by John Bush
Once described by none other than George Clinton as "the most phenomenal musician on the planet," Walter "Junie" Morrison recorded several albums of his own but made his mark assembling some of the biggest funk extravaganzas of the 1970s and '80s, from the Ohio Players' first number one R&B hit ("The Funky Worm") to Funkadelic's One Nation Under a Groove to Clinton's own Computer Games. A multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, producer, and arranger, Morrison came from Dayton, OH, and debuted with hometown heroes the Ohio Players on 1971's Pain LP. He also appeared on 1973's Ecstacy and constructed their 1974 hit "The Funky Worm" (virtually by himself), then gained his own contract with Westbound. Within two years, he'd released three albums: 1975's When We Do and Freeze were followed by Suzie Super Groupie in 1976. Morrison joined the P-Funk machine shortly after, appearing on most of the conglomeration's work from 1978 until 1981. He also recorded LPs for Columbia (1980's Bread Alone) and Island (1984's Evacuate Your Seats), and was a frequent contributor to Clinton's solo releases and those by the P-Funk All Stars.