Sterling Morrison

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Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr (East Meadow, New York, August 28 1942 – August 30, 1995 in Poughkeepsie, New York) was one of the founding members of influential rock group The Velvet Underground, playing lead, rhythm and bass guitar and singing backing vocals.

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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 on the band's first two albums, although when Cale — the band's nominal bassist — played viola or keyboards on a record, Morrison often filled in on 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 was 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 1980s and early 1990s.

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. 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.

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 successfully 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.

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Discography with the Velvet Underground

Of course, only those titles featuring Morrison are listed. For a full discography, please see the Velvet Underground article.

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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)
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Original albums

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Later releases of archive material

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Additional Recording History

- Plays guitar on "Chelsea Girls" (which includes a rare Morrison writing credit) and "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams"

- Plays guitar on "Friendly Advice" and "Great Jones Street"

- Plays guitar on "Me, myself and I" "I don't understand" "Little Girl" and "I wanna"; plays electric sitar on "Danny Boy" Template:The Velvet Undergroundde:Sterling Morrison sv:Sterling Morrison

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