I’ve Come to Wish You a Happy Birthday, Morrissey!

Photograph: Jake Walters

My apologies for the title, I couldn’t resist.  Moz turns 53 years young today!

Never heard of Morrissey?  I’d put money on some of your favorite bands/artists listing him, and his former band The Smiths, among their influences.  For a solid three decades Morrissey has provided an intelligent, dark humored soundtrack to unrequited love, regret, loneliness, and the confusion of “growing up” for all those perpetually sixteen, clumsy, and shy (yours truly included).

The man, himself, was born Steven Patrick Morrissey in Manchester, England in 1959 (FUN FACT #1:  When he was a teen, Morrissey’s mom worked in his local public library!).  As the legend goes, sometime in 1982, a teenage guitarist named Johnny Marr (Modest Mouse, The Cribs) knocked on Morrissey’s door (pretty much out of the blue) and insisted that they start writing songs together.  Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce soon joined on bass and drums, and The Smiths were born.  Over the next five years the band would release four albums, countless singles, and a handful of compilations (all of which are incredible).  The group split up in 1987.  Today, The Smiths are generally regarded as one of the greatest bands of all time.

Photograph: Stephen Wright

After the group’s demise, Morrissey became a successful solo artist.  To date, he’s released nine studio albums and has toured the world over (FUN FACT #2: He played Pittsburgh in 2009.  I was there.  It was nuts.)  Aside from music, Morrissey is an adamant supporter of animal rights and vegetarianism.




There’s more to life than books, you know – but not much more… So check out these books about Morrissey and The Smiths!

               

Jon : CLP Carrick