Singing from the heart

A "couple of a couple" years ago, when she was 29, Wasilla's Adele Morgan headed to Nashville, taking her considerable music talent with her in hopes of making it big. She came home with a newfound respect for where she lives, although she has never given up her musical dream.

Morgan is releasing her third CD later this month, but she is more than happy with where her life is -- where she grew up, where her family is, where she knows the people in the grocery store on a first-name basis -- which, in a word, is "home."

"My experiences in Nashville have always been good, but I saw a lifestyle I didn't really want to live," Morgan said. "I feel like wherever you are planted, bloom. And that's what I've done.

"In Nashville, they asked if I was ready to play 152 concerts a year, that they'd tell me how to dress and what songs to sing," Morgan said. "My daughter was young at the time, and I'm more committed to being a wife and a mother, more so than to music."

Morgan's CD, "From my Heart," is a mixture of songs that truly do come from Morgan's heart. There's a love song written for her daughter's wedding, as well as one song, "Walking with Angels," which was written for Morgan's longtime friend, Curtis Menard II, who died in a plane crash. Each song means something special to Morgan -- and listeners will find their lives represented in the lyrics as well.

Morgan said she has tape recorders everywhere, so she can record what comes to mind, when it comes to mind.

"I'll do it at night, and then wake up in the morning and listen to it and say, 'Oooh, that's not good at all,'" Morgan said with a laugh. "But sometimes you get it right.

"Usually I write lyrics first, and then think about the music," Morgan explained. "I try to write songs about things I think are valid."

Morgan has spent about a year and a half working in the studio, getting musicians organized and trying to pull the project together. Many talented local musicians played on "From my Heart," and Morgan said getting everyone organized was the biggest task.

"The scheduling is one of the hardest parts of doing a CD," Morgan said. "I kind of knew who I wanted, and making it work took time. There are a lot of really professional people who helped out -- I had musicians from all different genres. I appreciate everyone who helped."

The release comes five years after Morgan released her only other full-length CD, a Christmas compilation. She also has released a demo cassette after her first trip to Nashville.

"Most people don't release a Christmas project first, but that's what people had always heard from me," Morgan said. Morgan sings at functions around the state, including many holiday-related events. This year, she is performing at Fred Meyer and Evangelo's on Dec. 13 and at the Palmer Pioneer Home's Christmas event on Dec. 8.

Morgan is enthused about music, but she is just as passionate about talking to people about diabetes, for which Morgan wears an insulin pump.

"Wearing an insulin pump has changed my life, and it can change the lives of other people with diabetes, too," Morgan said. "Diabetes can be a fatal disease if you let it. If you take care of yourself and pay attention to your body, you can manage it."

Morgan said she even has an "insulin song" -- Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama."

"One time we were doing a concert in a church, and I had an insulin reaction right there," Morgan said. "I turned around to Dean [Mingus, the drummer] and told him, 'You guys are going to have to play. I can't do this.' He busted out a great rendition of 'Sweet Home Alabama,' and that's kind of been my insulin song, I guess."

Morgan's CD will be available on Nov. 15 around the Valley, including at businesses like Edward Jones, Shalom Christian Books, Valley Rental Center, Matanuska Music and Silvertip Designs.

Copies of the CD will also available at Borders in Anchorage, as well as at Barnes and Noble and cdBaby.com.