Her parents were from Fiumefreddo di Sicilia, Province of Catania, Sicily, Italy. She grew up in New York City with five siblings. Her father, who owned a coal and ice business, played the piano and guitar by ear. Her family experienced a difficult financial period after her father died.
Around the age of thirteen her vocal gifts were recognized when she was overheard singing the aria "I'll See You Again" from Noël Coward's operetta Bitter Sweet. At age 16 she developed a love for big bands. A scholarship to the Metropolitan School of Music soon followed.
Her professional singing career began at age sixteen as Morgana King. When she sang in a Greenwich Village nightclub in 1953, a record label executive took interest after being impressed with the unique phrasing and multi-octave range. Three years later in 1956, her first album, For You, For Me, For Evermore, was released.
In the first appearance of Leonard G. Feather's Encyclopedia of Jazz (1960), Morgana King stated that her ambition was "… to become a dramatic actress." She began her acting career in The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, as Carmela Corleone, wife of Don Vito Corleone. In the film, she sang the song "Luna mezzo mare". King appeared as herself in the television documentary The Godfather: Behind the Scenes (1971). She reprised the role in The Godfather: Part II (1974), where her character dies aged 62, due to natural causes.
King headlined clubs, concert halls and hotels, and toured throughout the United States, Europe, Australia and South America.
A few of the venue performances during her active career: the March 1956 Easter Jazz Festival at Town Hall in New York City; she opened Trude Heller's in July 1957 and returned throughout her career for anniversary performances; four months later, in November 1957, along with seven female jazz instrumentalists, she performed at the Jazz Female concert held at Carnegie Recital Hall; the Schaefer Music Festival in June 1976; A Tribute to Billie Holiday at the Hollywood Bowl in July 1979; the AIDS Research – Benefit Bash in 1983, the Benefit for the Theater Off Park in May 1988; the 2nd annual WPBX Jazz Festival at the Fine Arts Theater in August 1989. While performing in Lisbon, Portugal, she was interviewed by the television show host Henrique Mendes at the television station RTP (the sole television station at that time)."
A limited list of artists who performed and/or recorded with Morgana King over the years of her career are Ben Aronov, Ronnie Bedford, Ed Caccavale (drums), Clifford Carter, Don Costa, Eddie Daniels, Sue Evans, Larry Fallon, Sammy Figueroa, John Kaye (percussion), Helen Keane, Art Koenig, Steve LaSpina, Scott Lee, Jay Leonhart, Ray Mantilla, Bill Mays, Charles McCracken, Ted Nash, Adam Nussbaum, Warren Odze, Joe Puma, Don Rebic, Jack Wilkins, Joe Williams (bass), and Torrie Zito.
Her repertoire contains more than two hundred songs on more than thirty albums. Most of her recordings and re-issues have not remained in the catalogs.
In 1964, she received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. The award went to the Beatles.
The UCLA Music Library's Jimmy Van Heusen papers include a letter dated September 5, 1965 pertaining to "songs… to be given to Morgana King."[86] She recorded three songs by Van Heusen: "Here's That Rainy Day" (on It's a Quiet Thing, 1965), "Like Someone in Love" (on Stardust, 1986; and Another Time, Another Space, 1992) and "Imagination" (on Looking Through The Eyes Of Love, 1998). King's 1967 single "I Have Loved Me A Man" appeared in the US "Easy Listening" survey and the Australian Top 20, according to the Kent Music Report.
Morgana King appeared in five films, including The Godfather Parts I and II (1972 and 1974).
Beginning with The Andy Williams Show and The Hollywood Palace in 1964. For more than a decade she performed on television talk and variety shows including The Mike Douglas Show, The Dean Martin Show and The David Frost Show.
