Biography
The singing pianist who cut "Jealous Heart" for Universal in 1949 and watched it climb the charts is not identical to the bassist whom jazz players routinely sought out for sessions. That other Al Morgan left behind so many recordings that the eight letters of his ordinary name could scarcely contain them. All documented sides ever issued under this name as leader or featured performer are gathered on the single 2002 Jasmine retrospective Jealous Heart & Other Original Favourites. Until its appearance, any listener wanting to hear the material had to rummage through stacks of second-hand 78s. Morgan himself proved remarkably productive, issuing fresh singles at a pace rivaling the daily output of They Might Be Giants’ Dial-A-Song project. Certain collectors still favor the surface noise of the original pressings over later digital transfers, an attitude he anticipated by recording the Carmen Lombardo number “Get Out Those Old Records.” Born in Chicago, Morgan reached his greatest commercial success with the aforementioned “Jealous Heart,” whose strong sales prompted London Records to purchase the master; the track remained on the hit parade for more than six months. Subsequent London releases included “Half a Heart Is All You Left Me” and the expansive “The Place Where I Worship Is the Wide Open Spaces.”