Former Sailor’s Love Letters Inspire a Viral Song Recorded by Grandfather and Grandson

For the second time in recent years, 86-year-old Morton Block and his grandson Matthew are finding musical success inspired by Mort’s life.

Mort has been composing since his teenage years. Seven years ago, Matt Block, the 34-year-old co-founder of La Reserve Records, discovered an old song his grandfather had tucked away in a drawer.

They recorded it and shared “My Love” on TikTok in March 2022, paired with footage of Mort and his wife, Susan, on their honeymoon in Miami Beach, Fla. The video quickly amassed 1.6 million views.

This summer, another song Mort composed decades ago during his service in the U.S. Navy — also centered on his love story — became a hit as part of Mort and Matt’s second album, The Lonely Sea. Their first album, 2022’s Strange Harbors, has already racked up more than 20 million streams.

“It’s a lot of storytelling across 70 years, but we went back further for this one,” Matt says of the follow-up. “Some of the first songs he ever wrote are on this record.”

After the success of their first album, Matt asked his grandfather if he had any other music written during his Navy days in the 1950s.

Mort and Susan Block had preserved all the letters they exchanged.

“Looking through those, I found an envelope that had the words to a song that was a letter I started for her,” Mort recalls.

That song, which became the title track of their new album, has now been streamed more than 4.5 million times. It carries a more serious tone than their 2022 hit, which leaned upbeat and Sinatra-esque.

“My feelings were deeper,” Mort explains.

With his newfound social media fame, Mort is embracing internet stardom. Within months, his Instagram following surged from roughly 700 to nearly 60,000.

“It just blew up,” he says.

Matt has been making music with his grandfather since he first picked up Mort’s trumpet at age 3. Mort taught him how to play, and for the past several years, they’ve been co-writing songs and connecting almost daily.

“He’s my best friend,” Mort says. “Music is the bond between us.”

Mort first joined the Navy in 1956. Two years later, on Labor Day weekend in 1958, he met his future wife, Susan, while on leave.

“The first glance took my breath away,” he recalls.

About two weeks later, while standing watch on the USS Hazelwood in December 1958, Mort penned the lyrics to “My Love.”

“I waited until I was back home to sing it to her,” he says. Over the years, he played the song privately for Susan but never released it commercially. “I heard it all the time,” Susan told PEOPLE. “It was a beautiful song.”

The couple married on June 12, 1960.

“I’m married to the most incredible woman,” Mort says. “Thank goodness we’re both still here.”

Now retired from a career as a kitchen and bath designer, Mort still swims daily and volunteers as an assistant director at a high school jazz band near his home in Kennett Square, Pa. He plays trumpet every day and continues composing music with his grandson.

“Since I retired, I don’t know what I would do without music,” Mort says. “It’s what keeps me going.”

The Lonely Sea features more songs about love and heartbreak.

“We’re still making music that we want to hear ourselves,” Matt says. “It’s seamless. It’s just us sharing stories and making them sound the way we want to hear.”

Looking ahead, a third album is already on the horizon.

In June, Matt married Yena Kang — and Mort had the honor of officiating the wedding.

“It was unbelievable,” Mort says. “It’s a blessing that they’re together. I was thrilled.”

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