James Morrison Ringtones

At the ripe old age of 21, James Morrison became an overnight sensation in the U.K. with the release of his debut album, Undiscovered, which wasted little time going platinum in the British Isles after it was released in the summer of 2006. Blessed with a fresh, soulful voice that can seem rough or smooth at will (and suggests a British Stevie Wonder), Morrison recalls both the passion of classic soul and the confessional lyrical stance of the singer/songwriters of the 1970s.

Morrison was born in the West Midlands town of Rugby, where he soaked up the influence of his parents' record collection -- his mother was a fan of soul music, especially Otis Redding, Van Morrison, and Al Green, while his dad was big on country and classic folk such as Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. While he's been short on specifics, Morrison has alluded to an unhappy childhood touched by poverty and illness -- describing Rugby, he told a journalist that "[t]he best thing is I've got memories of being a kid there and the worst thing is I've got memories of being a kid there" -- and early on he struck out on his own, earning pocket money by busking on the streets of Porth, a village near the Cornish coast.

Morrison worked odd jobs across the country while writing songs and playing gigs whenever he could, and his big break came when a demo of his material caught the ear of an A&R man at Polydor Records. Morrison was quickly signed to the label, and he went into the studio with producer Martin Terefe to record the 13 original songs that comprise Undiscovered, which hit the streets in August 2006.

A well-received appearance on Jools Holland's chat show Later and an opening slot on Corinne Bailey Rae's British concert tour made Morrison a name to watch, and his songs "You Give Me Something" and "The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore" became major hits in the U.K. In January 2007, Morrison played a short tour of the United States as the buzz about his album began to cross the ocean....read more