Ken Morris (May 28, 1941 – October 2, 2014) – Keep On Jumpin’ (1978)

The unsung singer/songwriter and producer co-wrote Musique's disco classic with Patrick Adams, which went to #1 on dance charts.

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Ken Morris was a singer/songwriter, producer, and frequent collaborator with the great Patrick Adams on many underground disco classics.

Born in Harlem, Morris began collaborating with the multi-talented songwriter, arranger and producer Patrick Adams in the late seventies.

Possibly the best known track they co-wrote together was their first. The disco anthem “Keep On Jumpin’” became the title track to the debut album by Adams’ studio group Musique. It started off as a low-budget recording session at engineer Bob Blank’s studio, with Adams writing the horn sections as the studio musicians waited. The vocalists featured on the album were Jocelyn Brown, Angela Howell, Gina Tharps, and Adams’ future partner Christine Wiltshire. Released on Prelude Records in 1978, the LP reached #62 on the Billboard 200. “Keep On Jumpin’” went to #1 on disco charts in both the U.S. and Canada.

Morris next became part of Adams’ studio project Phreek and sang backing vocals on their 1978 debut album, which included the now-classic “Weekend” with Wiltshire on lead vocals. That same year, Adams and Morris co-wrote a pair of tracks for Herbie Mann’s disco-flavored LP Super Mann. The best was the stellar jazz-funk-disco jam “Etagui,” issued as the B-side to the album’s title track “Superman.”

There is controversy over whether or not Morris co-wrote Adams’ top-ten disco hit “I’m Caught Up (In A One Night Love Affair)” (1979) by Inner Life, featuring Jocelyn Brown on lead vocals. Early promo copies credited him as the co-writer, but the commercially released 12” versions listed singer/songwriter Terri Gonzalez instead.

But there is no doubt that he and Adams co-wrote, co-arranged, and co-produced several tracks on Venus Dodson’s 1979 LP Night Rider, including its superb opening cut “It’s My Turn” and the title track, remixed by Jim Burgess. The album was released on Ray Caviano’s RFC Records dance music subsidiary of Warner Bros.

Happy Heavenly Birthday to the great Ken Morris.

#soul #funk #disco #PatrickAdams #KenMorris