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While
Morrissey was best known for his often dark, literate lyrics, he also occasionally wrote humorous songs, such as "Party at the UN" ("It's such a happy community / Everyone's got diplomatic immunity") and "Grizzly Bear", about a frustrated working-class man dating a wealthy young woman who wants
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before beginning his musical career. Morrissey hitch-hiked to Alaska, worked on a fishing boat, then down to
California doing odd jobs and trying to get gigs. His travels eventually brought him back to New England, where he found work in a mill in
242:, wrote, "Mr. Morrissey's songs have the force of poetry...a terseness, precision of detail and a tone of laconic understatement that relate his lyrics to the stories of writers like Raymond Carver and Richard Ford."
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first album was released in 1984 on the
Reckless label, and then re-recorded for the Philo label. It includes the song "Small Town on the River", which, as with much of his work, reflects life in
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Over the course of a three-decade career, two of
Morrissey's twelve albums received Grammy nominations and several earned 4-star reviews in
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to "dance till we dehydrate," while he just wants to "take her home and dance the grizzly bear."
164:. Growing up in Connecticut and Massachusetts, he started playing guitar at age 13 and formed a
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581:"RECORDINGS VIEW; From Bill Morrissey, Blue-Collar Angst With a Folk Touch – New York Times"
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231:. In this case, it's a song about a small town in New Hampshire after the mill closes.
253:(posthumously published in November 2011). He said that his writing was influenced by
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308:. Morrissey continued to work with Ellen Karas professionally after their divorce.
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This article is about the
American folk singer. For the professional wrestler, see
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In addition to his song-writing, Morrissey is also the author of two novels:
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697:"Folk Roots/Folk Branches with Mike Regenstreif: Bill Morrissey 1951–2011"
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144:(November 25, 1951 – July 23, 2011) was a Grammy-nominated American
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Bill
Morrissey was married and divorced twice. His first wife was
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471:"Bill Morrissey, Singer-Songwriter of the Common Folk, 1951–2011"
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625:"Bill Morrissey, 59; folk artist traversed a range of emotions"
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and the remaining members of
Morphine, Billy Conway and
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on July 23, 2011, during a tour of the
Southern US.
172:in 1969 and studied literature for a short time at
603:"Bill Morrissey Biography: Contemporary Musicians"
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672:. Launch.groups.yahoo.com. Archived from
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404:Bill Morrissey: The Essential Collection
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528:"Bill Morrissey, 59, folk troubadour"
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170:Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
776:People from Newmarket, New Hampshire
771:Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut
555:"Letters from Heaven-Bill Morrissey"
16:American folk songwriter (1951–2011)
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469:Kornfeld, Michael (July 2, 2011).
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184:He was influenced by the American
168:in high school. He graduated from
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791:Songwriters from New York (state)
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695:Mike Regenstreif (July 2, 2011).
786:Plymouth State University alumni
398:Something I Saw Or Thought I Saw
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583:. Nytimes.com. February 2, 1992
526:Timpane, John (July 26, 2011).
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761:Songwriters from New Hampshire
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392:Songs of Mississippi John Hurt
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23:. For the rugby player, see
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148:singer-songwriter based in
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781:Singers from New Hampshire
627:. Boston.com. July 2, 2011
557:. NHPR.org. Archived from
386:You'll Never Get to Heaven
238:. Stephen Holden, for the
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801:American male songwriters
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648:"Goodbye Bill Morrissey"
437:Morrissey, Bill (2011).
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280:features guitar work by
264:Morrissey's last album,
179:Newmarket, New Hampshire
756:American folk musicians
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304:. His second wife was
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751:American male singers
190:Mississippi John Hurt
162:Hartford, Connecticut
55:Hartford, Connecticut
650:. SeacoastOnline.com
646:Christopher Hislop.
699:. Frfb.blogspot.com
676:on January 5, 2013
316:Morrissey died of
766:Fast Folk artists
561:on August 9, 2011
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131:Official web site
90:Singer-songwriter
52:November 25, 1951
25:William Morrissey
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701:. Retrieved
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410:Come Running
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104:Years active
66:(2011-07-23)
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21:W. Morrissey
746:2011 deaths
741:1951 births
721:Artist Site
511:October 28,
379:Night Train
328:Discography
306:Ellen Karas
302:Lisa Glines
286:Dana Colley
249:(1996) and
226:New England
202:Count Basie
735:Categories
533:Philly.com
505:boston.com
454:References
372:Greg Brown
282:Dave Alvin
229:mill towns
156:Early life
87:Occupation
48:1951-11-25
426:. Knopf.
222:eponymous
108:1980–2011
726:Fan site
703:July 30,
680:July 30,
654:July 30,
631:July 30,
609:July 30,
587:July 30,
565:July 30,
374:) (1993)
274:Morphine
166:jug band
539:June 5,
480:July 6,
127:Website
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412:(2007)
406:(2004)
400:(2001)
394:(1999)
388:(1996)
382:(1993)
370:(with
362:(1992)
359:Inside
348:(1989)
342:(1986)
336:(1984)
216:Career
208:, the
113:Labels
77:Genres
424:Edson
340:North
312:Death
247:Edson
705:2011
682:2011
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541:2014
513:2021
482:2019
443:ISBN
428:ISBN
257:and
220:His
204:and
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146:folk
81:Folk
61:Died
42:Born
320:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.