| PJ Morton | |||||
| Birth Name: | Paul Sylvester Morton Jr. | ||||
| Birth Date: | 29 March 1981 | ||||
| Birth Place: | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | ||||
| Years Active: | 2005–present | ||||
| Children: | 3 | ||||
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P.J. Morton (born Paul Sylvester Morton Jr.; March 29, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. Since 2012, he has been the keyboardist for the pop band Maroon 5. Morton originally joined the band as a touring member in 2010 and became an official member in 2012 after Jesse Carmichael went on a short hiatus (he returned to the lineup playing guitar in 2014).
Morton released his debut solo EP, Following My First Mind, in March 2012, through the record label Young Money. Adam Levine and James Valentine were featured on the lead single, "Heavy". In May 2013, Morton released his first major-label debut album, New Orleans. In 2016, he released his mixtape Bounce & Soul Vol. 1 in March and the Sticking to My Guns EP in July. On April 14, 2017, Morton released his first self-released studio album Gumbo, earning Morton two Grammy Award nominations for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.[1]
In April 2019, Morton said he would begin a project to restore the New Orleans home of jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden and create a museum and community space at the site.[2] Bolden's former home has been owned by Morton's father's church for more than a decade, and had been cited for demolition by neglect.[3]
Morton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father is Canadian-born American gospel singer and Founder of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, Bishop Paul S. Morton. His mother is Dr. Debra Brown Morton, pastor of Greater St. Stephen Full Gospel Baptist Church.[4]
Morton graduated St. Augustine High School and majored in marketing at Morehouse College, graduating in 2003.[5]
In 2010, Morton's friend and Maroon 5's musical director Adam Blackstone asked him to audition for a position in the band as a touring keyboardist and backing vocalist. Morton was the first to audition and left an indelible mark on the group.[6] Since then, he has played with Maroon 5 in concerts and other live performances. From 2012 to 2014 Morton filled-in for the band's keyboardist, Jesse Carmichael, who was on an indefinite hiatus from performing with the group, as stated on their official website in March 2012.[7] In 2012, he joined the band as a full-time member, contributing his vocal and keyboard parts on Maroon 5's fourth studio album, Overexposed, and continuing to do so during the processes of recording the band's albums, V (2014), Red Pill Blues (2017), and Jordi (2021).
Morton's solo work won the attention of Mack Maine, who signed him to his production company, Soothe Your Soul, and Young Money Entertainment in 2011.[8] The Following My First Mind (EP) was released on March 27, 2012.
On May 14, 2013, Morton released his major-label debut studio album with Young Money Records, titled New Orleans. The album's lead single, "Only One", which features Stevie Wonder, was nominated for the Best R&B Song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014.
In 2016, Morton moved to New Orleans and opened a record label called Morton Records which he envisioned as "the New Orleans Motown".[9] [10] Same year, Morton started working on Gumbo. About the album's title he said "I named it Gumbo because the actual dish is a bunch of things mixed in together to make [something] beautiful. I wanted to grow as a songwriter and talk about more things ... about where we are in the world today, the tension, how divided we are as a country. It kind of felt like I was dumping a bunch of subject matter together and I made it in New Orleans so that sounded like gumbo to me."[11] As a first step, on March 25, 2016, Morton released Bounce & Soul Vol. 1, a mixtape which includes re-imagined versions of his best songs in New Orleans' bounce style.[12] On July 1, 2016, Morton released the Sticking to My Guns EP, featuring the single of the same name.[13] The EP, besides including alternative versions of "First Began" and "Sticking to My Guns", also contains "Say So", a song that was later cut from the final tracklist of the album. On November 15, 2016, Morton released "You Should Be Ashamed", a Stevie Wonder-esque socially conscious song that was later replaced by "Religion".[14] On March 13, 2017, Morton announced on his Instagram page April 14, 2017 as the release date of Gumbo.[15]
Gumbo did not manage to enter on the US Billboard 200 chart but received positive reviews from most music critics, who complimented Morton's style and praised him for his singing and songwriting. The album earned Morton two Grammy nominations for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Song at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards.[1] On February 14, 2019, Morton collaborated with singer JoJo on the song "Say So", which served as the lead single for his sixth album Paul.[16] [17] [18]
In 2020, Morton recorded his live album, The Piano Album. It features songs from Gumbo and Paul. On August 28, 2020, Morton released his long awaited gospel album Gospel According To PJ. The album features The Clark Sisters, Comissioned, Zacardi Cortez, Darrel Walls, and others. It also features remade versions of So In Love by Amber Bullock, Over and Over by Trinitee 5:7, and Let Go by Dwayne Woods. A documentary was released talking about how he was pressured to make Gospel music, the process of each song, and his father. Don't Let Go from his previous album Paul was included featuring Kim Burrell. Do You Believe feat. Yolanda Adams was included from "Christmas With PJ Morton."
