Grace Morrison has spent most of her musical career seeking refuge from the spotlight. Whether it was singing backup for rock icons like Eddie Money and Joey Molland (of Badfinger fame), or trying to blend in with various bandmates, being the center of attention has never been comfortable for her. Fast forward to 2020, and just like for most of us, she spent a lot of time deciding what she really wanted after being told what she couldn’t do — in her case, play music for people.
With her new album, Daughter, Morrison establishes herself as a confident, refreshing voice in country-pop. The 12-song collection is certain to find favor with fans of the storytelling and delivery of Jewel and Lisa Loeb, as well as with those who enjoy singing along with Boyz II Men on their car stereo.
Her new song “Put Down the Bottle” is a juiced-up power-pop banger, but the lyrics tell another story.
“My hope is that anyone who has ever loved someone with an addiction issue will know exactly what this song is about,” Morrison writes. “Loving someone with an addiction can be such a terribly isolating thing. One minute you’re angry because you’ve found yet another bottle of vodka hidden in the oven and you think, ‘THIS is it — I am done.’ The next moment, there is that vulnerable person you love and you so desperately want to help them that you stay, to your own detriment, and try to put Band-Aids on their life. Sometimes being done is the best help you can give someone. Because at the end of the day, they have to pick themselves up before they can walk anywhere with you.”
Name a perfect song and tell us why you feel that way.
This answer may be a bit polarizing, but I love “Total Eclipse of the Heart.” Now, there are so many ways in which a song can be perfect. Take John Prine for example, the storytelling is impeccable. I’d say Lori McKenna’s perfection falls into that same category of story-weaver. But “Total Eclipse” is different. What catches me before lyrics is melody. And beyond melody, it’s the “handles” of a song. The things that you can grab onto that truly define a song.
What I think “Eclipse” does so beautifully is give you multiple little handles to hold on to without being herky-jerky. Every section is memorable and blends right into the next. There are songs that are nice when you’re in the moment, but you can’t quite recall the next day. Can’t say that about “Total Eclipse,” it’s memorable, it moves in unexpected ways without feeling forced, and it was written to be a vampire love song. What more can you ask for? PS-play this on a jukebox at a bar at 11:30pm and see what happens. People love this song, they just don’t want to admit it.
Do you have any go-to albums to listen to in the van?
When I tour, it’s with my husband driving and our *now* toddler in the backseat. The answer I’m about to give was relevant when our son was one and we had a full-on cross country tour. He was quiet and content to nap and/or watch his iPad. We haven’t hit the road since COVID (we leave in 3 days) and I think it’ll be a bit different now that he’s 2 ½+ but that being said…we are nerds. We had a moment the other night when we had just sat down after a long day, put on a Richard III documentary and said to each other “Yup, this is all I want from life.”
So what we binge on long drives is historical podcasts. Fans of my earlier work won’t be surprised (I wrote an entire album of songs about King Henry VIII and his wives and children). The plan for this tour is a deep dive into the Wars of the Roses….Talking Tudors is a great podcast and my favorite historian Suzannah Lipscomb’s podcast Not Just the Tudors is fab. Y’all, did you know that JUST THIS YEAR they believe they’ve found a piece of King Henry VIII’s crown?! Yup I’m a nerd. Kinda crossing my fingers that our boy will either be super into our podcasts or super into the books I bought him for the road.
How are you using your platform to support marginalized people?
I don’t think that I do enough. And I’m not sure how to do more. I would love input. As a relatively small indie artist it can be easy to think that because my audiences aren’t huge I can’t make a big impact. But it all starts with us, right? So for starters, I had to realize that I DO NOT fully understand what it feels like to be marginalized. I’ve had a taste of being diminished because I’m a woman, but that isn’t the same. The epiphany I had was when Trayvon Martin was murdered. I had just gotten home from an evening walk. I wore a hooded sweatshirt. Not once did I think someone would assume I was a criminal. It blew my mind and broke my heart to realize (and I know I was late to this realization) that not everybody in our country has that “freedom.” Because that really is a freedom: to never worry that folks assume the worst of you. I wrote a song about this called, “America.” One thing I’m working on is how I introduce that song, because it is just so very important that those of us who are not marginalized put some time into reflecting on that. It’s not political, it’s just being a thoughtful human. Man, does it drive me bonkers that people politicize that. And please, tell me how I can do better.
What 5 albums are you going to make your kid listen to and why?
This question makes me chuckle. I had so many plans for my son. Then he was born and had no interest in any of my plans. I’ve tried getting him into the Beatles via Yellow Submarine. I thought because there was a cartoon he’d be into it. But nope. I’ve tried The Buddy System, a really beautiful children’s album by my friends Lyndy Butler and Cherie Call (don’t think of it as children’s music — it’s wonderful and whimsical for all ages.) But at the time he just wanted to jump like a monkey on the bed, because for 6+ months the only music that compelled him was “5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.” The songs that have stuck are “Super Trouper” by Abba,“I Want to Hold Your Hand” by the Beatles, and “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” by Manfred Mann. I’ll take those as wins!
But a girl can dream, so if I had my way he would be real into: The Stranger by Billy Joel, Extraordinary Machine by Fiona Apple, The Beekeeper by Tori Amos (this was a favorite before I realized my producer played bass on the record), Whitechocolatespaceegg by Liz Phair, and Carmen Sings Monk by Carmen Mcrae
Do you try to make the most of being in a city, or do you prefer to just rest up?
As a sleep-anxiety sufferer this kinda sorta depends on how I’ve slept and when I’ve gotta sing. BUT, the beauty of being a touring artist is that you get to exorcise your wanderlust while working! It’s a win-win! So in general we absolutely make the most of it. Get me to the historical landmarks!!! My mother is 78 and other than joining me on my honeymoon, and traveling with me on my last one-off date in Salt Lake City, she’s never left Massachusetts.
So we plan to bring her with us as much as possible. She and I just got to experience Antelope Island in Utah which was breathtaking! Get yourself there. My husband gets giddy whenever tour dates bring us through Civil War battle sites, and I am 100% planning a European tour so that I can sing in a castle. The easiest answer to this question would have been a simple “Yes, get me a concierge and some pamphlets please.”
Daughter is now available on all streaming services