Alexsei Popov
LEE MORSE (1897-1954)Lee Morse was one of the most peculiar yet distinctive singers of the 1920s. She was an odd vocalist of considerable range from a warbling yodel down to a male-sounding baritone. She may have picked up baritone when she began singing at age three imitating her six older and three younger brothers. Her whole family sang, including her two elder sisters, and her father: a preacher who encouraged his flock in loud, foot-stomping spiritual music.Born and raised in the Northwest, her career began in vaudeville; by the early 1920s she was touring the Pantages circuit with an act in which she sang three songs in different ranges: soprano, baritone and bass. Five feet tall and 100 lbs. she was billed as “The Small Girl with a Big Voice,” or “The Southern Aristocrat of Song” singing Al Jolson-type ‘down-south mammy’ songs.By the mid-20s Lee Morse was in New York city recording for the Pathe, perfect and Columbia labels waxing nearly 200 songs before her career waned during the Depression.