His father, a coal mine foreman, was a former musician who played drums in a local band in his spare time.

Morgan began to study piano and worked in the mines to earn money to help support his family and pay for his lessons.

[1] Colleagues of Morgan in Specht's orchestra included Arthur Schutt, Don Lindley, Chauncey Morehouse, Orville Knapp, Paul Whiteman, Charlie Spivak, and Artie Shaw.

The band included Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Chauncey Morehouse, Joe Venuti, Eddie Lang, Bix Beiderbecke, and Fuzzy Farrar.

On September 12, 1935, Morgan, playing piano and Joe Venuti on violin recorded two sides for Brunswick: "Red Velvet" and "Black Satin".

Morgan's biggest success came when he was offered the position of musical director for Detroit radio station WXYZ.

After several months in the hospital, he started again in New York City as an arranger for the George White Scandals, the Cotton Club Revue, and the Capitol Theatre.

When not arranging for the Broadway shows, Morgan worked as a pianist or trombonist with orchestras led by Phil Spitalny, Eddie Gilligan, Ted Fio Rito, and Freddy Martin.

Russ Morgan joined the Freddy Martin Orchestra in 1934 as a pianist but worked chiefly as a trombonist and arranger with the band.

Originating from San Francisco, the show featured Morgan "as master of ceremonies of a program built around guest entertainers.

The Decca recording of "Dogface Soldier", released to coincide with the film version of To Hell and Back, based on the best-selling novel by Audie Murphy, sold over 300,000 copies.