RIP Ralph Morse

[Uncle John]

From: In Concert: KSHE & 40+ Years of Rock in St. Louis

Ralph Morse was killed in a car crash Friday Night. I am deeply saddened. A kind gesture he did years ago changed my life.
I could say I began the KSHE book back when I started photographing concerts in the late 1970s, or recording Ruth Hutchinson in 1983. But it really started when I got a hold of Ralph in 2002. At that time I was looking for concert stubs, photos or recordings of old KSHE shows to create CDs. One night Isearched online for “Kiel Auditorium concerts.” My first hit was all the shows Ralph attended. There was an astonishing 600 concerts on the list. The one that got my attention was The Doors at Kiel in 1968. I fired off an email and asked him if he had any stubs, photos or recordings of KSHE. To my amazement, he wrote back that he had a reel to reel tape.
The recording was done on February 17, 1970. He transferred the tape into a little over 5 CDs and mailed them to me. For more than five hours I was awestruck at what he recorded. Three KSHE DJs were on that night: Dick Merkle, John Williams and Don Corey. Merkle sounded stoned, while Williams mocked a Fender ad he just played. He also repeated KSHE’s Gary Bennett’s ad copy for the St. Louis Pop Festival commercial:
“Ahh, yeah. Don’t forget your festive goodies”
Within a couple years I would connect with all of the DJs and provide them a snapshot of themselves at the mic on that winter night more than three decades earlier.
I was fortunate to spend some time with Ralph years ago. Once he came up to Chicago to see a concert and we talked for a bit. I recall asking him “Why did you see The Runaways 40 times?” He answered, “They were hot girls.” Duh. Of course. In 2012 and 2013, I joined him for a few record sales in St. Louis and visited his house once. I honestly don’t know what the first floor looked like. In the basement, he had the ultimate rocker’s mancave. I marveled at his stereo, photos, records and an incredible collection of bootleg tapes he had recorded himself. Several dozen concert shirts were in a closet, each spaced three inches apart as he had been taught in basic training in 1970.
All that stuff was amazing, but what made Ralph such a great person is that he never said a bad word about anyone. He had this positive vibe about him that rubbed off on others, including myself. He was easy going, kind and will be missed by many.

[Uncle John]

I met Ralph for the first time in front of the Chuck Berry statue in the Delmar Loop. It was the day after Chuck Berry died. Ralph brought all of his Chuck Berry albums to the statue. He had some Chuck Berry albums I had never seen before. RIP Ralph. Ralph was also a Marine veteran.

[Uncle John]

From Ky Katzman, manager of Sean Canan's Voodoo Players:

Ralph Morse would brighten every dance floor with his presence, bringing joy to musicians and fans alike. If you saw him at a show, you knew it was going to be a great night. Here's some random moments from decades of mutual admiration:
• Rocking an El Monstero show with him in the front row all night, and watching as the band handed him a guitar after the encore. The pure delight in his face was infectious, but the band members were smiling just as much. Ralph was loved even more than he loved others.
• One Voodoo Neil Young night, I pulled up to the Oyster Bar blasting Powderfinger from the Weld album. Turned off the car, and two minutes later Ralph pulls up blasting the exact same track. It was always fun nerding out on music with him, as he possessed such a wealth of musical knowledge.
• His house was completely leveled back by a tornado back in March, and he lost a bunch of unique and priceless rock 'n' roll memorabilia. On his first visit to the Oyster Bar afterwards, I asked if he was taking a donation. He told me to give it to someone worse off, and then he gifted me a very rare 1984 Rolling Stone with Dylan on it. His generosity knew no bounds, even in the midst of a personal crisis.
• After Beatle Bob passed, I told Ralph "I guess you're now the #1 superfan in St. Louis." He laughed and said "you mean #1 superfan after you!" His humility was genuine, and he never thought himself better than others. I never heard him speak meanly about anyone.
• He was at Voodoo Highwaymen last Wednesday, wearing his Willie braids. We talked about music and all the Voodoo shows he was looking forward to, especially Beatles and Led Zeppelin and Hendrix. I got a big hug from him, and watched him drive off, waving and shouting "see you next week!" And two days later, he was gone for good.
There is now a big empty space in the St. Louis music scene, and on every dance floor in town, and in the hearts of every St. Louis music fan - especially mine. He was and still is my role model, and although I'll never be able to fill his shoes, I promise to bring his infectious joy to every show I'm at. It's how I'll honor the memory of my dear friend.