Steven J. Morse (born July 28, 1954 in Hamilton, Ohio).
Although Steve Morse enjoyed a healthy following among guitar
players, his name was never a household commodity, and he
remained a cult figure who earned his greatest success in
the readers′ polls held annually by musicians′ magazines.
Although initially inspired by
the Beatles, as a teen, Morse began
to expand his listening to include
the Yardbirds, Jimi Hendrix
and
Led Zeppelin. He became fascinated with guitar after seeing
a concert by classical guitarist
Juan Mercadal.
Deeply influenced by a campus performance by
John McLaughlin′s
Mahavishnu Quartet while attending the
University of Miami,
Morse decided to focus on instrumental rock music; in 1974 that
he put together his first band,
the Dixie Dregs (later simply
the
Dregs), which would go on to become one of the defining groups
in the fusion rock genre.
After some 14 albums fronting the Dregs,
the
Steve Morse Band began their recording career in 1984 with
an album called
Two Faces. Soon after,
Elektra
Records snatched Morse up and he cut two albums
for the company,
The Introduction in 1984 and
Stand
Up in 1985, before switching to
MCA. Morse releases
for the label included
High Tension Wires (1989),
Southern Steel (1991), and
Coast to Coast (1992). After
leaving MCA in 1992, Morse recorded two excellent
albums for
Windham Hill/BMG Records,
Structural
Damage (1995) and
StressFest (1996), and also
joined
Deep Purple for a U.S. and European tour
in 1996.
(source AMG AllMusic)
Sample:
The road home from the album High tension
wires (1989).