Morphine was an American rock band formed by Mark Sandman, Dana Colley, and Jerome Deupree in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1989.

After five successful albums and extensive touring, they disbanded after lead vocalist Sandman died of a heart attack onstage in Palestrina, Italy, on July 3, 1999 at the Nel Nome Del Rock Festival.

The band used an idiosyncratic set of instruments and combined blues and jazz elements with more traditional rock arrangements, which gave it an unusual and original sound.

Sandman sang distinctively in a "deep, laid-back croon",[2] and his songwriting featured a prominent beat influence.

This limited their mainstream exposure and support in their home country, while internationally they enjoyed high-profile success, especially in Belgium, Russia, Portugal, France and Australia.

Sandman, a prolific musician who frequently experimented with home-made instruments, played a single-stringed bass guitar of his own devising with a slide, although he later added a second string.

Deupree briefly left the group for health reasons in 1991 and was temporarily replaced by Treat Her Right drummer Billy Conway.

[5] Cure for Pain, 1993's followup,[4] increased the band's audience outside of New England, and singles like "Thursday" and "Buena" picked up some college radio play.

[4] The album featured the single "Honey White," the music video for which appeared on the MTV animated series Beavis and Butt-head, as had "Thursday".

Conway and Colley also officially formed the Hi-n-Dry independent record label and studio, converting Sandman's workspace into a commercial enterprise.

[6] In July 2009, the group played at Nel Nome Del Rock Festival in Palestrina, Italy, marking the ten-year anniversary of Sandman's death at the location in which it occurred.