Born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and raised in Romulus, Michigan, Barbara Morrison recorded her first appearance for radio in Detroit at the age of 10. In 1973 she moved to Los Angeles at the age of 23[2] and sang with Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's band. Between the mid-1970s and early 1990s, she recorded several albums with Johnny Otis.
In 1986, Morrison toured with the Philip Morris Superband, completing a 14-city one-month tour of Canada, Australia, Japan, and the Philippines, playing with jazz organist Jimmy Smith and backed by saxophonist James Moody, guitarist Kenny Burrell, trumpeter Jon Faddis, and Grady Tate on drums. Morrison also completed a 33-city tour in the US in an all-star tribute to composer Harold Arlen. In 1995, Morrison appeared in a televised tribute to Ella Fitzgerald with Mel Torme, Diane Reeves, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Tony Bennett, Dionne Warwick, and Lou Rawls.
She has worked with Gerald Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, James Moody, Ron Carter, Etta James, Esther Phillips, David T. Walker, Jimmy Smith, Dr. John, Kenny Burrell, Terence Blanchard, Joe Sample, Cedar Walton, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, Keb' Mo, Count Basie Orchestra, Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra and Doc Severinsen. She has performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Nice, Pori, Carnegie Hall, North Sea, Darling Harbour, Sydney Opera House, Monterey, Long Beach, and in tributes to Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Golson. In 2011 Morrison began performing with Jack Hale, a guitarist, arranger, and bandleader.