Maren Morris is a singer and songwriter whose music bridges the gap between hard country, classic rock, and hip-hop-influenced pop, and has enjoyed success both as a tunesmith and as a performer. Maren Morris was born in Dallas, Texas on April 10, 1990, and she grew up with a love of music, saying she was always willing to belt out a tune on the family's karaoke machine by age ten. By the time Morris was 14, she had learned to play guitar and began playing professionally, self-releasing a debut album, Walk On. Morris had struck a deal with Smith Music Group when she dropped her second album, 2007's All That It Takes; Morris' songwriting was strong enough that she either wrote or co-wrote eight of the album's 13 tracks. Morris graduated high school and was attending the University of North Texas when she self-released her third full-length, 2011's Live Wire. A year later, she left Texas for Nashville, determined to shift her career into high gear. After winning an "Artist on the Verge" prize at the New Music Seminar, Morris first got her foot in the door as a songwriter, signing a publishing deal with Yellow Dog and writing tunes for Tim McGraw ("Last Turn Home") and Kelly Clarkson ("Second Wind"). In addition, Morris ramped up her touring schedule, sharing stages with artists as diverse as Pat Green, Radney Foster, and Marty Stuart, and performing for artists in Europe and the United Kingdom as well as the United States. In 2015, Morris released a digital single about the close connection between music and driving titled "My Church." The song became a viral hit, generating over 2.5 million streams in a bit longer than a month. The major labels in Music City took notice, and Morris signed a deal with Sony Music Nashville, who dropped a five-song EP featuring "My Church" in November 2015. Sony serviced "My Church" to country radio in anticipation of Morris' full-length debut Hero, which appeared in June of 2016.
Mark Deming
AllMusic.com
