Yesterday, we lost another important player in the LOUIE universe.
Kent Morrill of the Fabulous Wailers has left the land of the living.
Just a few weeks ago, I wrote about Kent, discussing his battle with cancer. I was hoping he’d beat that problem, and live to see the completion of my LOUIE documentary, but unfortunately that wasn’t meant to be.
Kent never stopped working, even while dealing with the pains of cancer. Quitting was not an option. He continued to made plans for new recordings, and even had a solo gig lined up in June at the Snoqualmie Ballroom.
Today, I’m feeling quite grateful to have known Kent, and be fortunate to have him participate in this documentary project of mine.
My friend Merri Peterson Sutton has been working very closely with the Wailers organization, helping produce fundraisers for Kent as he dealt with what turned out to be the final stages of cancer. On the day of Kent’s death, Merri shared this very special little tidbit via Facebook…
Toni, Kent’s wife, said Kent was singing LOUIE LOUIE in his sleep last night. Ya gotta love that!
INDEED! What a wonderful memory!
Kent’s hometown paper, the Tacoma News Tribune, described Kent’s voice as such:
The voice lands somewhere between Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis, sailing up and down, wailing.
The Sky Valley Chronicle put the legacy of Kent Morrill and the Wailers in proper perspective:
If you were a teen in the Northwest in the 1960’s, all the hot dance action centered around gigs where The Wailers played and you had all their records at home.
Vinyl dude. Pure, original, shiny black, warm toned vinyl records.
You could say The Wailers were the Northwest’s version of The Beatles before there was a Beatles.
The Oregon Music News, one of the first websites to break news of Kent’s death, discusses Kent’s faith and one of his other musical forays- the finest Roy Orbison tribute show anyone’s ever undertaken.
One of the more diverse music productions that Kent participated in was a song he created entitled “Would You Like to Live Forever?” which addresses Kent’s thoughts on the after-life.
If this isn’t the time to share such a video, I don’t know when is.
In the meantime, I continue to work on finishing my epic documentary, where Kent is a very important part of this project. On my Kickstarter fund-raising page, you can see Kent talking about LOUIE LOUIE at the 2:40 mark on the trailer video.
We will miss you, Kent.
Kent was the 1st R&R singer I ever saw live. I hope he’s joined with former band mates Rich Dangel, Ron Gardner, and Robin Roberts. If there’s a rock and roll Heaven, I KNOW they got a hell of a band! Brian Semple (coat check guy @ the Target Ballroom Burien Wa. circa 60’s)
Kent Morill had one the good for sining R& as well as RB music. I because a fan of The Fabulous Wailers when I heard him sing Dirty Robber I have a fan and suppoter going on 56 years. Rest in Peace you earn it.
I had the pleasure of knowiing Kent in the mid 1980’s when he played with “The Jets” in the
San Diego area, WHAT A VOICE! I also watch him perform in Vegas, as a RoyOrbison impersonator, He was just the Best!
I remember Kent from a gig he played at the Tacoma Country Club in the last 50’s, early 60s; that was a pre-Wailers group, I believe. When I heard that he was with the Wailers, I recommended the group and my classmates an I auditioned them for a dance at Bellarmine HS. They did a great job and I’ve been a great fan ever since. Their Louie, Louie is so much better than the Kingsmen.
I had the pleasure of knowing Kent from !984 when a Band called California recorded songs for Warner Brothers. I was a member of the band as a vocalist guitarist. I have copies of those recordings plus songs we did on our own that everyone
might not be aware of.
Kent attended St. Martin’s College in Lacey, Washington in the late 1950s-early 1960s on a Glee Club scholarship. It was a very small Catholic college run by Benedictine monks, and it also had a small high school sharing the same building. I was a high school freshman working in the cafeteria 1959-60, his senior year in college. I have an indelible memory of Kent standing in the food line, bopping to music that only he was hearing. I also remember the college Glee Club performing in the school theater for students and their mothers on Mother’s day that spring. They sang “Ave Maria”, with Kent singing a solo with a voice like an angel. He was a singing phenomenon, equally brilliant singing “Ave Maria” and “Dirty Robber”. My last encounter with him was at the annual Lake Fair celebration in Olympia in about 2007 or so. It was late, the carnival was winding down, we were headed for our car, when I heard music coming from the bandstand on the other side of the field. To my ear it sounded GREAT, and somehow familiar, and I felt impelled to go listen. It was Kent and his current band! They were taking requests and I yelled out “Tall Cool One”, one of my favorites I hadn’t heard in years. Later I yelled out a request for “Mashi”, another of the Wailers’ hits, and he said “Do you know what that means?” I yelled back “It Moves!” He acted a little stunned and then said into the mike “He does know!” (I’m a nerd with a head full of trivia, and I remembered, when the song was released decades ago,reading that “mashi” is an Egyptian word meaning “It Moves”) I was thrilled to have that interaction with Kent Morrill himself. Among his many achievements, he was definitely the coolest guy to ever attend St. Martin’s College. :>)
I knew Kent in the early 70’s as a good friend of my brother, Phil “Fang” Volk, original vocalist & bassist of the famous band, Paul Revere and the Raiders.
