Lorrie Morgan showed the Sauk Rapids area Saturday was “her night to howl” when she performed a parking lot party at Rollie’s Rednecks and Longnecks for the Sauk Rapids Fire Department.
One of country music’s trademark artists of the 1990s, Morgan has continued to make her mark on the music scene, releasing a new album today (Tuesday, July 23), the Grits and Glamour “Dos Divas,” with fellow hitmaker Pam Tillis.
The first single from the album, “I Know What You Did Last Night,” was a hit with the crowd, with Morgan relating closely to the females in the audience, and telling the gentlemen in the audience they could learn a thing or two about women by listening to the words of the song and to the new album.
After opening with “My Night To Howl,” it didn’t take Morgan five minutes to figure it out as she launched into two of perhaps her biggest hits – a number-one from 1992, “What Part of No,” and 1991’s “Except for Monday.”
With a bouquet of red roses behind her on the stage, along with a wine glass, Morgan told the crowd she felt so good she just might have to sing until 2 or 3 a.m.
While the show didn’t last quite that long, there was plenty of music the entire evening as Sara Lynn Wallin and 2 Mile Final opened for Morgan on the outdoor stage and then closed down the night inside at Rollie’s.
Morgan was in fine form the entire night, mugging for the cameras of fans, taking requests (but only if they were written on $100 bills), and appearing very content with herself, her music, and in simply enjoying the night and the crowd.
Dipping into her catalogue, Morgan and her four-piece band performed familiar hits like “Out of Your Shoes,” “Half Enough,” and fittingly enough, “A Picture of Me Without You,” which was a hit for her in 1991 and paid tribute to George Jones who passed away earlier this year.
“California Quake,” a song from her new album, and one of those songs Morgan was hinting that men could learn a lot about women by listening to, followed, as did another fan-favorite (and perhaps another hint to the men in the audience), “Watch Me.”
Holding the mic to a group of mostly female fans that had converged upon the front of the stage, Morgan led them in a sing-along of one of her biggest hits.
Keeping the show flowing right along was one of Morgan’s favorite songs in “Standing Tall,” “Wine Me Up,” “I Guess You Had to Be There,” and the song “Leavin’ On Your Mind,” originally done by Patsy Cline, which Morgan covered in 2009.
Taking time to introduce her band, she said the men she shares the stage with are her best friends. She jokingly admitted one bandmate, Mark Oliverius, has been with Morgan longer than any of her famous marriages have lasted. She introduced Oliverius as the “king of the road,” before doing a verse of the Roger Miller classic.
One lucky fan got their money’s worth when Morgan fulfilled a request and did a verse of “Til A Tear Becomes a Rose,” a duet made famous by her and her late husband Keith Whitley.
“Love Will Keep Us Alive” and sharing memories of her father, Grand Ole Opry star George Morgan, was the perfect segway into his hit “Candy Kisses,” which Lorrie said put a lot of bread and butter on the table when she was a child. Every show she does, she tries to do a tribute to her father. Morgan herself became the youngest singer to join the Grand Ole Opry at age 24 in 1984.
“I Know What You Did Last Night,” which hopefully will be heard on local radio soon, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,” “Leavin’ On Your Mind,” and another number-one, “Five Minutes,” built up to “Something in Red.”
Morgan encored with “Good As I Was to You” and “Faithfully.”
Other notes:
• If Kellie Pickler’s mother (or older sister) were in country music, she would be Lorrie Morgan.
From the short, trademark blonde hair, to the song selection, and, of course, those heels, the similarities between the two are uncanny.
• While we highly approve of the parking lot party concept, a little more structure for the seating area and being able to navigate through the crowd (and to the bar) would be nice.
• If Morgan’s “Dos Divas” tour with Tillis comes to Minnesota, check it out and be prepared for a couple hours of favorite hits from each artist, fun new material, and plenty of comedy and words of wisdom in between.
There are presently no Minnesota dates scheduled.
• Rollie’s Rednecks and Longnecks brings in national recording artists and many MinnesotaCountry.com listed bands throughout the year. Visit www.
Upcoming highlights include Bobby Bare Sunday, Aug. 25, TG Sheppard Sunday, Oct. 20, and Collin Raye Thursday, Nov. 14.
Contributing Writer: Ryan Gueningsman
Photo Credit: www.lorrie.com