Curley Jim Morrison

James "Curley Jim" Morrison is an American country and rockabilly musician. Morrison is best known in the rockabilly scene for his title Rock and Roll Itch .

Life

As "Curley Jim" Morrison was already active as a country musician before 1958 in the Miami's music scene . The triumphant advance of rock 'n' roll forced Morrison to adapt to the changes, as he had lost a lot of popularity. In March 1958 he played the energetic number Rock and Roll Itch for the small label Metro Records . Together with the milder Airforce Blues , the single was only perceived in the Miami area. Morrison was accompanied by the band The Billey Rocks during this time .

After Metro had to close due to a dispute with the major label MGM Records , Morrison switched to Henry Stone's label Mida Records , which was also based in Miami. Together with the Billey Rocks he played Rock and Roll Itch and Airforce Blues again, but this time a little more cautiously. He reduced the tempo of Rock and Roll Itch , dispensed with an echo effect and built a piano into the songs. Again, the single did not reach the national charts. Nevertheless, he was allowed to record a second single with Mida in 1959, Sloppy, Sloppy Suzie . This title was an instrumental, which was introduced or ended by a verse, sung by Morrison, at the beginning and at the end.

In the early 1960s, the success of rock and roll and rockabilly faded, so that Morrison turned back to country music. In Glenwood , Illinois , he founded his own label, Curly Q Records, on which he released his own records. His first single was released there in April 1963 with Ace In the Hole / Bill Bailey . In the years that followed, Morrison recorded more records, but did not achieve the big breakthrough.

Today Morrison is best known for this scene through numerous re-releases on rockabilly samplers. In total, his songs can be found on 14 different re-releases since 1980.

Discography

year	title	Label #
1958	Rock and Roll Itch / Airforce Blues	Metro 100
1958	Rock and Roll Itch / Airforce Blues	Mida 100
1959	Sloppy, Sloppy Suzie / Didn't I Tell You?	Mida 108
1963	Ace In the Hole / Bill Bailey	Curly Q CQ-001/2
	My Old Stand By / The Used Car Blues	Curly Q 5707
	My Old Stand By / The Used Car Blues	Curly Q 5707 1
	That Ace In the Hole / Bill Bailey	Curly Q 5708
	You Made Me Happy Again / The Campfire Song	Curly Q 5709
	Oh Lonesome Me / West Virginia Love In	Curly Q BP-219
	Old Man Honest /?	Maridene 103

¹ This single was released with the same catalog number as the previous one (Curly Q 5707), but has a different matrix number, so they must be different recordings.

Web links

• Discography with audio samples