Songs I Grew Up with John Morgan

John Morgan is an incredibly talented songwriter turned singer who we had the pleasure to sit down and chat with on Tuesday for our installment of Songs I Grew Up On. He talked through the five songs that he believes raised him up to be the artist and performer he is today.

This North Carolina native is new to Nashville but has played music practically his whole life. “I grew up playing bluegrass music and I toured that circuit for seven-eight years until I got tired of it,” said Morgan. “I started really wanting to write my own music and sing stuff that I would want to say. That part’s been kinda a dream-come-true.”

Before transitioning to a front man himself, Morgan wrote songs for other country musicians to sing. His first cut was the hit song “I Didn’t Love You”, sung by Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood. It showed he had promise as well as some raw talent for songwriting. “It's been a huge blessing to me,“ he excliamed, "Just having my first cut be what it was.”

Now, Morgan sings his own songs, and he has a new one called “Good With Goodbye” that just came out last Friday. He’s also about to go on tour with Jason Aldean. Consider adding him to your “must listen” playlists, but in the meantime, here are the five songs John Morgan grew up on.

1. “Stranger in My House” by Ronnie Milsap

Morgan fell in love with Ronnie Milsap because of his incredible piano-playing abilities. That talent drew him towards Milsap’s music. “Most musicians listen to guitarists for inspiration,” said Morgan. “He was able to shred on the piano, and he can sing his ass off!”

2. “Every Mile a Memory” by Dierks Bentley

“This one’s kind of nostalgic for me because I remember the day I bought that record,” Morgan explained to The Nash News. “It was the first country record I bought myself with my own money.” His love for Long Trip Alone had a lot to do with Brett Beavers, who was a producer on that album. The sound and the mix on that record fit together “like a glove. Every song [transitions] into the next one like he [is] putting on a show. That’s really hard to do.”

3. “Miami, My Amy” by Keith Whitley

“That one’s pretty self-explanatory,” Morgan laughed. It’s in the raw, natural quality of Keith Whitley’s voice that Morgan finds inspiration. He feels deeply connected to Whitely because he also got his start in bluegrass music, and transitioned to a specific style of storytelling that felt like his own. “That guy could rip your heart out and you wouldn’t even know it.”

4. “Church Street Blues” by Tony Rice

The coolest thing about this song, according to Morgan, is the fact that the guitar part sounds like a banjo. “He’s definitely one of the top two guitar players overall for me,” said Morgan. “He’s the guy that got me interested in becoming more than just a rhythm player.” When he was ten or eleven, Morgan asked for and received Tony Rice’s instructional guitar video on VHS for Christmas. “I watched that thing a million times,” Morgan said. He attributed his guitar skills to Rice and his tapes, with their crazy rhythmic patterns and clear teachings.

5. “Here Without You” by 3 Doors Down

It was hard for Morgan to pinpoint exactly what drew him to this song. He eventually chalked it up to the fact that “this song just slaps.” It was one of the first five or ten songs he downloaded on my mp3 player and remembers feeling like it was the best song he ever heard. Morgan covered the song back home in North Carolina and continues to play “Here Without You” in his 60 minute live set. “It’s still one of my favorite songs,” he said.

Check out John Morgan’s new song “Good With Goodbye” out now!

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