Then, Kent began attending the same Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses as me in Sherman Oaks, CA. We became very close, working together in the door-to-door field ministry. Kent, like me was raised Catholic. I had attended Crespi High in Encino, CA. Together in the preaching work as Witnesses, we helped many Catholics & Protestants realize what the Bible really teaches about the false doctrines of Hellfire, Immortality of the soul and the Trinity. Kent was so desirous of helping his fellow man learn The Truth from God’s Word, exposing the lies of the churches of Christendom.
Kent worked for me for a couple years in my upholstery & vinyl repair business, ” Volk’s Commercial Seating ” working in restaurants throughout the San Fernando Valley, Beverly Hills & LA. He was such a calm, kind soul. At that time he composed many songs including ” Would You Like to Live Forever?” and “Think It Over.” He was the most prolific songwriter I’ve ever seen. He would be on a plane trip and come home with 5 to 10 new songs.
It was in 1980 that I formed a band called California Gold,
We were Country-Rock, the big craze at that time. Kent of course was the featured performer…we were so lucky, as a garage band, to have him with us. We also had a studio guitarist formerly with the Spencer Davis Group, named Steve Simone, an amazing artist. Our banjo and rythym guitar player was Gary Uran, with his silky voice singing low tenor harmonies below Kent’s soprano level. Keith Albert was on drums, as a simple-lick, Ringo Starr type drummer. My wife, Christine Volk was lead girl singer with her alto, perfect pitch voice, and me on bass and bass harmony, with a few leads on Kenny Rogers & Willie Nelson tunes. We played mostly casual gigs parties & weddings, around LA/ Orange County. Our biggest showcase was The Landmark Club in Glendale, CA. We weren’t in it for fame or money, just for fun. But Kent brought the house down with Little Richard’s ” Lucille, ” and Jerry Lee’s ” Great Balls of Fire.” He was the star.
In 1981, I composed a medley of several Roy Orbison songs, and planned for Kent to sing lead on all of them. He crushed it every show, as he sat at his B3 Hammond organ, singing the high notes and playing the keys like a consummate pro….. the crowds loved us, especially when we did our 4-part harmonies to the Eagles ” 7 Bridges Road ,” Oak ridge Boys ” Elvira”, and Gatlin Bros, ” All the Gold in California,” our name theme song.
It was no surprise to me a couple years later that Kent nailed the part of Roy Orbison in Vegas at the Imperial Palace’s review of “Legends In Concert”… they hired him to start that night on the same day he auditioned. Later, he broke away with 2 others who impressioned Elvis & Buddy Holly, and toured the states.
Kent always put sharing the Good News of God’s Kingdom 1st in his life. Even on his deathbed, in the hospital, he chose to volunteer to be an “Auxiliary Pioneer”, someone who vows to devote 50 hours per month to the Bible preaching work of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He died doing that work from his bed.
Kent’s not in heaven, but, as the Bible teaches, he’s sleeping, unconscious in the common grave of mankind. One day soon, our Heavenly King, Christ Jesus, will call out, “Kent, Come on out!” In that promised Earthly paradise, Kent’s clear high, besutiful voice will ring out once again in praise of his Creator, Jehovah God.
See you then, my brother.
Danny Volk, San Clemente, CA
I first met Kent when I was at Portland State University in a club that we created to have fundraising dances. I’d booked the Wailers through lord knows what NW agency and of course they were stunning in that early 1967 era. He was (to me at least) wildly older and just a heck of a nice guy.
It was a true musical transition era and within months I’d booked the Doors, the Dead and others of that ilk.
But I always remember fondly my first “big” act and their leader. RIP