Lorrie Morgan Biography / Pictures

Lorrie Morgan (born June 27, 1959, in Nashville, Tennessee) is an American country music singer. She is the daughter of George Morgan, a country music singer who charted several hit singles between 1949 and his death in 1975. Lorrie Morgan charted her first single in 1978, although she did not break into the the top of the U.S. country charts until her 1989 single, "Trainwreck of Emotion." Since then, she has charted more than 25 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, with three of those singles having reached #1: "Five Minutes", "What Part of No" and "I Didn't Know My Own Strength". She has also recorded more than 15 studio albums. At various points in her life, Lorrie has been married to three different country singers: Keith Whitley, Jon Randall and Sammy Kershaw.

Biography

Lorrie made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry at age 13, performing Fred Spielman and Janice Torre's "Paper Roses". Her father died when she was 16 years old. When her father died in 1975, she took over his band and began leading the group through various club gigs. Within a few years she disbanded the group, and in 1977 she went on to play with the Little Roy Wiggins band. She then became a receptionist and demo singer at Acuff-Rose Music, where she also wrote songs. In the late 1970s, she was the featured vocalist on a morning television show hosted by Ralph Emery, on Nashville's WSM-TV (now WSMV); Emery was a longtime friend of her father, who appeared on Emery's, Opry Star Spotlight, an overnight music and interview show that ran for many years on WSM-AM.

Lorrie had one minor hit single in 1978; the following year another minor hit with, "I'm Completely Satisfied," an electronically dubbed duet with her late father. Lorrie Morgan began touring Nashville nightclubs and opened for a number of acts, including Jack Greene, Billy Thunderkloud and Jeannie Seely. She toured as a duet partner with George Jones and spent two years as part of the Opryland USA bluegrass show and as a regular singer on TNN's Nashville Now.

In 1984, Lorrie scored a minor hit with, "Don't Go Changing." That year Lorrie Morgan became the youngest singer ever to join the Grand Ole Opry. Four years later, she signed with RCA Records, her first major label; her first album on that label, Leave the Light On was released in 1989.

In 1990, Lorrie had her first number one single, "Five Minutes." Morgan's second album, Something in Red, was released in 1991 and went platinum. The same year, she married her third husband, Brad Thompson, Clint Black's bus driver. Watch Me, her third album, was released on RCA's newest label, BNA Records; it contained the number-one single, "What Part of No." Watch Me also was certified platinum, making Lorrie the first female country artist to have three albums in a row to be certified platinum. Morgan's romantic life gained tabloid attention with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman following her second divorce.

Lorrie Morgan was voted, "Female Vocalist of the Year," by the fans in TNN's Music City News Awards, in 1994. Lorrie Morgan would earn this honor again in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Lorrie also appeared on Frank Sinatra's Duets II album, singing a version of "How Do You Keep the Music Playing" intertwined with Sinatra's, "My Funny Valentine."

1995 saw the release of Morgan's Greatest Hits CD, which produced her third and, to date, last number-one single in the song, "I Didn't Know My Own Strength." The next year, Lorrie was featured on the Beach Boys' now out-of-print album, Stars and Stripes Vol. 1, performing a cover of their 1964 hit, "Don't Worry Baby." The Beach Boys provided the harmonies and backing vocals.

Lorrie's new album, "I Walk Alone" will be released in 2009. Lorrie's collection of country standards, "A Moment In Time", produced by Wally Wilson will be released in summer 2009.

Lorrie is known for her turbulent personal life — she told Larry King in a July 2004 interview that, "drama is something that lets you know you're still alive."

Lorrie Morgan has a daughter, Morgan, from her first marriage. She has a son, Jesse Keith Whitley (b. 1987) with her second husband, Keith Whitley. That marriage lasted from 1986 until his death in 1989. After that marriage, she had a lengthy involvement with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman.

Lorrie was also romantically linked from 1994 to 1996 with Fred Thompson, the politician/actor. In her autobiography Forever Yours, Faithfully: My Love Story, Lorrie describes their relationship:

"It was great to go out with an older man Thompson who was very successful on his own.... For a while, I enjoyed my first exposure to politics. It was interesting to hear about political conversations, and people even began talking about Fred as a potential president.... I put myself to the task of being a great companion to a stimulating and important man, and as a result I became boring.... I had to stop and think about the political implications of everything before I uttered a word in public.... For a while, I wanted to marry Fred, but I knew he could not accept me as I am."

Lorrie Morgan married her fifth husband, singer Sammy Kershaw, on September 29, 2001. That marriage lasted six years. Citing irreconcilable differences, she filed for divorce on October 23, 2007.

In October 2008, Lorrie filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, citing up to $10 million in liabilities while listing her own assets as valued between $500,000 and $1 million.