Gary Morris has been a successful country music star and Nashville recording artist for more than 40 years now — but after all this time, he still claims Texas as his home.
Morris — who grew up in Fort Worth, and now lives in Colorado — will be returning to his roots with a Granbury Live performance, 110 N. Crocket St., at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 3.
Morris, 74, first got his start in music when he and a couple of his college buddies traveled to Colorado to “drink beer, chase girls, and find a construction job for the summer.”
The trio asked a Colorado Springs bartender if they could get up on the bandstand and perform a few songs, according to allmusic.com. The audience’s response — and tips — convinced Morris to put his college plans on hold and pursue a performing career.
“Over a period of time I ended up going to Nashville and got a record deal with Warner Brothers,” Morris said.
From there, Morris’ country music career took off, and his life was never the same again.
He earned the title of Billboard’s “Male Artist of the Year” in 1982, and his first hit, “Wind Beneath My Wings,” won Song of the Year in 1984.
Morris produced five No. 1s and 16 Top 10 singles over the years, including “Why Lady Why,” “The Love She Found in Me,” and “Baby Bye Bye.”
But his talent didn’t stop there.
He was also involved in various Broadway plays like the epic hit, “Les Misérables,” where he played the lead role of Jean Valjean in 1987 — a role that led to a Drama Desk Award nomination, as he was the first American to play the part in that European musical.
Additionally, Morris got the chance to act alongside Linda Ronstadt on the theater stage, where he played Rodolfo in the production of Puccini’s opera “La Bohéme.”
Morris showed off more of his acting abilities when he played a blind singer by the name of Wayne Masterson on the TV series called “The Colbys,” — a 1980s Dynasty spinoff.
According to allmusic.com, Morris has hunted on all seven continents, and — by using his outdoorsman skills — Morris hosted a TV show on The Nashville Network called “North American Sportsman.” That show ran for five seasons and featured many celebrity guests including Bryant Gumbel and Troy Aikman.
“We went all over the world hunting and fishing,” Morris said. “I’m an outdoor guy. I’ve always hunted and fished, and I’ve been shooting since I was 20.”
He also produced 10 episodes of his own podcast, “Gary Morris’ From the Beginning,” where he talked about his own remarkable stories and interviewed friends and colleagues from the entertainment business like Paul Worley, American record producer, and Alyssa Bonagura of The Sisterhood Band.
Fly Fishers International and its Abilene Fly Fishers club partnered with Gary Morris Concert and Fundraising to support wounded veterans.
During the pandemic, Morris hosted two virtual benefits for the DEA Education Foundation, where he raised more than $150,000 for the organization.
His ranch, Mountain Spirit Ranch, also serves as a place where veterans suffering from PTSD can experience the therapeutic properties of the serene sport of fly fishing to treat PTSD and other combat-related conditions.
“Because of the nature of the business, I’m always around people, and I’m not really very social, so I need a place to escape to,” he explained. “I found this place in Colorado and I built a lodge. I guide people when they hunt and fish and that was the nature of it. I just wanted to have a place where people who wanted to, kind of, share the same love of the wild would be welcome.”
Morris has currently recorded 13 albums, with his most recent — “Sense of Pride,” that was released in 2018 — being his favorite.
“Sense of Pride is the most personal musical work I’ve attempted,” he said. “The project has perspectives about my life and how I see the world. It’s more about my own life, my family, how my dad met my mom, and the war. I really love the record.”
GRANBURY LIVE PERFORMANCE
During his Granbury Live performance, Morris will be performing his greatest hits from previous albums, as well as some of his newer music.
“There’s always new music,” he said. “The best of the old, the new music, and a little sharing experience with the audience.”
He said he is excited to play at Granbury Live again and get back to his roots.
“I was born and raised in Texas, and I’ll always be a Texan no matter where I go,” he said. “I’ve said for years that I’m as good as my audience is, as I like to interact with an audience. I don’t care if it’s 1,000 seats or 100 — if I have the audience on my side, there’s a certain amount of entertainment value. I hope (Granbury Live) is full. It’s an acoustic evening, so it’ll be me and three guitars. We’ll have some fun with each other.”
For more information about Gary Morris, visit his website at garymorris.com, his Facebook page at Gary Morris Music, his Twitter at @garymorristour, or his YouTube page at Gary Morris.
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