Edward Morris, Billboard country editor and Nashville writer, dies at 90

Edward Morris, the Nashville entertainment journalist and author who spent 14 years at Billboard and 20 years writing for CMT's online platform, died on Sept. 17 at age 90.

Billboard, where Morris served as country music editor and chief Nashville columnist, reported his death on Sept. 18.

Morris was born on Sept. 21, 1935, and grew up in West Virginia. He earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1958 and later earned a master's degree in journalism from Ohio University.

He married Norma Chapman in 1960. Morris began writing freelance articles for Billboard in 1972 while working outside daily music coverage.

He moved to Nashville in 1980 and joined Billboard's staff full time in 1981. He stayed until 1995. His roles included country music editor and chief Nashville columnist, covering records, artists and the business around them.

In 1993, the International Bluegrass Music Association, the trade body for bluegrass music, named him its Print Journalist of the Year. After leaving Billboard, he started writing for CMT's online platform in 1999 and continued there for 20 years.

In 2002, he was honoured with the Charlie Lamb Journalist of the Year accolade, an award for country music journalism.

Morris authored eight books. He also worked as a poet and playwright, as noted by MusicRow. At age 80, he wrote the one-woman play The Passion of Ethel Rosenberg.

Earlier in his career, he was an editor of Writer's Digest, the American magazine for writers, according to his University of Charleston alumni profile.

Norma Morris died in 2021. Morris was 90 at his death, four days before his 91st birthday.