Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan

Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan was an American country music duo from Florida. It was composed of guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Jack Blanchard (born May 8, 1942) and his wife, keyboardist/vocalist Misty Morgan (May 23, 1945 – January 1, 2021). The duo recorded for several labels in the 1970s, including the charting albums Birds of a Feather and Two Sides of Jack and Misty. Between 1969 and 1976, the duo also released fourteen singles, including "Tennessee Bird Walk", a Number One country hit and No. 23 pop hit in 1970.

Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan
Jack Blanchard and Misty Morgan in 2010 at their induction into The Buffalo Music Hall of Fame.
Background information
OriginFlorida, U.S.
GenresCountry
Years active1970–2021
LabelsWayside, Mercury, Mega, Chalice, Playback, Epic, United Artists, Columbia, Omni
Associated actsLittle Richie Johnson

Biography

Jack Blanchard was born on May 8, 1942, and Misty Morgan was born on May 23, 1945.[1] Both were born in the same hospital in Buffalo, New York and lived in Ohio as children.[2] They met in 1963 in Florida, where Blanchard was working as a comedian and Morgan as a pianist.[2] They married in 1967. She was diagnosed with cancer in late December 2020 and died at age 75 on January 1, 2021.[3]

Musical career

The two were already collaborating on 45s released by Miami's Zodiac label in 1965. In 1967, the now-married duo began playing music together, and, in 1969, signed to Wayside Records to release its first single, "Big Black Bird (Spirit of Our Love)", which peaked at No. 59 on the U.S. country singles charts.[2] After it came the novelty song "Tennessee Bird Walk", which went to Number One on the country charts[1] and No. 23 on the pop charts.[2] Following it was another novelty hit in "Humphrey the Camel", at No. 5 country and No. 78 pop.

The duo's second album, Two Sides of Jack and Misty, was released on Mega Records two years later. It produced four more chart singles, including the No. 15 "Somewhere in Virginia in the Rain" and another novelty song, "The Legendary Chicken Fairy".[1] Later in the 1970s, Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan released six singles on Epic Records, reaching Top 40 for the last time in 1974 with the No. 23 "Just One More Song".[1] Except for a compilation album called Sweet Memories in 1987, the duo did not release any other material until 1995's Back in Harmony. From there, they began recording on a self-established independent label, "Velvet Saw Records" (named after Jack's nickname).[2] From 2005 through 2008 they released three archival CD albums on Australia's Omni Records label.

Their song 'Yellow Bellied Sapsucker' was used in an episode of the third series of Australian television drama Tangle.

Discography
  • Birds of a Feather (Wayside Records, 1970) US No. 185, US Country No. 16
  • Two Sides of Jack and Misty (Mega Records, 1972) US Country No. 35
  • Sweet Memories (Chalice Records, 1987)
  • Back in Harmony (Playback Records, 1995)
  • Back from the Dead (BAM Records, 2000)
  • A Little Out of Sync (Velvet Saw Records, 2001)
  • Masters of the Keyboards (Velvet Saw, 2001)
  • Jack and Misty are Crazy (Velvet Saw, 2003)
  • Beginnings (Velvet Saw, 2004)
  • Back From the Dead, Vol. 2 (Velvet Saw)
  • Life and Death (and Almost Everything Else) (Omni Records, 2006)
  • Weird Scenes Inside the Birdhouse (Omni Records, 2007)
  • Nashville Sputnik the Deep South/Outer Space Productions of Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan (Omni Records, 2008)
  • Traveling Music (Velvet Saw Records, 2009)
  • Just One More Song – The 2012 Recordings (Velvet Saw Records, 2012)

Singles
Year Single Chart positions[4] Album
US Country US AUS[5] CAN Country CAN
1969 "Bethlehem Steel" — — — — — Birds of a Feather
"Big Black Bird (Spirit of Our Love)" 59 — — — —
1970 "Tennessee Bird Walk" 1 23 3 1 12
"Humphrey the Camel" 5 78 39 24 78
"You've Got Your Troubles (I've Got Mine)" 27 — — 11 —
1971 "There Must Be More to Life (Than Growing Old)" 25 — — — — Two Sides of Jack and Misty
"Fire Hydrant No. 79"A 46 — — — —
1972 "Somewhere in Virginia in the Rain" 15 — — 31 —
"The Legendary Chicken Fairy" 38 — — 37 —
"Second Tuesday in December" 60 — — — — singles only
1973 "A Handful of Dimes" 65 — — — —
1974 "Just One More Song" 23 — — 46 —
"Something on Your Mind" 53 — — — —
"Down to the End of the Wine" 41 — — 26 —
1975 "Because We Love" 74 — — — —
1976 "I'm High on You" 68 — — — —
  • AB-side to "There Must Be More to Life (Than Growing Old)".

References
  1. Whitburn, Joel (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Country Hits (2 ed.). Billboard Books. p. 75. ISBN 0-8230-8291-1.
  2. Loftus, Johnny. "Jack Blanchard & Misty Morgan biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  3. "Country Songstress Misty Morgan Passes Away At The Age Of 75". That Nashville Sound. January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (May 2006). Joel Whitburn's Top Country Songs, 1944-2005. USA: Record Research. p. 49. ISBN 0-89820-165-9.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 207. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.


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