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Walter "Junie" Morrison | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | J.S. Theracon |
| Born | Walter Morrison June 28, 1954 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | January 21, 2017 (aged 62) London, England |
| Genres | Funk |
| Occupation(s) | Keyboardist,vocalist,producer |
| Instrument(s) | Keyboards,vocals,guitar,bass guitar,drums,marimba,trumpet |
| Website | Junie Morrison Online at theWayback Machine (archived September 30, 2011) |
Walter "Junie"Morrison (June 28, 1954 – January 21, 2017) was an American songwriter,record producer, singer andmulti-instrumentalist. He was a member of theOhio Players in the early 1970s, and later became a member and musical director ofParliament-Funkadelic. Morrison is a member of theRock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members ofParliament-Funkadelic. George Clinton once described Morrison as "the most phenomenal musician on the planet."[1][2]
Born inDayton, Ohio, Morrison sang and played piano as a child, soon learning a range of other instruments and becoming a school choir director and orchestra conductor.[3] In 1970, he joined thefunk band theOhio Players, becoming a producer, writer, keyboardist andvocalist involved in some of their major hits and the albumsPain,Pleasure, andEcstasy. He was largely responsible for writing and arranging the band's 1973 hit single, "Funky Worm".[1]
He left the band in 1974 to release threesolo albums onWestbound Records, on which he played all the instruments,[3] credited as Junie –When We Do,Freeze, andSuzie Supergroupie.[1]
In 1977 Morrison joinedGeorge Clinton'sP-Funk (Parliament-Funkadelic) as musical director. He brought a unique sound to P-Funk and played a key role during the time of their greatest popularity from 1978 through 1980. In particular, he made prominent contributions to the platinum-selling Funkadelic albumOne Nation Under a Groove,[4] the single "(Not Just) Knee Deep" (a #1 hit on theU.S. R&B charts in 1979), the gold-selling Parliament albumsMotor Booty Affair, andGloryhallastoopid. Morrison also played on and produced some P-Funk material under thepseudonym J.S. Theracon.
After his time with Parliament-Funkadelic, Morrison recorded three solo albums in the eighties including 1980'sBread Alone, 1981'sJunie 5, and 1984'sEvacuate Your Seats.
Morrison relocated to London, England in the late 1980s and founded the Akashic record label with his wife Kate Garner. He wrote material recorded bySounds of Blackness,Soul II Soul,[5] andGod's Property. Morrison produced other artists, includingJames Ingram, throughout the1990s and continued to contribute to P-Funk albums includingT.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. in 1996 and (posthumously) in 2018'sMedicaid Fraud Dogg. He released a solo album,When the City, on his own label Juniefunk in 2004.[3] In 2014–2016 he self-released several singles, some under the aliases BoyInSea, Micronagual, The Algorithm, Jettzonn, and Tekadelic.[6]
Morrison died on January 21, 2017, at the age of 62, in London.[7] His death was reported the following month, but the details remained private.[8][9][10]
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