Short career summary on Morris Albert
Mauricio Alberto Kaisemann aka Morris Albert is a soft rock singer and songwriter who is considered a one hit wonder with his song “Feelings” which sold over 1 million copies in the US alone and reached #6 on the Top 100 Billboard chart and #2 on their Adult Contemporary Chart in 1975. “Feelings” has been recorded by Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Johnny Mathis, Sarah Vaughan, and there was even a punk rock version recorded by The Offspring. “Feelings” is considered one of the 100 most famous songs of all time. Morris now lives in Italy and performs all over the world.
Morris Albert and his global pop hit “Feelings”
Morris Albert was born Mauricio Albert Kaisermann on September 7, 1951 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Although he was born in Brazil, most listeners assumed he was French or something more European, especially when they got to hear his only one big hit, “Feelings.”
Albert is a musically gifted man who wrote a slow ballad called “Feelings.” The song evokes the romantic ballad styles of Sasha Distel and Julio Iglesias. It was also Albert who also recorded the song himself, and made it really famous worldwide.
“Feelings” reached #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and #2 on the Billboard adult contemporary singles chart in 1975. It also reached #4 on the UK singles chart. “Feelings” was nominated for the Grammy Best Song of the Year award in 1976, but lost out to Judy Collin’s “Send In the Clowns”. He also lost out to Natalie Cole for Grammy’s Best New Artist Award that same year.
Because of its vast popularity, “Feelings” has been covered by other artists since: Shirley Bassey, Glen Campbell, Petula Clark, Ella Fitzgerald, Engelbert Humperdinck, Julio Iglesias, Muslim Magomayev, Johnny Mathis, The O’Jays, Sarah Vaughn, and so many others.
However, “Feelings” was to be his lone major hit. His other charting single “Sweet Loving Man,” only managed a #95 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976 (#15 on the adult contemporary singles chart that same year).
Albert’s album, also called Feelings, reached #37 on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1975. His self-titled second LP in 1976 peaked at #135 on the same chart.
In the years that passed, “Feelings” has earned the reputation for being one of the worst songs because of its syrupy music and insipid lyrics (that have no clear meaning behind them).
However, “Feelings” was to be his lone major hit. His other charting single “Sweet Loving Man,” only managed a #95 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976 (#15 on the adult contemporary singles chart that same year).
Albert’s album, also called Feelings, reached #37 on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1975. His self-titled second LP in 1976 peaked at #135 on the same chart.
In the years that passed, “Feelings” has earned the reputation for being one of the worst songs because of its syrupy music and insipid lyrics (that have no clear meaning behind them).
Dispute over the ownership of “Feelings”
However, there were disputes over the ownership of the song. In 1981, French songwriter Loulou Gaste filed a lawsuit against Albert for plagiarizing Gaste’s song “Pour Toi”‘s melody for “Feelings.” Not only did Albert lose the sole ownership over the song, he also lost a total of £250, 000 as a settlement. Albert and Gaste now share credits of the song.
Albert is still active performing especially in Brazil, but he hasn’t released a new song yet since his popularity ebbed. He reportedly resides in Italy.
Other Morris Albert songs include: “Dime (Feelings)”, “Girl From Ipanema”, “Gonna Love You More”, “Sweet Loving Man”, “Woman”, “I Love You”, “Conversation”, “Summer In Paris”, “Neverless”, “Mornings”, “Cuore”, “Love In Any Language Is The Same”, “Shadowmoon”, “Little Bit Me, Little Bit You”, “Can’t Fall In Love Again”, “Await Morning Skies”, “The Portal”, “A Winter’s Moment”, “If You Would Walk There Naked”, “Childhood”, “She’s My Girl” and “Tabula Rosa.”