I was sitting at home the other night, scrolling through the recent releases on iTunes as I tend to do sometimes. I’m not sure whether it’s the fact that I’m in this class or just the fact that country music has been growing on me lately, but I decided to check out what was popular in Country instead of Rap/Hip-Hop like I usually do. Then I stumbled upon William Michael Morgan‘s self-titled “William Michael Morgan – EP”.
Even just from the album cover, I could tell this was going to be a good old traditional country album. Clean-shaven, cowboy hat on, grainy block letters and a coffee-colored button down. It seems like the only stereotypes missing were a guitar and maybe some sort of alcoholic beverage peeking out somewhere. Either way, this image had me primed for some true country listening. And that’s exactly what I got.
I was surprised to discover just how nice his voice and music was! His lyrics are thoughtful and his tunes are definitely catchy. If you haven’t heard any of his music yet, I’d recommend what I thought was his catchiest song – “Beer Drinker”.
I love this song! He says, “Let’s give it up for the guys on the clock / who work all week and twist one off / thank a beer drinker.” It’s a catchy song encouraging us to thank all the behind the scenes people in life who make sure we can “flip a switch without a hitch” and who fix things, like keeping “our hot tubs hot and our AC’s cool.” This song sounds about as country as it gets with the acoustic guitar, occasional guitar riffs, piano in the back, steel guitar, and the twang in his voice.
While that song’s great, another one of my favorites off of his EP would definitely have to be his hit “I Met a Girl.” This song is really nice: more uptempo guitar really gets your head bobbin’ to the music. Steel guitar is a little more prominent and helps set the romantic mood in this song. The chorus is as catchy as it gets, but it’s the bridge that comes in about 2 minutes into the song that really caught my ear.
He sings “when you turned around / my whole world got turned upside down / and the only thing that I could say was – hey.” I admit, that first part of the line would be tough without being in some sort of alternate universe, but the simplicity of him being so enamored with her that all he could say was “hey” was both touching and truly relatable. This song made me think about the first time I met my now fiancé, and so those lyrics really resonated with me. And he’s got some real clever lyrics in this song too – “she don’t need umbrellas in the summer rain / she could catch the eye of a hurricane/ in blue jeans and pearls.”
You can’t just take my word for it though – check out his music and let me know what you think. Maybe I’m just behind and everybody already knows about this guy, but if you haven’t heard of him yet, do yourself a favor and take a listen to the other 4 songs on his EP as well. He talks about romance and cheating, about working hard and drinking beer, about blue jeans and vinyl – it’s got all the elements of a classic country album put together with pleasant vocals and a great, catchy sound. And who knows, if you like him enough, you can catch him live performing in nearby Salado, Texas on April 23rd!
I really enjoyed reading your post and learning about William Michael Morgan. I had never heard of him until I read your post, but I listened to both of the videos you added on the post and I really enjoyed his voice. When I listened to “I Met a Girl”, it sounded incredibly familiar. I looked it up because it was bothering me that it was a familiar song, and it turns out I had heard it before but through Sam Hunt! I knew Hunt had cowritten this song and I had heard it on his Between the Pines album. It was really interesting to hear this song from a different artist, and hearing how each artist interprets the song and makes it their own. I enjoyed reading your post! Thanks for introducing me to a great artist!
Wow! I have heard “I Met A Girl” on the radio, but never knew who sang it. I really liked it, but always forgot to research it. Thank you for posting about him and his recent work. “Beer Drinker” is also incredibly catchy and his drinking a beer before playing set the mood right. I am now going to check his other songs out. He is a very talented musician and has a good voice. He even manages to keep his southern twang while he sings, without ruining the music. He may just be the next country star!
I like how you assumed that his album would be traditional country based off of his cover photo. It does look like it belongs more in the 90’s country scene then in today’s, but you were right, his songs didn’t disappoint. I haven’t heard of this artist till your post, but that “Beer Dranker” song is really nice. Just in the short two and half minutes of him singing I got a new found respect for those who do their jobs everyday that go unnoticed, but we can’t function without them. I really enjoyed the videos you added. Good job. I love when I find new artists to YouTube, during my free time. PS. I find myself listening to more country music too since being in this class. lol It grows on you!
Very interesting post! I’ve been the same way recently; ever since I started this class, I’ve been more interested in whats going on with the country music world and it definitely grows on you. I had never heard of him before but I have to say I agree with you, he is very talented and definitely traditional country. I really enjoyed listening to “Beer Drinker,” and I thought his lyrics were pretty good as well. I hope to hear more of Michael Morgan in the future.
I’ve never heard of this guy before! He sounds pretty good, though. I don’t know if I would listen to him regularly, but he sounds very authentic, that’s for sure! He looks pretty young, too, which I always like to see; it makes me happy when someone beats the odds and makes it as a young musician because it (usually) shows a lot of hard work and perseverance. Although his lyrics are simple, I do agree with you that he makes up for it with his melodies and craftiness on the guitar. Glad you shared him with us!