Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible mushrooms closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi. These distinctive mushrooms appear honeycomb-like in that the upper portion is composed of a network of ridges with pits between them.

The ascocarps are prized by gourmet cooks, particularly for French cuisine. Commercial value aside, morels are hunted by thousands of people every year simply for their taste and the joy of the hunt.

Morels have been called by many local names; some of the more colorful include dryland fish, because when sliced lengthwise then breaded and fried, their outline resembles the shape of a fish; hickory chickens, as they are known in many parts of Kentucky; and merkels or miracles, based on a story of how a mountain family was saved from starvation by eating morels (the spelling of the word "merkel" reflects the pronunciation of the word "miracle" in the Appalachian dialect common to the south).^{[citation needed]} In parts of West Virginia, they are known as "molly moochers." Other common names for morels include sponge mushroom. Genus Morchella is derived from morchel, an old German word for mushroom, while morel itself is derived from the Latin maurus meaning brown.

François Morel (born 14 March 1926) is a Canadian composer, pianist, conductor, and music educator. An associate of the Canadian Music Centre, he was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 1994 and was awarded the Prix Denise-Pelletier in 1996. He has had his works premiered by the CBC Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Born in Montreal, Morel studied at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal from 1944–1953. His teachers included Claude Champagne (composition), Isabelle Delorme (harmony, counterpoint, fugue), Gérald Gagnier (conducting), Arthur Letondal (piano), Germaine Malépart, Jean Papineau-Couture (acoustics), and Edmond Trudel (piano). He was a founding member of the Canadian League of Composers in 1951. From 1956–1979 he worked for CBC Radio as a composer of incidental music, music consultant, and researcher.

Morel taught music analysis and composition at the Institut Nazareth from 1959–1961. In 1972 he was appointed director of the Académie de musique du Québec, a position he held through 1978. From 1976–1979 he taught at the Bourgchemin Cegep in Drummondville and from 1979–1997 he taught at Université Laval. He also served on the faculty of the Université de Montréal in 1979–1980.

Jacques Joseph Victor Higelin (born 18 October 1940 in Brou-sur-Chantereine, Seine-et-Marne, France) is a French pop singer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s. Early in his career, many of Higelin's songs were effectively blacklisted from French radio because of his controversial left wing political beliefs, and his association with socialist groups. He and his wife, Kuelan, are the parent of actor Ken Higelin, he also has a daughter Izïa Higelin (singer) with Aziza and an elder son Arthur H (famous French singer) with Nicole Courtois.

Higelin's entertainment career began at age 14, when he left school to work as a stunt double. While playing a number of small roles in various motion pictures, Higelin was taught to play the guitar by Henri Crolla, a French-Italian jazz guitarist and film composer. By the early sixties, Higelin was attending the René Simon drama school, where he won the François Perier award.

For two years starting in 1961, Higelin served in the French military in various countries. Upon returning to France, he resumed his cinematic career, but increasingly began to focus on music over film. By the end of the decade, he was also very active in the artistic underground in Paris, and he began to channel his music towards radical militancy. He began attracting popular attention through his live concerts, typically held in smaller venues, and released his first solo album, in 1971. By the middle of the 1970s, Higelin had become one of France's most successful musicians, and he remains influential to this day. The CD featured performances by: Nina Hagen, Tore Kunda, Trio Esperança, Princess Erika, Spencer Davis, Amina, Sneaky Pete Kleinow, Annette Austin, and a 72 voices of members of "The Genesis Choir" and "The Reverend Martin Luther King Choir" recorded at studio "Z", Sacramento, California. European performer's recorded at Ferber Studios, Paris France.