Sterling Morrison: Encyclopedia II - Sterling Morrison - Biography

Sterling Morrison - Biography

Morrison majored in English at Syracuse University; it was here that he met Lou Reed, a fellow English student. Although the two jammed together, they drifted apart after Morrison quit his studies and Reed graduated (1964). They met again in New York City in 1965. By this time, Reed had met John Cale and wanted to start a band, so when they ran into Morrison, he was invited to join.

Morrison primarily played guitar and sometimes bass guitar on the band's first two albums. This was necessitated because of their live-in-the-studio approach, and when Cale — the band's nominal bassist — played viola or keyboards on a record, Morrison often played bass. Other songs, however, (including "Heroin" and "Sister Ray") find Reed and Morrison on guitars while Cale plays viola or organ. Although Morrison was a good bassist (witness his playing on "Sunday Morning" or "Lady Godiva's Operation"), he disliked the instrument.

After Cale left the group in 1968, Morrison always played guitar. There was no established "lead" or "rhythm" guitar hierarchy in the Velvet Underground: both Reed and Morrison traded roles regularly. Additionally, Morrison did backing vocals and the occasional lead vocal spot ("The Murder Mystery").

In 1970, when the band were back in NYC to play an entire summer's engagement at Max's Kansas City, Morrison seized the opportunity to complete his studies and graduate (from City College). In 1971 he was offered, and accepted, a position at the University of Texas at Austin, which meant he had to leave the band, playing his last gig with them on August 21 in Houston.

Sometime in the Seventies (the records are vague), Morrison changed from an academic career to being the captain of a Houston tugboat; he pursued this well into the 1980s. After leaving the Velvet Underground, Morrison's musical career was primarily limited to informal sessions for fun, though he played in a few bands around Austin, Texas, notably the Bizarros. 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 Seventies, Sterling could be seen playing with his former bandmate in stages such as the Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin. From the mid-Eighties on, however, he occasionally recorded or performed with Reed, Cale, and Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker, who had started a solo career of her own. Morrison was part of her touring band for most of the late 1980's and early 1990's.

In 1992, the core Velvet Underground line-up of Reed, Cale, Morrison and Tucker decided to reform for a tour and possible album. 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. By the end of the tour, relationships had soured again and plans for a US tour and MTV Unplugged album were scrapped.

The European tour turned out to be the last for the Velvet Underground. Sterling 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, two days after his 53rd birthday.

In March 2001, Sterling Morrison was remembered through a tribute set at the Austin Music Awards during South by Southwest. JOhn Cale performed "Some Friends," a song he'd composed in Morrison's memory, with Alejandra Escovedo, who played "Tugboat," also written for Morrison. An SXSW panel on Sterling succesfully convened that year, with Cale and others remembering their fallen friend. Morrison was also the subject of an oral history, Velvet Underdog, in the Austin Chronicle that year. The story featured quotes by John Cale, Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker, and other Morrison associates.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Biography", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki