Jeffrey Morgan
| Jeffrey Morgan | |
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 Jeffrey Morgan in the recording studio, 1977 Photo credit: Tom Robe © 1977 |
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| Pen name | Machine Rock |
| Occupation | Writer, Biographer, Editor |
| Genres | Rock Criticism, Biography, Satire |
| Literary movement | Postmodern, Gonzo |
| Notable work(s) | Alice Cooper, The Stooges, CREEM Magazine, Mister X, Jeffrey Morgan’s Media Blackout |
| Notable award(s) | Superior Scribing Award, 2005 |
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Influenced
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www.jeffreymorgan.info |
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Jeffrey Morgan is a Canadian writer, musician, photographer, and poet who lives in Toronto, Ontario. Morgan is best known for being the authorized biographer of both Alice Cooper and The Stooges.
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[edit] Writing
[edit] CREEM
Morgan became the de facto Canadian Editor of CREEM: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine after he was recruited by its editor, Lester Bangs, in the summer of 1974. He began there as a photographer with a 1974 picture of rock musicians Lou Reed and Alice Cooper together on stage at Massey Hall, which illustrated Bangs' infamous March 1975 cover story "Let Us Now Praise Famous Death Dwarves".
Morgan's first published record review, of David Bowie's 1965 Pye Records single "Can't Help Thinking About Me", ran in the October 1975 issue.
Morgan's writing went on to appear in every issue of CREEM until the magazine’s demise in November 1988. In 2003 Morgan renewed his relationship with the magazine by writing media reviews and interviews for its website every month for five years until 2008.
[edit] Other writing
After being discovered by Bangs but prior to his first publication in CREEM, Morgan spent the balance of 1974 honing his craft as a rock photographer and rock critic for York University's weekly newspaper Excalibur.
From 1975 to 1978, Morgan was the editor of a free monthly Canadian rock magazine initially titled Cheap Thrills then StageLife and finally Roxy. All three incarnations were published by Concert Productions International, which was a major promoter of rock concerts and tours in North America run by Bill Ballard and future Rolling Stones concert promoter Michael Cohl.
During this period, Morgan was also the staff copywriter for CBS Records Canada, for whom he wrote back cover liner notes for an album of baroque music by classical guitarist Liona Boyd. After reading them, however, Boyd demanded that the notes be deleted before the album was released, claiming that Morgan made her "sound like a rock star".
Morgan's poetry was published by Rolling Stone magazine in 1978.
Between 2004 and 2009, Morgan wrote an award-winning weekly newspaper column for Detroit's Metro Times entitled Jeffrey Morgan's Media Blackout. In 2010, the column relocated to rocksbackpages.com and Morgan's own website.
[edit] Alice Cooper
In 1992, Morgan began writing the authorized biography of Alice Cooper. His finished biography, titled Alcohol and Razor Blades, Poison and Needles: The Glorious Wretched Excess of Alice Cooper, All-American appears in the box set The Life and Crimes of Alice Cooper which was published by Warner Bros. on April 20, 1999.
In 2011, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum cited Morgan’s biography as “Recommended Reading” about Alice Cooper, alongside Alice’s own 1976 autobiography Me, Alice.[1]
Morgan also wrote the liner notes for two other Cooper albums: 2001’s Mascara and Monsters: The Best of Alice Cooper and the 2002 reissue of Welcome To My Nightmare.
[edit] The Stooges
In 2008, Morgan began writing the authorized biography of The Stooges. His finished biography, titled The Stooges, Yes appears in The Stooges: The Authorized and Illustrated Story which was published in hardcover by Abrams on October 1, 2009.
[edit] Music
In 1975, Morgan met conceptual illustrator and graphic designer Dean Motter, with whom he would collaborate on a number of projects. Between 1977 and 1980, they recorded an "ambient electronic avant-garde progressive art rock album" called Thrilling Women under the collective band name of the Air Pirates. The album featured vocalist Paul Robinson of The Diodes, guitarist Toby Swann of The Battered Wives, and saxophonist Andy Haas of Martha And The Muffins.
In 2002, a song from the album, "A Darkened Stretch", was released by Bongo Beat Records on the compilation Driving In The Rain: 3AM (Songs To Get Lost With).[2]
In 2011, Bongo Beat released the complete album Thrilling Women: The Lost Air Pirates Sessions - Toronto: 1978 - 1980.
[edit] Comics
One of Morgan's first instances of comic book writing appeared in issue #16 (April 1979) of the alternative press anthology series Star*Reach.[3] His 16-page cover story, Murphy’s Law, was illustrated by Ken Steacy.
Morgan wrote volume two of Dean Motter's Vortex Comics series Mister X,[4] the first volume of which ran 12 issues cover-dated June 1984 to August 1988. When Motter left the first, color series to work on other projects, he asked Morgan to assume the writing duties for a second, black-and-white volume, which ran 12 issues cover-dated April 1989 to March 1990.[5]
In 2008, again at Motter's behest, Morgan wrote the introduction to Volume One of Dark Horse Comics' hardcover omnibus Mister X: The Archives.
In 2011, Dark Horse reprinted his Mister X stories in a deluxe hardcover edition titled The Brides of Mister X.[6]
