James Morrison
England | Pop / Soft Rock / Soul / Blue-Eyed Soul | 1984
James Morrison is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. He now lives in Brighton.
In 2006, he debuted with the single "You Give Me Something" which became a huge hit around Europe, Australia, and Japan. His debut album, Undiscovered, went straight to number one in the UK and has sold more than two million copies worldwide.
At age 13, Morrison began to learn guitar, inspired by local artist Alan Deane, when his uncle Joe showed him how to play a blues riff. He started busking when he lived in the village of Porth, near Newquay, Cornwall. After several years of playing other musicians' songs, he eventually started to compose his own. His favourite artists are Otis Redding, Al Green, Cat Stevens, The Kinks and Van Morrison. He puts his distinctive, tender voice down to a severe bout of whooping cough that nearly killed him when he was a baby.
Whilst visiting Derby with his long time girlfriend from the city, he came across a now-renowned Open Mic night at Ryan's Bar. Morrison spent the best part of two years developing there a platform. He was spotted by local composer/guitarist Kevin Andrews, who ran the night. Mr Andrews recorded the first demos and introduced James to his first manager, Spencer Wells. Andrews went on to Work for Warner Bros publishers. Polydor Productions took the chance and signed him. He became the supporting artist for Corinne Bailey Rae on her tour supporting her debut album.
He got his worldwide success with début single "You Give Me Something", which reached the #2 spot in Holland and the #5 spot in the UK. He released his debut album Undiscovered on July 31, 2006. He got great reviews from different papers. "There isn't a bad track on it" (The Sun), "Undiscovered may prove to be the least apposite album title for years" (The Times).
James performed a duet with Jason Mraz called "Details In The Fabric" on Mraz's new studio album, We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, which was released on May 13, 2008.