Grammy-nominated songwriter Dennis Morgan shares stories from his life and career and performs some of his biggest hits as part of the Museum's Poets and Prophets series, which honors songwriters who have made notable contributions to country music. This program, moderated by the Museum’s Allison Moorer, was filmed on July 26, 2025.

Throughout the program, Morgan discusses his upbringing in Minnesota, the bands that inspired him, and quitting high school to pursue a career in music. He also shares stories about working in both country and pop music, as he also had major success with “I Knew You Were Waiting (for Me),” performed by Aretha Franklin and George Michael, and “My Heart Can’t Tell You No,” performed by Rod Stewart. Morgan performs three songs he co-wrote with Kye Fleming—“Smoky Mountain Rain,” “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool,” and “Nobody”—and he and special guests Billy Burnette and Shawn Camp close the program with “River of Love.”

Morgan was twenty years old when he hitchhiked to Nashville with forty dollars to his name. His first cut was “Another I Love You Kind of Day” recorded by Charley Pride. While working for Pi-Gem, a publishing company owned by Pride and Tom Collins, Morgan met Fleming, a fellow songwriter. Throughout Morgan’s career, the two of them wrote several significant hits, including “Sleeping Single in a Double Bed,” “Years,” and “Crackers,” all for Barbara Mandrell.

In addition to being a versatile songwriter, Morgan is also a successful song publisher. His companies, Little Shop of Morgansongs and Morgan Music Group, encompass a catalog of more than 8,000 titles. Morgan is a four-time BMI Country Songwriter of the Year, a two-time BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year, and a 2004 Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee.

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