Walter “Junie” Morrison has died at the age of 62 after gracing the earth with some of the greatest funk music ever made. Producer, writer, keyboardist, vocalist, and musical director bar none, Morrison’s legacy is out of this world.
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On Thursday, February 16, his daughter Akasha announced that her father had died on January 21. No cause was specified, allowing Morrison to keep his business to himself.
Born in 1954, with no date of birth given on his Wikipedia page, Morrison rose to global prominence as the architect of not one but two major funk bands: Parliament-Funkadelic and the Ohio Players. He kicked things off in the early 1970s as a vocalist for the Ohio Players, working on their albums Pain, Pleasure, and Ecstasy. He also was credited with writing and arranging “Funky Worm,” their 1973 hit.
He left the Ohio Players a year later to do his own thing, releasing three solo albums: When We Do, Freeze, and Suzie Supergroupie.
In 1977, Morrison begame musical director of Parliament-Funkadelic, bringing them to new heights in the late ‘70s He made major contributions to the platinum-selling album, One Nation Under a Groove and the single “(Not Just) Knee Deep,” which hit #1 on the U.S. R&B charts in 1979. He also contributed to the gold albums Motor Booty Affair and Gloryhallastoopid.
After leaving the band in 1980, he recorded three solo albums including Bread Alone, Junie 5, and Evacuate Your Sheets during the first half of the decade. When he wasn’t making his own music, he could be producing and collaborating with other artists.
Morrison’s sound and style was singular, influencing generations of artists, most recently Solange with her tribute, “Junie” on A Seat at the Table, featuring André 3000. Last October, Morrison told The Fader, “When she informed me about her song, I was a bit taken aback by the surprise but very appreciative that she wanted to put time and energy into creating it. She indicated that she had written a song around my vibe and inspiration, and also indicated that it was very long and called, ‘Junie.’ Suffice it to say, I was like, WHAAAT???!!!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnWiZa0BwEg
When she learned of his death, Solange wrote a personal post published at her Saint Heron website, sharing the impact Morrison had on her as an artist: “I wrote the song to honor the brilliant Junie Morrison and the impact his work and story had on me, while wanting to challenge my own relationship with “sharing your magic.” The more I learned about Junie, the more I learned how much of his gift he shared through his musical contributions to others; how we have all in some way or another been touched by his contributions to funk music, and about his wealth of inspiration to other musicians. The more he came up, the more I heard the words underrated and under-credited. But the greatest lesson I learned about Junie Morison is that the magic was endless….and the truest testament to real authentic magic….is that it can’t be made….. it just is. When that kind of magic exists, it will happen again and again, no matter what the potion of players are. He had it in his hands. He was very appreciated. He was the ‘Super Spirit’ indeed.”
Morrison’s influence can be felt on music for the past 45 years from funk and R&B to samples lacing classic Hip hop tracks from artists including Kanye West, Jay Z, J Dilla, A Tribe Called Quest, Digital Underground, De La Soul, the Roots.
In tribute to Junie Morrison, a one-man band, Crave presents some of our faves in honor of the legend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXs0Ir5GcU0
De La Soul – My Myself And I
Kanye West (Ft. Kendrick Lamar) – No More Parties in LA
J Dilla – So Far to Go (Ft. Common & D’Angelo)
Lyrics Born and The Poets of Rhythm – I Changed My Mind
Miss Rosen is a journalist covering art, photography, culture, and books. Her byline has appeared in L’Uomo Vogue, Whitewall, Dazed Digital, Jocks and Nerds, and L’Oeil de la Photographie. Follow her on Twitter @Miss_Rosen.