After winning Grammy Awards for his songwriting and production on India.Arie's Interested, Morton won Dove and Stellar Awards in 2008.
Morton was also noticed by AR Rahman, composer for Slumdog Millionaire, who asked Morton to contribute "Sajna" to the soundtrack and movie for the Vince Vaughn comedy Couples Retreat. Morton has also produced and written for musicians such as Jermaine Dupri, LL Cool J, Jagged Edge, Monica, India.Arie, gospel musicians Fred Hammond, Men of Standard, Brian Courtney Wilson, and Heather Headley. In 2009, he published a book entitled ' Why Can't I Sing About Love?[19]
Morton who wrote a song called "Battle Field" by Chinese singer Jane Zhang from the 2016 film The Great Wall.[20]
in October 2023, Morton was featured in Portuguese singer Barbara Bandeira's debut studio album Finda on the track Ego.[21]
Morton wrote the song "Special Spice" for the theme park attraction Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which is inspired by Disney's 2009 film The Princess and the Frog.[22] [23]
He married his wife Kortni Morton on December 25, 2008. They grew up attending the same church and began dating as adults. They have three children.[24]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Himself | Episode: "Return of the King" | ||
| 2018 | Nobody's Fool | Himself | ||
| 2020 | Soul City | Terrence | Episode: "Give Man" | |
| 2021 | American Idol | Himself / Performer | 2 episodes | |
| 2022 | Take Me to the River: New Orleans | Himself | Documentary film | |
| 2023 | Himself / / Guest | Episode: January 31 |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Champaign ILL | Web series; 10 episodes |
| 2020 | Soul City | 3 episodes; co-composed with Zak Engel |
Studio albums
Live albums
Mixtape
EPs
2017
Grammy Awards[25] |-|rowspan=2|2013|"Payphone"|Best Pop Duo/Group Performance||-|Overexposed|Best Pop Vocal Album||-|2014|"Only One"|Best R&B Song||-|2016|"Sugar"|Best Pop Duo/Group Performance||-|rowspan=2|2018|Gumbo|Best R&B Album||-|rowspan=2|"First Began"|Best R&B Song||-|rowspan=4|2019|Best R&B Performance||-|"Girls Like You"|Best Pop Duo/Group Performance||-|"How Deep Is Your Love"|Best Traditional R&B Performance||-|Gumbo Unplugged|Best R&B Album||-|rowspan=3|2020|"Say So"|Best R&B Song||-|"Built for Love"|Best Traditional R&B Performance||-|Paul|Best R&B Album||-|2021||Best Gospel Album||-|rowspan=2|2022|"Bring It On Home To Me"|Best Traditional R&B Performance||-|We Are|Album of the Year||-|rowspan=2|2023|"Please Don't Walk Away"|Best R&B Song||-|Watch the Sun|Best R&B Album||-|2024|"Good Morning"|Best Traditional R&B Performance||}