Morton Downey Jr. is most often remembered for his talking and politics. Long before he showed his talents and knowledge in those areas, Mort shined in the music world both as a performer and a writer.
Mort's first song that was recorded was Money, Marbles And Chalk in 1948. He followed that with another ten songs between 1948 and 1953 for superstars of that time such as Eddie Fisher and Patti Page. Mort's song writing talent bridged the many styles of music that performers wanted and people listened to during the 50's and 60's.
Mort later wrote songs that were performed by Sammy Davis Jr., Pat Boone, Billy Joe Royal and Johnny Tillotson who Mort would build a special friendship with.
When someone studies music, they often look for points where something historic took place. Morton Downey Jr. stands on one of those historic points. Two of the hit songs of the Surfer Music Era came about through the talent and effort of Mort.
One was the song Wipe Out which was recorded by The Surfaris in 1963. Wipe Out spent ten week in the Top 40, peaking at #2.
Before Wipe Out Mort opened his doors for the first anthem of surfing...literally. Pipeline by The Chantay's was recorded in Mort's garage in early 1963. The entire production cost $55 and was released on Downey Records. Mort wound up selling Pipeline to Dot records for $14,000. Pipeline stayed in the Top 40 for eleven weeks peaking at #4. Pipeline has become one of the most recognized instrumentals in music history.
During his career as a song writer, Morton Downey Jr. had over three dozen of his songs recorded by other performers. But as you can probably guess, Mort didn't want to stop there.
Morton Downey Jr. came from a heritage of performers so it was a natural that while a success behind the scenes he would still have the desire to succeed in the spotlight.
One of Mort's early hits as a performer came in 1958. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams gave Mort his first exposure on national television appearing with Dick Clark, Ed Sullivan and Jack Paar, who at that time was called television's most outspoken and opinionated talk show host.
Morton Downey Jr. went on to record through the mid 60's. Mort spent time with some of music's legendary record labels including Cadence Records, which also had The Everly Brothers and Andy Williams, as well as Stax Records which boasted a roster of soul music superstars.
The 60's were a time of change and that held true for Morton Downey Jr. He walked away from the world of music and walked into the world of politics. Despite making powerful connections and achieving major successes, Mort would find himself back in the performing spotlight.
Mort returned to the music world with a special focus on country sounds. His work from these years produced patriotic songs including I Believe In America and his interpretation of America The Beautiful as well as chart hits such as Green Eyed Girl in 1981. Mort was awarded a Gold Album for that song.
It was also at this time that Mort moved back into the world of radio. Unlike his first time when he would spin the hits, this time he would hit the spin that people would try to make on the issues and current events. It was Mort's career as a radio talk host that would once again gain him national attention when The Morton Downey Jr. TV show launched in 1987. In turn, it was that TV show that would bring Morton Downey Jr. back into the recording studio to make his second Gold Album, Morton Downey Jr. Sings, in 1990.