King announced her retirement from performing during an engagement at the Cotton Club in Chicago on Friday, December 10, 1993, and added that her recording would not be affected by the decision. She continued to perform after that date at the Ballroom, Maxim's, Mirage Night Club (a benefit jazz session), and Roosevelt Hotel's Cinegrill. Her last film appearance was in the film A Brooklyn State of Mind (1997).
Morgana King married twice. Her first marriage (when she was 17 years old) was to jazz trumpeter Tony Fruscella (1927–1969), which ended in divorce after nine years; they had a daughter, Graysan (1950–2008). During their marriage, the couple frequently had "Sunday dinner with Charlie Parker and his family."
Her second marriage, in 1961, was to jazz trombonist Willie Dennis (né William DeBerardinis; 1926–1965), whom she met during an off-night visit to the Birdland Jazz Club where she went to hear Sam Donahue's group. He had performed with both Gerry Mulligan and Charles Mingus and recorded the 1953 album release, Four Trombones on Mingus' record label, Debut Records. He had toured extensively with Benny Goodman, Woody Herman and Buddy Rich.
She traveled to Brazil with Dennis to experience this "new" music style when he toured with Rich in 1960. She said the experience was "an introduction to myself." Their close collaboration was suddenly shattered in 1965 with his death from an automobile accident in New York's Central Park. It's a Quiet Thing (Reprise, 1965) is a memorial to him.
After Dennis's death, King relocated and lived for more than two decades in Malibu, California. She accepted Frank Sinatra's offer to record three albums on his record label Reprise Records (It's A Quiet Thing (1965), Wild Is Love (1966) and Gemini Changes (1967)).
King's voice is notable for its four-octave range. She continued to pursue new forms of expression and presentation by exploring current music trends, which can be heard and read from the list of songs and composers on more than thirty albums. She ventured into new creative areas throughout her career all the while keeping contact with her musical point of origin in jazz. Her distinctive sound has its criticism and detractors.
In literature, the Library of Jazz Standards by Ronny Schiff (2002) recognizes Morgana King as one of the performers who made famous the songs "Imagination" (Van Heusen, Burke), "Like Someone in Love" (Van Heusen, Burke) and "Will You Be Mine" (Adair, Dennis). Also, there is the occasional mention of her in fiction.
King has been credited with composing "Moe's Blues", a song recorded by Beverly Kenney on Beverly Kenney Sings for Johnny Smith (1955), and "Simply Eloquent", with Monte Oliver, which appears on an album of the same title, initially released in 1986 by Muse Records. In 1991, she produced a set of seminars called Morgana King Fine Arts Series. The seminars brought together small groups for recurring meetings every few months held at select venues including Lincoln Center. One of the functions of the series was to familiarize participants with performance methodologies. There was a panel available to critique the performances.
Her signature song is "A Taste Of Honey", originally released on the album With A Taste of Honey (Mainstream Records, 1964). Her most re-issued songs are "My Funny Valentine", from Everything Must Change (Muse, 1978), and the title track of For You, For Me, For Evermore (EmArcy Records, 1956).
Easy Living
Morgana King Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's easy to live when you're in love
And I'm so in love
There is nothing in life but you
I never regret the things that I'm giving
They're easy to give when you're in love
I'm happy to do whatever I do for you
For you maybe I'm a fool
But it's fun
People say you rule me with one wave of your hand
Darling, it's grand
They just don't understand
Living for you is easy living
It's easy to live when you're in love
And I'm so in love
There's nothing in life but you
For you maybe I'm a fool
But it's fun
People say you rule me with one wave of your hand
Baby, it's grand
They just don't understand
Living for you is easy living
It's easy to live when you're in love
And I'm so in love
There's nothing in life but you
The song "Easy Living" by Morgana King is a beautiful love song that expresses the sweetness and lightness of life when in love. The lyrics talk about how living for someone else is easy when you're in love with them, and how there's nothing else in life except that person. The singer is so deeply in love that she doesn't regret anything she's giving to her lover, and is happy to do whatever she can for them. The lyrics also touch upon how other people might view their relationship as foolish, but to the singer, it's fun and grand.
