Morphine Biography
Morphine is a rarity -- bluesy, bare-bones rock & roll without any guitars. Instead of guitar riffs, the trio relies on sliding two-string basslines, raucous saxophones, and wry, ironically detached vocals. During the mid-'90s, Morphine gained a sizable cult following in America, primarily due to good word of mouth, heavy college airplay, and positive reviews.
Morphine was formed in 1990 by bassist/vocalist Mark Sandman, who had previously played with the bluesy alternative rock band Treat Her Right, and Dana Colley (tenor and baritone saxophone), a former member of the local Boston group Three Colors. Sandman and Colley added drummer Jerome Dupree to complete the lineup. The group released its debut album, Good, on the independent Accurate/Distortion label in 1991; it was reissued on Rykodisc Records in 1992. Good received substantial airplay on American college radio stations, as well as favorable reviews in alternative publications across the country. After the release of Good, Dupree left the band and was replaced by Billy Conway, who had previously played with Sandman in Treat Her Right.
The positive reception to Good set the stage for 1993's Cure for Pain, which received good reviews from a variety of music and mainstream publications upon its spring release. Morphine supported Cure for Pain with an extensive American and European tour that lasted throughout 1994, which helped the album sell over 300,000 copies -- an impressive feat for an independent release. In 1995, Morphine released their third album, Yes, which also received favorable reviews and helped the band sustain its large cult following.
The success of Cure for Pain and Yes also attracted the attention of major record labels, and in late 1996, Dreamworks bought out the majority share of Morphine's contract from Rykodisc. Like Swimming, the group's debut for Dreamworks, was released in the spring of 1997 to generally favorable reviews, yet it failed to break Morphine out of cult status. On July 3, 1999, Sandman collapsed on-stage during a performance in Rome, dying of a heart attack at the age of 47. The Night was posthumously issued early the following year and the live disc Bootleg Detroit appeared in fall 2000. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Popular Biographies:
Kid ramos Biography: Born on January 13, 1959, in Fullerton, CA, blues-rock guitarist David "Kid" Ramos inherited his love of music from his parents, who were both professional opera singers. When his father grew tired...
Adriana evans Biography: Alternative R&B singer Adriana Evans was born and raised in San Francisco; her mother, Mary Stallings, was herself a gifted vocalist who sang with Count Basie and Dizzy Gillespie and issued a series...
Rich boy Biography: Based in Mobile, AL, rapper Rich Boy (born Maurice Richards) didn't enter the music industry until after he enrolled as a mechanical engineering major at Tuskegee University. Before then, he did...
Mudvayne Biography: Heavy metal quartet Mudvayne formed in Peoria, IL, in 1996, its members adopting the unusual pseudonyms sPaG (M. McDonough) (drums), Gurrg (G. Tribbett) (guitar), and Kud (Chad Gray) (vocals). The...
Kid loco Biography: An easy-listening trip-hopster similar in style and intent to his countrymen Air and Dimitri from Paris, Kid Loco has an even stronger kinship with the long tradition of French pop characterized by...
Last perfection Biography: Based in New York City and Long Island, Last Perfection fuse influences from Iron Maiden to Converge into their violent brand of melodic metalcore. Formed in 2001, the band began prepping demos,...
Knoc turn'al Biography: After penning several songs for Dr. Dre, Knoc-Turn'al traded the pen for the microphone. As with most of the artists who begin their career with Dre, Knoc began his performing career in grand...
Wednesday 13 Biography: Musician and horror aficionado Joseph Poole embarked on his career in music in 1992 with Maniac Spider Trash. He left the group in 1996 and formed Frankenstein Drag Queens from Planet 13 with fellow...