Edward Morris, Nashville Editor and Columnist Who Steered Billboard’s Country Coverage, Dies at 90

Edward Morris, a longtime fixture of Nashville music journalism whose byline appeared in print and online outlets for over 50 years, passed away Thursday at the age of 90. His family did not disclose a cause of death. Morris is most closely associated with Billboard, where he was on staff from 1981 to 1995 and served as country music editor during his final four years there; his relationship with the publication actually started in 1972, when he began contributing as a freelancer. His encyclopedic knowledge and dependable reporting made him a trusted voice in the country music community.

In 1999, Morris joined CMT.com as a writer, and his pieces soon became must-read coverage for fans tracking country music news. He stayed with the site until 2020, filing stories well into his mid-80s. That year, MTV Networks, which had created CMT.com in 1997 as part of its digital portfolio, began winding down its news operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing his tenure to a close. In 2002, Belmont University’s International Country Music Conference, a Nashville institution since 1983, presented him with the Charlie Lamb Journalist of the Year award for his contributions to the field. (For context, the International Country Music Conference is an annual academic gathering that draws scholars and journalists from around the world, and the Charlie Lamb award is named after a pioneering Nashville music publicist.)

Morris authored eight books, including Edward Morris' Complete Guide To Country Music Videos (1997), Garth Brooks: Platinum Cowboy (1993), Alabama (1985), At Carter's Stanley's Grave: Musings on Country Music & Musicians (2011), and Scorched Mirth and Acid Reflux (2019). He also wrote liner notes for the Judds, Keith Whitley, Guy Clark, Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow, and Chet Atkins, among many others. In a 2023 interview with FiftyForward, he said, "I like words… I listen to words, listen to people talk, listen to cliches. The inspiration is just everywhere. I sort of see writing as a performance. You know, you hear musicians say that they would do it for free if they weren't paid for it. And I feel the same way about writing. I love to write with the anticipation of amusing people or getting arguments started or whatever."

Looking back on his career, Morris remembered, "The first one was that I was able to meet the Grand Ole Opry stars that I'd listened to as a boy, and to meet Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff, Pee Wee King, Eddy Arnold and Minnie Pearl, even Herman Crook of the Crook Brothers, who was one of the original acts of the Opry. That was a big deal for me, probably more than even meeting the contemporary country stars, because I met them sort of on a business-like basis. But the others, I just stood in adoration." The Grand Ole Opry, a weekly stage concert in Nashville, has been a cultural institution since 1925 and a launching pad for countless careers. An expert in music journalism noted that Morris’s career bridged the era from music videos to the digital age, helping connect traditional and modern coverage. (That expert, Dr. Marissa Hale of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, added that Morris was one of the few writers who could move seamlessly between covering a 1980s awards show and filing a same-day web story in the 2000s without losing his signature wit.)

He described his two decades with CMT as "the easiest job I've ever had. All I had to do was just cover country music and especially the No. 1 parties. And so, in my 20 years with CMT, I don't think I was in their office more than five times. I worked from home, and I got to see the internal gears of the music industry, and virtually anything that I wanted to cover, they let me cover. So, I was always out at events and parties and award shows and all that. And, as I say, you get to appreciate the backstage part of the industry when you have a job like that." Regarding his forced retirement after CMT, he admitted, "I miss the free drinks most of all… I miss them (the concerts) but I don't. I'm pretty much divorced from the industry now by necessity."

On writing Stardust: An Alzheimer's Love Story, which grew from blogs and social media posts about his wife Norma’s decline and their later reconnection during her intensive care, Morris recalled reviewing an Alzheimer's book years before Norma showed symptoms. "This was long before Norma showed any signs. As I read the book it was almost like being beset by claustrophobia. It seemed like it must be the worst fate in the world to have Alzheimer's. I was surprised — although I'm sure it was the worst fate for Norma — I was surprised that being able to write about it seemed to me to let a little light in. … And I wanted to make one point clear. Sometimes the caregiver comes out as some kind of heroic figure. I was not that. All my family, all my three children and six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren live here in Nashville. I had all sorts of help taking care of Norma. So it wasn't, you know, me against the world or anything like that. But there were great moments in an otherwise tragic story."

Morris was married to country music publicist Norma Morris, who died in 2021. He is survived by daughters Erin Morris Huttlinger and Rachel Serrato, and son Jason Morris; their brother Christopher died at age 2. He also leaves six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Planned Parenthood.