East Texas in late 1954 the fuse was lit and by god it was one short fuse. In January and February of 1955 that fuse burned down, hit powder, and the Big E exploded in a fireball all across the great state of Texas-- there wasn't a gym, co-op, city coliseum, or even gas station parking lot safe from the Memphis fireball. For better or worse, the kid absolutely changed people's lives.It was in early 1955 that Elvis Aaron Presley was introduced to West Texans as a "Special Added Attraction" courtesy of Hank Snow. West Texans- as much as and maybe more than anybody- latched on to Elvis and his sound. The kids, and even a few 18+'ers, went nuts in Odessa, Midland, Wichita Falls, Big Spring, Alpine, Breckenridge, Lubbock, Cisco, and Abilene. West Texas loved Elvis and just went plumb crazy for the boy. Heck... legend has it that after his February '55 show in Abilene Presley was chased into a phone booth and had to kiss his way out.
Gene Morris was born in Quanah, Tx to a large family with Arkansas roots in 1934. The family was a hardworking clan farming the land and even establishing their own popular brand of catfish "stink" bait.
By the 1950s the music bug had done bit Gene. Radios and jukeboxes across the state of Texas had made a star out of Big Spring honky tonker Lefty Frizzell who hit in a massive way with "If You've Got the Money" in 1950. When 18 year old Gene had his first publicity photo made- with a tip of the hat to his dapper hero- Lefty had been ruling radio for well over year. In that very same year- 1952- Morris even had the opportunity to open a show for Frizzell up in Vernon, Texas.
Gene Morris first joined up with Abilene's cadillac cowboy Slim Willet after a try-out in 1955. Slim, a graduate of Abilene's Hardin-Simmons (us ACU kids called 'em Hardened Sinners... and we were, of course, called Almost Christian University), had first hit big in 1952 with the massive "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" on California-based Four Star Records. Though Slim never had any more significant hits of his own he did continue to record. As a dee jay and promoter himself he was constantly on the look for new talent. He was a tireless supporter of country music running the Big State Jamboree from the stage of the Fair Park auditorium every Saturday night for years. And when television gave people a reason to stay home, Slim began to run a weekly half-hour on Wednesday nights on KRBC-TV. According to Joe Specht the show ran for just shy of three years beginning in 1954.By 1956 rock n' roll was changing the look and sound of country music. Any young artist wanting to keep up had to change with it. Some went whole hog adopting the style. Others knew the style to be a way to stay current, but didn't go all in. In a city like Abilene, Texas one wanted to appeal to the kids but a performer also knew the parents wanted to hear a good ol' western melody. Gene Morris was a likeable fellow with country-boy good looks who carried a good bit of talent to boot, and was quite adept at playing the role of both hepcat and a western crooner. Going uptempo just a bit was not a big step.
Edmoral was Slim Willet's earliest label venture involving artists other than himself, morphing into the better known Winston label in 1957. Prior to that change, Slim released around a dozen singles including sides by Ray Mallon (so very bad), Arch Jefferies, and himself. The final two releases went beyond the regional lines of West Texas. In March of 1957 Slim issued Dean Beard's third single. Dean was a Coleman, Texas boy with a heavy presence on the Key City scene and had managed two previous swingin' hillbilly 45s on the Fox label. For "Rakin' And Scrapin'" Dean was full on rock n' roll and the single was picked up by Atlantic within the month and given a national release. And in the same month that Beard went national Slim also issued Gene Morris's 1st 45.
In the spring of 1957 Gene and the Pages from Abilene Christian College were most likely recorded in what a studio set up in a downtown ice cream shop in which Slim had a financial interest. The Pages were made up of four vocalists, two guitarists, and a bass/sax man. At the very least some members of the septet added their vocals to the session and at most the Pages might have served as the complete band (the Pages and their releases of "Donna Marie" b/w "The Wind" were stomped HERE).The two songs issued from that session in the following April were to be the final release for Slim's Edmoral label.
GENE MORRIS & THE PAGES - Lovin Honey b/w I've Got A Love (Edmoral 1012)
“Lovin Honey” is the side best known today. Opening with a jarring series of lyrics, most likely from Pages’ guitarist Charles McLeod, and Gene’s “I gotta bop”-line the song barrels away for a full two minutes, the guitar hardly letting up for a second. This is the sound of someone who has seen the live version of that hillbilly cat Elvis, which Morris had done on Presley’s first tour through Abilene in 1955. And though Elvis had swept through, conquered, and owned gyms and bandstands and co-ops across the South in ’55 and ’56, by the Spring of 1957 he had moved on and was slicking up a bit under the watch of RCA. Gene, like countless others, was still under the influence of the wilder Elvis. “Lovin’ Honey” was all go and a ranks as a favorite among fans of Texas rockabilly though it's a little less loved these days around the Morris household.
The flipside of Edmoral 1012 featured a western-sounding ballad co-written with frequent associate Glen Goza. Titled “I’ve Got A Love” the song once again bears a heavy influence from Presley, but this time it’s bit of “Loving You” and it’s pieces of “Lonesome Cowboy” from the as yet unreleased Loving You. It’s as if Gene was channeling the future.
No sooner had the single hit record racks and deejay stacks than Billboard was announcing that Gene had been signed to ViK Records, a new subsidiary of RCA-Victor. That following summer Morris was sent to Nashville where he re-recorded both “Lovin’ Honey” and “I’ve Got A Love”. Despite the sound and despite the label credit, David Morris says that Abilene’s Pages were not part of the ViK session, which I don’t doubt as the summer months would have pulled the ACU students all over Texas. I would not be surprised to find that the guitarist on the session actually might have been Charles McLeod of the Pages, though.
GENE MORRIS & THE PAGES - Loving Honey b/w I've Got A Love (ViK 4x-0287)
Regardless, the new takes of “Loving Honey” and “I’ve Got A Love” did not rake in huge sales. It did- somehow- become something of a hit in Europe as the Morris mailbox saw more than a few overseas royalty checks in the early 60s. But whatever action the single might have stirred it was not enough for RCA / ViK as there was no follow-up.
Gene was back with Slim Willet and his new Winston label the following April with the pop rocker "I Need It"-penned by buddy Billy Walker- and the excellent "I Craw Fished" in the spring of '59. There would be a few more releases for Winston as well as works for other assorted Texas outfits through the 60s and 70s.________________________
Thanks to David Morris for the use of the two promo pictures of his father as well as all of the information.
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