Late Boston rock critic Steve Morse to be honored with tribute concert

Boston Globe

17-05-2025

Steve Morse, the
'He was a wonderful man,' said Jessa Piaia, Morse's fiancée at the time of his death, in a recent phone conversation. He treated everyone well, she said: 'He was a good listener.'
That was the job description for Morse's career. As the Globe's chief rock critic from 1978-2005, Morse attended thousands of concerts, championed hundreds of Boston-based musicians, and interviewed many of the best-known rock stars on the planet.
On May 22, Sally O'Brien's will host a tribute to Morse featuring one of his favorite bands, Barrence Whitfield and the Savages. Proceeds will benefit
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Morse 'knew everyone, and everyone knew him,' said Frank Coakley, the talent booker at Sally O'Brien's. They first met years ago, when Coakley was working as a soundman for musicians — Dennis Brennan, Tim Gearan, David Johnston — that Morse admired.
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'He and Nick used to sit right behind me' at the sound booth, he said.
It was Coakley who approached Piaia about organizing a night to honor Morse. She knew that her fiancé would have wanted the Savages to play, and the band said yes immediately.
'He always supported, from day one, what we did,' said Whitfield,
adding that Morse brought 'his tall self' to as many of Whitfield's gigs as he could get to. (The writer stood at least 6-foot-5.)
'I still have some articles he wrote early on,' Whitfield said. 'He'd demand people — 'You gotta see this band. It's your duty to see some real rock 'n' roll.''
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Whitfield and Savages bassist Phil Lenker often spent time at Morse's place watching basketball games. After Morse's wife, Nell Rotow Morse, died from complications of diabetes in 2001, Whitfield sang at her memorial service.
'We were so lucky to have him,' Whitfield said. 'I can't think of anybody else who did so much for the music scene in Boston.'
Morse served on the nominating committee for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where he advocated in vain for the inclusion of the
'He really wanted them in the Hall of Fame, and I think we should put them in,' said Whitfield.
Savages guitarist Peter Greenberg, who will travel to Boston from his home in Washington D.C. for the benefit, recalled a trip to the long-gone Trader Alan's Truck Stop in Amesbury sometime in the 1970s. Morse knew that Greenberg, then a member of DMZ alongside Jeff 'Monoman' Conolly, loved rockabilly, so he drove them to see the canyon-voiced former Sun Records recording artist Sleepy LaBeef.
'Steve introduced us, and he invited us up to play some Bo Diddley songs,' Greenberg remembered. 'Jeff played maracas.'
Morse liked to say that he attended at least 250 live events each year. On one of Piaia's first dates with Morse, they saw the Duppy Conquerors, a Bob Marley tribute band, at the Burren.
Morse took her to many shows, she said, including twice to see Bonnie Raitt.
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Piaia, who is a performer herself — she created a series of monologues to portray
'I knew Nick from when he was a little kid,' said Whitfield. 'He developed a wonderful talent. Steve was very proud of his son. He supported him 100 percent.'
Piaia, who was a neighbor of Morse's years ago, had
reconnected with him after she signed up for his online course on rock history at Berklee College of Music. The section she was assigned was taught by Jim Horan, but Piaia made it known she was acquainted with Morse, who authored the class.
'Steve is a local treasure,' she recalls Horan saying. 'He's a raconteur.' Morse had, he said, 'lived this life.'
James Sullivan can be reached at
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A MEMORIAL TRIBUTE TO STEVE MORSE FEATURING BARRENCE WHITFIELD AND THE SAVAGES
7:30 p.m. May 22 at Sally O'Brien's, 335 Somerville Ave., Somerville. $20.