3 Minute Update is the newest SoulTracks feature. It is designed to give classic soul fans a chance to catch up with what’s going on with their favorite soul music artists of the 60s, 70s and 80s. All in three minutes. Our latest in the series is a 3 minute update on: Meli’sa Morgan. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section and hit us up with your suggestions of future 3 Minute Updates by using the “Contact Us” button below.
Like many Soul Music vocalists, Queens, New York native Meli’sa Morgan began singing as a child in church and dreamed of a performing career. By the time she was a teenager, Morgan was singing in local bands and entering talent contests. She was accepted and attended Julliard School of the Performing Arts and also attended the famed Lee Strassberg acting school.
Once out of school Morgan began paying her dues as a backup singer, both on stage and in the recording studio, working with a number of major artists including Whitney Houston and Chaka Khan. She also had a brief stint as a featured singer in the dance group Shades of Love. Her strong, deep voice caught the attention of Capitol Records, and she was signed to a solo recording contract in 1985.
Morgan’s debut single, a cover of Prince’s “Do Me Baby,” shot to the top of the R&B charts and the album of the same name hit the top five. It showed Morgan to be an appealing, sultry singer and a developing songwriter. She followed “Do Me Baby” with another R&B hit, “Do You Still Love Me.” For her 1987 sophomore disc Good Love, Morgan teamed with then-hot songwriter/producer Kashif (Tavares, Evelyn King) and climbed the R&B charts again with “Love Changes” — to this day perhaps her most celebrated song — as well as the top five “If You Can Do It I Can Do It Too.”
While the hits slowed down in the 90s, Meli’sa stayed busy as a guest vocalist on the projects of other artists as well as on stage both in concerts and in various stage plays. She also recorded the 2005 album I Remember, which wowed her fans and won for her the Female Vocalist of the Year in the SoulTracks Readers Choice Awards.
Now, more than three decades after her first hit, Meli’sa is back in force, with a new song, a new music video, and an upcoming movie. Footprints of An Angel, Meli’sa’s movie debut, will be hitting theaters in June. Not only will fans see her in a key acting role, but will also hear her sing (no spoilers here). And speaking of singing, Meli’sa recorded the title song for the movie, a midtempo that begins with a sample of “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” and extrapolates into a beautiful story of memories and the continued inspiration of those who have passed before us. On it Meli’sa again shows off her deep, rich tones, so familiar to her longtime fans.
We’re proud to present the video for “Footprints of an Angel” single, which will be released on Meli’sa’s own Asilem label. And we’re excited to update SoulTrackers on an all-time favorite artist who is sounding better than ever. Be sure to check out both the song and the movie Footprints of An Angel.
By Chris Rizik
