Singing
Navy sailor gets taste of fame after love song he wrote for his wife goes viral 64 years later
I could listen to this over and over again.❤️
D.G. Sciortino
04.27.22

After decades of marriage, the ballad Morton Block used to woo his then-girlfriend and now wife Susan 64 years ago is becoming a hit.

Morton first met Susan on the beach when he was 19 and she was 17.

“She took my breath away,”the 82-year-old told PEOPLE. “I knew she was the one. But I wasn’t sure she felt the same way about me. I thought, ‘I’m going to write my feelings down and put them to music.'”

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A post shared by Mort (@mortonblock)

While Morton was serving on the USS Hazelwood in the North Atlantic, he couldn’t stop thinking about Susan.

Being a trumpet player, he already had a melody in his head.

He decided to pen the lyrics in honor of Susan and called the song “My love.”

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He planned to sing her the song the next time they met.

“I was hoping she’d see my passion. It was a little Shakespearean,” he said.

Susan recalls being wooed by Morton’s music and that he also “looked sexy in his uniform.” The singing and the uniform worked because the couple married in 1960.

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“He would play that on the piano all through our marriage,” says Susan.

Eventually, the song went in a drawer until Block’s grandson, Matt Block found it and shared it with friends.

“Everyone was like, ‘Damn, this is a hit. This is great,'” Matt told CBS News.

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Matt, who co-founded La Reserve Records with his brother Jacob, found some musicians and recorded his grandfather’s love song and released it

“He said, ‘Poppy, I think we should do an album,'” said Morton. “It’d still be sitting in the drawer if it wasn’t for him.”

The song has since been played more than 1 million times on social media.

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“It’s unbelievable. I never thought anything like this would ever happen, especially at this age,” says Mort. “It’s like a fresh start.”

It was laid over a TikTok video with black and white footage of Morton and Susan, who now have two sons and five grandchildren, on their honeymoon in Miami Beach.

Morton and Susan were “floored” by hearing their song recorded. The song will soon be released on a record with Morton on the cover.

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Morton says his newfound musical success has inspired him to reignite his songwriting career.

It’s given him a “burst of life.”

He has already started writing new songs based on ideas he has had for the last 60 or 70 years.

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A post shared by Mort (@mortonblock)

“It’s inspired me, and renewed my purpose,” he said.

Morton and Susan’s story went viral and was adored by many.

“This is absolutely wonderful! Such a beautiful song and such a beautiful couple!” commented one individual.

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A post shared by Mort (@mortonblock)

“A couple for the ages!! A Love Sublime for years!” said another.

You can catch a bit of Morton’s song in the video below.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

@mortblock Overwhelmed by all the love for this song…THANK YOU #mylove #originalsong #debut #jazztok #thisiswhatdreamsaremadeof ♬ My Love – Matt Block & Morton Block & Benny Benack III

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