandro Escovedo]], who played "Tugboat," also written for Morrison. An SXSW panel on Sterling successfully convened that year, with Cale and others remembering their fallen friend. Morrison was also the subject of an oral history, [http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:76343 ''Velvet Underdog,''] in the [[Austin Chronicle]] that year. The story featured quotes by John Cale, Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker, and other Morrison associates. The [[Galaxie 500]] song "Tugboat" alludes to Morrison's post-Velvet Underground career. Morrison was a major influence on Dean Wareham.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.fullofwishes.co.uk/2006/12/08/interview-galaxie-500-in-boston-rocks-95/ | title = Drivers, start your engines: Galaxie 500 | publisher = ''[[Boston Rocks#95]]'' | accessdate = 2013-11-01 | first=Susan | last=Tanner}}</ref> ===Personal life=== His surviving family includes his widow, Martha (whom he married in 1971), his son, Thomas, and his daughter, Mary Anne, all of whom reside in Poughkeepsie, New York.<ref name="nytobit" /> ===Guitar style=== Morrison and Reed's guitars were essentially dueling guitars that complemented each other, alternating between lead lines and rhythm parts interchangeably and with no assigned roles on who was lead or rhythm. Relative to Reed's improvisational and experimental guitar style, Morrison's guitar style was generally cleaner, bluesier and more straightforward. Praising his late bandmate's guitar playing, Reed told [[David Fricke]], "Sometimes, I think his guitar playing is very much like his first name – sterling. It's involved. And yet it has a grace and elegance to it, even in the fast-note runs. You could play me a hundred guitars, and I could spot Sterling."<ref>http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sterling-morrison-mn0000749365/biography</ref> ==Discography with the Velvet Underground== ''Only the titles featuring Morrison are listed. For the band's full [[discography]], please see the'' [[The Velvet Underground|Velvet Underground]]'' article.'' ===Singles=== *"All Tomorrow's Parties" / "I'll Be Your Mirror" (1966) *"Sunday Morning" / "Femme Fatale" (1966) *"White Light/White Heat" / "Here She Comes Now" (1968) *"What Goes On" / "Jesus" (promo, 1969) *"Who Loves the Sun" / "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" (1971) *"Foggy Notion" / "I Can't Stand It" (promo, 1985) *"Venus in Furs" / "I'm Waiting for the Man" (live, 1994) ===Original albums=== *''[[The Velvet Underground & Nico]]'' (1967) *''[[White Light/White Heat]]'' (1968) *''[[The Velvet Underground (album)|The Velvet Underground]]'' (1969) *''[[Loaded (The Velvet Underground album)|Loaded]]'' (1970) *''[[Live at Max's Kansas City]]'' (1972) *''[[Live MCMXCIII]]'' (1993) ===Later releases of archive material=== *''[[1969: The Velvet Underground Live]]'' (1974) *''[[VU (album)|VU]]'' (1985) *''[[Another View]]'' (1986) *''[[Chronicles (Velvet Underground album)|Chronicles]]'' (1991) *''[[Peel Slowly and See]]'' (box set, 1995) *''[[Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes]]'' (live, 2001) *''[[The Very Best of the Velvet Underground]]'' (2003) ==Additional recording history== *[[Nico]] - ''[[Chelsea Girl (album)|Chelsea Girl]]'' (1967) **Plays guitar on "[[Chelsea Girls (song)|Chelsea Girls]]" (which includes a rare Morrison writing credit) and "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" *[[Luna (1990s American band)|Luna]] - ''[[Bewitched (album)|Bewitched]]'' (1994) **Plays guitar on "Friendly Advice" and "Great Jones Street" *[[Moe Tucker]] - ''[[Dogs Under Stress]]'' (1994) **Plays guitar on "Me, Myself and I", "I Don't Understand", "Little Girl" and "I Wanna"; plays [[electric sitar]] on "Danny Boy" *[[John Cale]] – ''[[Antártida (album)|Antártida]]'' (1995) **Plays guitar on "People Who Died" *''[[Stainless Gamelan|Inside the Dream Syndicate Vol.III: Stainless Steel Gamelan]]'' (Table of the Elements 2002) **Personnel: [[Terry Jennings]], [[Angus MacLise]], [[John Cale]], Sterling Morrison ==References== {{Reflist|2}} ==External links== * [http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/sterling/sterling.html Sterling Morrison tribute site] * [https://medium.com/@TheAlcalde/what-goes-on-524982f49915 The improbable story of how Sterling Morrison left VU for UT. By Chris O’Connell] The Alcalde {{The Velvet Underground}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Sterling}} [[Category:1942 births]] [[Category:1995 deaths]] [[Category:American rock guitarists]] [[Category:Lead guitarists]] [[Category:Rhythm guitarists]] [[Category:American male singers]] [[Category:Backing vocalists]] [[Category:American songwriters]] [[Category:American rock bass guitarists]] [[Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees]] [[Category:The Velvet Underground members]] [[Category:Deaths from lymphoma]] [[Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni]] [[Category:Cancer deaths in New York]] [[Category:People from East Meadow, New York]] [[Category:Musicians from Austin, Texas]] [[Category:Musicians from Houston, Texas]] [[Category:Protopunk musicians]] [[Category:People from Levittown, New York]] [[Category:20th-century American singers]] [[Category:American academics]] [[Category:American sailors]]'