Teddie Morrow & Tera Shirma

Teddie Morrow first made his mark with the self-composed ‘What’s Your Sign' on the tiny Monterey based Seibu label, issued in 1976 and now a cult classic. Whilst this recording featured his pure falsetto, Teddie ‘s recordings over the years demonstrate to great effect the impressive versatility and ingenuity of the man’s many vocal styles, ranging from Philly sweet soul, impassioned gospel, the Motown sound, rasping southern soul, and a bluesy Chicago style baritone. When you listen to Teddie’s performances, you can imagine him equally at home at Detroit’s Motown, Memphis’s Stax, or Chicago’s Brunswick recording studios.

Teddie has even released a gospel album, ‘Your Grace And Mercy” on which he sounds very much like gospel giant Rance Allen, with whom Teddie has indeed collaborated. In addition to being a dynamic vocalist and performer, Teddie composes and arranges much of his own material, and plays keyboards and drums on his recordings.

Most recently, Teddie has been issuing a stream of releases on the renowned Tera Shirma label, run by Motown alumni Ralph and Russ Terrana. Teddie has been collaborating with the Terrana twins for more than a decade, and the Tera Shirma releases can be readily accessed on CDBaby.

Teddie Morrow - By The Time I Get To Pheonix

Teddie’s last release on Tera Shirma, “She’s Using You” showcased his smooth baritone, on a vocal / arrangement combination harking back to the golden days of the Chicago sound and Brunswick, when they were turning out classics such as Tyrone Davis’s “Be Honest With Me” and “In The Mood”. ‘She’s Using You” distinguished by an exceptional guitar break by Tom Ayres, has been very well received and continues to build Teddie’s profile and gain airplay, not only in the U.S.A, but around the world.

Tera Shirma, Detroit

Teddie’s new release will by “By The Time I Get To Phoenix”, the number known to soul fans all over the world as a classic by Isaac Hayes on the huge 1969 album, “Hot Buttered Soul”. Interestingly, engineer Russ Terrana remixed the Hot Buttered Soul album at Ralph’s Tera Shirma studio in Detroit. Some 44 years later, Ralph and Russ have produced and mixed the very same tune on Teddie Morrow at their Tera Shirma studio in Monterey. Whilst Isaac’s recording was taken at a very slow pace over 18 minutes, Teddie’s version features his vocal over a very nice grove with a nagging insistent guitar pushing along the rhythm track.

Teddie is a dynamic and highly experienced performer, having appeared with such stellar soul acts as The Whispers, Tower Of Power, and Jeffrey Osborne. Most recently Teddie opened for headliner Gladys Knight at her major Arizona Wild Horse Pass concert.

For more information on Teddie Morrow, Ralph and Russ Terrana, and Tera Shirma Sound Studios, or if you would like to feature Teddie Morrow or the history of the Terrana brothers and Tera Shirma Sound Studios on a show, please contact

Ralph.terrana @yahoo.com

Ralph is also moderator of the renowned website: www.soulfuldetroit.com


TERA SHIRMA SOUND STUDIOS


Ralph & Russ Terrana

A whole new generation of music fans has been introduced to the legendary Tera Shirma recording studio, as it is this facility where Sixto Rodriguez recorded his “Cold Facts” album, and which is the subject of the hugely successful global award winning documentary “Searching For Sugar Man”. The story of Tera Shirma itself is highly intriguing, as its history and principal players are interwoven across the decades with numerous artists who entered their doors, and the recordings which came forth to great success and are celebrated to this day.

Ralph and his twin brother Russ have been the driving force behind Tera Shirma from the outset, when the brothers were musicians in Detroit based group The Sunliners, who went on to become famous blue eyed soul group Rare Earth out of the Motown stable.

Ralph decided to move into the recording studio business, and ended up acquiring the studio facility in Detroit and named it Tera Shirma. Russ helped out in the engineering / mixing department, but was hired out of there by Motown’s founder Berry Gordy, who has an unmatched track record of spotting talent. At Motown, Russ went on to record or mix a total of 89 gold singles and 37 platinum albums, a success rate without parallel to this very day.

As for Tera Shirma itself, given the outstanding blend of advanced recording technology, acoustics and recording and mixing expertise, the studios were used by numerous record labels for their acts to record in. When Detroit’s Holland Dozier Holland set up Invictus / Hot Wax after leaving Motown, they used the studios to record Band Of Gold by Freda Payne, as well as many others by acts including Chairmen of The Board, Honeycone, Eighth Day and Laura Lee. Ollie Mclaughlin also used the studios for his Karla recordings on artists including Bettye Lavette.

A brief list of just some of the recordings at Tera Shirma:

Funkadelic - Album - Free Your Mind - Westbound
Barbara Lewis - Album - The many grooves of ... - Enterprise
Dennis Coffey - Album - Hair and Thangs - Maverick
Spyder Turner - Album - Stand By Me - MGM
Rodriguez - Album -Cold Fact - Impact
Isaac Hayes - Album - Hot Buttered Soul - Stax (also cut at United Sound)
Rare Earth - Album - Get Ready - Rare Earth
Belita Woods - Magic Corner - Moira106
Bob and Fred - I'm On My Way - Big Mack6101
Brooks Brothers - Looking For A Woman - Tay501
Doni Burdick - I Have Faith In You/Bari Track - Sound Pattern6807
Doni Burdick - If You Ever Walk Out.. /Open The Door To.. - Sound Impression6809
Dynamics - Whenever I 'm Without You/Love To A Guy - Top Ten927
Dynamics - Yes I Love You Baby/Soul Sloopy - Top Ten100
Fantastic Four - I Love You Madly - RicTic144
Freda Payne - Band of Gold - Invictus9075
Joe Mathews - Ain't Nothing You Can Do - KoolKat1001
Johnny Rogers - Make A Change - Amon815
Lonette - Mind Intruder/Stop - MS208
Louis Curry - A Toast To You - MS203
Louis Curry - CaptIvated - MS210
Melvin Davis - Save It/This Love Was Meant To Be - Mala590
Milton Wright & The Tera Shirma Strings - The Gallop - Carla1902
Nabay - Believe it or not - Impact1032
Patti Young - Head and Shoulders - Ernstrat495
Reggie Milner - She's Alright - Ron's2
Sam Ward - Sister Lee - Groove City205
Samson & Delilah - Woman - Red Cap101
The Strides - I Can Get Along/The Stride - MS202
The Monticello's - I Can't Wait Until I See My Baby's Face - Red Cap102
Tobi Legend - Time Will Pass You By - Mala591
Tommy Frontera - Merry Go Round - Palmer5015
Tony Hestor - Sweet Darlin' - Soulhawk1

Tera Shirma continues to this day to release quality recordings, matching the expertise and wisdom of Ralph and Russ Terrana with gifted artists such as Teddie Morrow.
For more information on Teddie Morrow, Ralph and Russ Terrana, and Tera Shirma Sound Studios, or if you would like to feature Teddie Morrow or the history of the Terrana brothers and Tera Shirma Sound Studios on a show, please contact

Ralph.terrana @yahoo.com

Ralph is also moderator of the renowned website www.soulfuldetroit.com