Berklee Online Rock History Course author and music critic Steve Morse of Boston, Massachusetts has sadly passed away. He died leaving family and friends in shock. He was confirmed dead through a Facebook post that reads “Sorry to hear about renowned Boston rock critic Steve Morse, dead 10 days after posting he had just learned he had stage 4 lung cancer.”
The Weymouth neighbourhood of Boston was Steve’s elementary school. He was fortunate to witness the impending musical explosion in Wellesley in the 1960s, when his family relocated north to the city. Like millions of other young people, Steve discovered a new love when The Beatles came to town in 1964 when he was sixteen years old.
Steve reviewed music on a regular basis, but conducting interviews has always been his passion. Even though Steve was no longer employed full-time with the Globe, he still occasionally takes on freelance work for the publication. Steve has been teaching a course on rock music history for Berklee College of Music’s online platform for the past decade.
His online class has students of all ages and from all around the world. Steve hopes to acquaint them with the most influential artists of the genre and fill in any gaps in their knowledge by sharing the cultural and historical context that inspired their work. Steve Van Zandt was one of several legendary figures in the music industry who sat on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominations committee for seven years, including Jon Landau, Ahmet Ertegun, Jann Wenner, and Phil Spector. He was a force to be reckoned with and will be deeply missed by many.