The theme of the song is not new, as many love songs talk about the all-consuming nature of love, but the way Morgana King delivers it is very soothing and calming. Her voice is soft and gentle, almost like a lullaby that puts the listener at ease. She doesn't use overly complicated words or verses; rather, she keeps it simple and to the point, which adds to the charm of the song.
In conclusion, "Easy Living" is a love song that beautifully captures the essence of being in love. It talks about the simplicity of life, and how everything else fades away when you're in love with someone. The lyrics are simple, yet poignant, and the vocals are soothing, making it a perfect song for any romantic occasion.
Line by Line Meaning
Living for you is easy living
It's effortless to face the difficulties of life, as long as I have someone like you to share it with.
It's easy to live when you're in love
Love makes everything feel lighter and more manageable.
And I'm so in love
I'm deeply and completely in love with you.
There is nothing in life but you
You are the most important thing in my life, and nothing else matters in comparison.
I never regret the things that I'm giving
I'm happy to make sacrifices for you because it's worth it.
They're easy to give when you're in love
Love makes it easy to give without expecting anything in return.
I'm happy to do whatever I do for you
I'm content to do anything for you, no matter how big or small the task may be.
For you maybe I'm a fool
I might appear foolish to others because of how much I love and prioritize you.
But it's fun
Being with you brings me joy and happiness, regardless of what others might think.
People say you rule me with one wave of your hand
Others may perceive that you have power over me, but they don't understand the dynamics of our relationship.
Darling, it's grand
However, being with you is truly wonderful and magical.
They just don't understand
Others may judge or misunderstand our connection, but that doesn't matter because we're happy together.
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LEO ROBIN, RALPH RAINGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
loulou2lou
Morgana had a beautiful and unique voice that I fell in love with first time I heard her.She is a much underrated performer.How could anyone not be captivated by what they just heard?
Theresa Delsoin
She has such a smooth and healing tones. She is one of our best singers.
dan vanhoorelbeke
Wonderful version of this great ballad!
Raven’s gone
I Love her voice.. I have one old Album of miss Morgana King, and I cherish it.. She has one of the most amazing voices I have ever listened to..
bradly2007
Morgana was magical at that The Hollywood Bowl "Tribute To Billie Holiday" concert and I still remember her great version of "All Blues" with the full orchestra and the finale when Morgana, Carmen, Esther, Maxine did "God Bless The Child" and this was a showstopper!!! Nina didn't come out at the end but was great in her spot...they are all timeless and great and talent like this will never happen again!!
BuckieBear
@eaedo THIS version of this ballad is one of the most underrated recordings ever! It is spectacular in every way!
BuckieBear
OMG!! I am so delighted to find this beautiful recording, and in the YouTube format that I can share this with my music aficionado and/or performing artist friends!!! I was trying to describe it and words will not do it justice! Thank you Thank you!
Dave Gates
I have all her recordings and consider her the most exciting singer I have ever heard, bar none.
Sidney Lloyd
I had the amazing pleasure of growing up listening to most of all here music she has recorded from the late 50s to early 70s. I am so grateful that my mother had such an eclectic taste for music and Morgana King has proven without a shadow of a doubt that singing and music interpretation can bring joy to the listener for ages to come! What a joy it has been for me to listen to hours of her beautiful un-duplicated vocals! To the owners of this channel: God Bless You for keeping here music available to the world! I was told she is still alive and I hope that some day she will record again.
Sidney Lloyd
All Blues, Bluesette, Easy living, The night has a thousand eyes, Living for you, Easy to Live, I'll Follow You, Lady is a tramp, Fascinating Rhythm, Meditation, Prelude to a Kiss, Try to Remember, Dindi, How Sensitive, Here's that Rainy Day...Some of my favorites and the best Bossa Nova you will ever enjoy! God I wish she would tour and record again!