Lee Morse Collection
- Title:
- Lee Morse Collection
- Description:
- Lee Morse was an American singer and songwriter. The collection includes mainly photographs and sound recordings.
- Biography:
- Lee Morse was born Lena Corinne Taylor on November 30, 1897 in Portland, Oregon. Raised in Idaho, the ninth of twelve children, she married Elmer Morse in 1915 and gave birth to son Jack one year later. She began her professional performing career in 1918, and was noticed by musical comedy producer Will King after a performance at the 1920 Democratic Convention in San Francisco. Her ensuing career led to separation from her husband. She made her first Broadway appearance in 1923 in the revue “Artists and Models.” One year later, she began her recording career with Pathé Perfect Records. In 1927, she transferred to the prestigious Columbia record label. In 1935, after a case of strep throat which nearly ended her singing career, she and second husband Bob Downey opened up a nightclub in Texas. She kept a low-profile career, appearing occasionally at night clubs through the 1940s. Lee Morse unexpectedly died on December 16, 1954. Works Cited 1) Lee Morse: Echoes of a Songbird, “Her Story,” Lee Morse.com (accessed January 17, 2012). 2) Larkin, Colin. “Morse, Lee.” Encyclopedia of Popular Music, edited by Colin Larkin (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), 16.
- Digital Collection:
- https://www.ijc.uidaho.edu/morse_lee/
- Finding Aid:
- https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv83334
- Archival Extent:
- 3.8 cubic feet
- Digitized Items:
- 83