Steven Patrick Morrissey was born on May 22, 1959, in Davyhulme, Manchester, England, UK. At a very early age, he took an interest in writing. His top priority was poetry, though he would have his biography on
James Dean, "James Dean Is Not Dead", published by his early 20s. His literary influences ranged from
Oscar Wilde to
Johann Wolfgang Goethe, though he was also an avid fan of pop music and film. Some of his primary musical idols were
David Bowie,
Ray Davies and
Marc Bolan. In 1982, Morrissey was approached by local Mancunian guitarist and songwriter
Johnny Marr. Marr asked him to collaborate, and so began possibly the greatest songwriting duo of the 1980s. Morrissey's witty and morbidly sentimental lyrics were a perfect match with Marr's odd chord progressions and unusual tunings. They soon added Marr's schoolmates
Andy Rourke (bass) and
Mike Joyce (drums). The duo became a quartet and dubbed themselves
The Smiths. The Smiths released six studio albums and several catchy three-minute singles from 1983 to 1987. The band found critical acclaim in both their native England and the US. They never broke into the mainstream in the US, though they became college radio legends, mainly due to Morrissey's intelligent but often controversial themes. The band broke up in 1987 over a conflict of musical interest between Morrissey and Marr. Morrissey found solo success after
The Smiths, achieving a far greater status in the US than
The Smiths ever had. His greatest triumph was 1992's "Your Arsenal", which was nominated for a Grammy for best alternative album. The album was produced by former
David Bowieguitarist
Mick Ronson. In 1997, former
The Smiths drummer
Mike Joyce successfully sued Morrissey and Marr over songwriting royalties. The chance of a "Smiths" reunion seems bleak, but their music will continue to be played by devoted, intelligent fans everywhere. To put it simply, the music of Steven Morrissey and
The Smiths was "as smart as pop music gets".
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