James Morrison Catchpole is the proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing, his ’70s R&B-infused pop songs somewhat incongruously juxtaposed with the Englishman’s tough-guy pastimes of fist fighting and cliff diving. Or not. He’ll modify the details of his life from one interview to the next, so who’s to say precisely how it is? No matter, because by all accounts Morrison — he dropped Catchpole for his stage name — had a pretty rough upbringing that included an absentee alcoholic dad and a mum who moved her three kids far too many times. When most kids were still playing with toys, after-school for young Morrison meant a series of jobs to help pay the rent; from kitchen porter and van washer to busking and laboring in an old folks’ home, he did it all.

Morrison contracted whooping cough as an infant and died briefly before being resuscitated. The attendant silver lining is a raspy voice that has been likened to those of Stevie Wonder (“If I could sound like anyone, it would be him,” Morrison has said), Otis Redding and Terence Trent D’Arby, and you can add Ray LaMontagne to the list. That voice and his authentic soul music made Morrison the U.K.’s biggest-selling male artist in 2006 and helped his debut album, Undiscovered, sell two million copies worldwide. His first two singles, “You Give Me Something” and “Wonderful World,” were international hits, allowing him to tour the world and sparking guest spots on albums by Jason Mraz and Yusuf “Cat Stevens” Islam.

In 2008, just as the 24-year-old Morrison was becoming a father for the first time, he returned with Songs for You, Truths for Me, on which he collaborated with several of the same co-writers from Undiscovered. His sophomore set also features a duet with pop songstress Nelly Furtado.

Provenance: Rugby, Warwickshire, England

Latest Release: Songs for You, Truths for Me (2008)

© 2009 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.

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