{{Redirect|Walter Morrison|the inventor|Walter Frederick Morrison|the British politician|Walter Morrison (MP)}} {{more citations needed|date=February 2017}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Walter "Junie" Morrison | image =Walter Junie Morrison_resize.jpg | image_size = | caption = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = Walter Morrison | alias = J.S. Theracon | birth_date = June 28, 1954 | birth_place = Dayton, Ohio, U.S. | death_date = January 21, 2017 (aged 62) | death_place = London, England | origin = | instrument = Keyboards, vocals, guitar, bass guitar, drums, marimba, trumpet | genre = Funk | occupation = Keyboardist, vocalist, producer | website = {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930161258/http://www.juniemorrison.com/ |date=September 30, 2011 |title=Junie Morrison Online}} }}

'''Walter''' "'''Junie'''" '''Morrison''' (June 28, 1954 &ndash; January 21, 2017) was an American songwriter, record producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. He was a member of the Ohio Players in the early 1970s, and later became a member and musical director of Parliament-Funkadelic. Morrison is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. George Clinton once described Morrison as "the most phenomenal musician on the planet."<ref name=allmusic/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thestranger.com/slog/2017/02/17/24877669/walter-junie-morrison-key-member-of-ohio-players-and-funkadelic-has-died|title=Walter "Junie" Morrison, Key Member of Ohio Players and Funkadelic, Has Died|author=Segal, Dave|website=TheStranger.com|publisher=The Stranger|access-date=17 February 2017}}</ref>

==Biography== Born in Dayton, Ohio, Morrison sang and played piano as a child, soon learning a range of other instruments and becoming a school choir director and orchestra conductor.<ref name=rcobit>"Not Forgotten: Walter "Junie" Morrison", ''Record Collector'', #465, April 2017, p.140</ref> In 1970, he joined the funk band the Ohio Players, becoming a producer, writer, keyboardist and vocalist involved in some of their major hits and the albums ''Pain'', ''Pleasure'', and ''Ecstasy''. He was largely responsible for writing and arranging the band's 1973 hit single, "Funky Worm".<ref name=allmusic>[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/walter-junie-morrison-mn0000300262/biography Biography by John Bush, ''Allmusic.com'']. Retrieved 16 February 2017</ref>

He left the band in 1974 to release three solo albums on Westbound Records, on which he played all the instruments,<ref name=rcobit/> credited as Junie &ndash; ''When We Do'', ''Freeze'', and ''Suzie Supergroupie''.<ref name=allmusic/>

In 1977 Morrison joined George Clinton's P-Funk (Parliament-Funkadelic) as musical director. He brought a unique sound to P-Funk and played a key role during the time of their greatest popularity from 1978 through 1980. In particular, he made prominent contributions to the platinum-selling Funkadelic album ''One Nation Under a Groove'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/junie-morrison-dead/|title=Funkadelic's Junie Morrison Dies|author=Deriso, Nick|website=Ultimate Classic Rock|access-date=16 February 2017}}</ref> the single "(Not Just) Knee Deep" (a #1 hit on the U.S. R&B charts in 1979), the gold-selling Parliament albums ''Motor Booty Affair'', and ''Gloryhallastoopid''. Morrison also played on and produced some P-Funk material under the pseudonym J.S. Theracon.

After his time with Parliament-Funkadelic, Morrison recorded three solo albums in the eighties including 1980's ''Bread Alone'', 1981's ''Junie 5'', and 1984's ''Evacuate Your Seats''.

Morrison relocated to London, England in the late 1980s and founded the Akashic record label with his wife Kate Garner. He wrote material recorded by Sounds of Blackness, Soul II Soul,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://wzakcleveland.com/3740549/r-i-p-walter-junie-morrison-of-the-ohio-players-dies-at-age-62/|title=R.I.P. : Walter "Junie" Morrison of the Ohio Players Dies at Age 62|author=D. L. Hughley|author-link=D. L. Hughley|website=WZAKCleveland.com|publisher=WZAK|access-date=17 February 2017}}</ref> and God's Property. Morrison produced other artists, including James Ingram, throughout the 1990s and continued to contribute to P-Funk albums including T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. in 1996 and (posthumously) in 2018's Medicaid Fraud Dogg. He released a solo album, ''When the City'', on his own label Juniefunk in 2004.<ref name=rcobit/> In 2014–2016 he self-released several singles, some under the aliases BoyInSea, Micronagual, The Algorithm, Jettzonn, and Tekadelic.<ref>{{cite web |title=Walter Morrison (2) |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/4177310-Walter-Morrison-2 |website=Discogs |language=en}}</ref>

Morrison died on January 21, 2017, at the age of 62, in London.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/19/arts/music/junie-morrison-a-funk-mastermind-dies-at-62.html?_r=0 |title=Junie Morrison, a Funk Mastermind, Dies at 62|newspaper=New York Times|date=February 19, 2017|access-date=February 20, 2017}}</ref> His death was reported the following month, but the details remained private.<ref>[http://www.okayplayer.com/news/walter-junie-morrison-dead-at-62.html "Ohio Players Founder, Junie Morrison, Dead At 62", ''OkayPlayer.com'']</ref><ref name=billboard>{{cite news|last=Kaufman|first=Gil |title= Ohio Players Keyboardist and Producer Walter 'Junie' Morrison Dies |url= https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/junie-morrison-ohio-players-dies-7694082/ |access-date= February 17, 2017|newspaper=Billboard|date=February 16, 2017}}</ref><ref name=RollingStone>{{cite news|last= Grow|first= Kory |title= Junie Morrison, Parliament-Funkadelic and Ohio Players Member, Dead at 62|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/junie-morrison-p-funk-and-ohio-players-member-dead-at-62-w467556|access-date=February 17, 2017|newspaper=Rolling Stone|date= February 16, 2017}}</ref>

==Discography==

===Solo albums=== *1975: ''When We Do'' - Credited to '''Junie''' *1975: ''Freeze'' - Credited to '''Junie''' *1976: ''Suzie Supergroupie'' - Credited to '''Junie''' *1980: ''Bread Alone'' *1981: ''Junie 5'' *1984: ''Evacuate Your Seats'' *2004: ''When The City'' *2010: ''Copying Atlantis'' - Credited to '''BoyInSea''' *2014: ''Copying Atlantis (Reissue with Bonus Track)'' - Credited to '''BoyInSea'''

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Junie+Morrison Partial discography at discogs.com] * [https://www.wyso.org/post/remembering-ohio-players-legend-walter-junie-morrison Remembering ''Ohio Players'' Legend : Walter "Junie" Morrison] WYSO.org

{{P-Funk}} {{Parliament}} {{Funkadelic}}{{Ohio Players}}{{1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Walter Junie}} Category:1954 births Category:2017 deaths Category:African-American musicians Category:American funk keyboardists Category:Musicians from Dayton, Ohio Category:P-Funk members Category:Ohio Players members