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Edward Morris, a Nashville-based music journalist who edited Billboard’s country coverage, wrote a popular CMT.com column and penned numerous books, died Thursday at age 90. The family did not give a cause of death.
Morris was best remembered in the country community for a 14-year tenure with Billboard from 1981 to 1995, the last four of those as the publication’s country music editor. Prior to coming on staff, his contributions to Billboard as a freelancer dated back to 1972.
In 1999, he joined CMT.com as a writer, where his byline continued to enjoy prominence in the country community. The website became the primary go-to for consumers looking for country news, and Morris remained there into his mid-80s, until 2020, when, under cover of COVID, MTV Networks began to dismantle its once-flourishing news sites.
His eight books included “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 releases by the Judds, Keith Whitley, Guy Clark, Eddy Arnold, Hank Snow and Chet Atkins, among others.
In 2002, Morris was honored at Belmont University’s annual International Country Music Conference (ICMC) with its Charlie Lamb Journalist of the Year award.
Morris was married to country music publicist Norma Morris, who died in 2021 — read her Variety obituary here — and is the father of publicist Erin Morris Huttlinger. He wrote a book about the final evolution of his relationship with Norma, “Stardust: An Alzheimer’s Love Story,” which stemmed from blogs and social posts he had written about their journey as they fell apart and then came together again as she required intensive care.
In a 2023 interview with the website FiftyForward, Morris 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.”
Morris recalled aspects of his career for the site. Asked about highlights of being a country music journalist, he answered, “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.”
He called his two decades with CMT “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.”
Of being in what he considered forced retirement after his CMT job came to an end, he said, “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.”
Talking about his “Stardust” book, Morris recalled how he had once reviewed a book on Alzheimer’s as a book critic, and said, “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.”
Ed Morris is survived by daughters Erin Morris Huttlinger and Rachel Serrato, and by son Jason Morris. Their brother, Christopher, died at age 2. He is also survived by six grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations can be made to Planned Parenthood.
