Famed Nashville-based entertainment executive and artist manager Dale Morris, who worked with country superstar Kenny Chesney and others, has passed away. He was 89 years old.
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Morris reportedly died in his sleep on Friday.
In a statement to Variety, Clint Higham, president of Morris Higham Management, shared, “He lived a big, bold, beautiful, blessed life, and I’m holding onto that right now. It’s the end of an era.”
Morris started his music industry career as a songwriter. He wrote Johnny Paycheck’s 1967 song “Don’t Monkey With Another Monkey’s Monkey.”
Following the launch of his management firm, Dale Morris & Associates, Morris met the bandmates of Alabama in Myrtle Beach. The band earned 33 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart while under his management.
Morris later met and started managing Chesney in the early 1990s. The country superstar currently holds the most No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, at 33.
Among his other clients were Martina McBride, Barbara Mandrell, Old Dominion, and Walker Country. A reflection of his success, Morris was awarded the T.J. Martell Foundation’s Tony Martell Lifetime Entertainment Achievement Award in 2014.
Morris’ firm was acquired by Paradigm (now THE TEAM) in 2018.
Morris Family and Loved Ones Speak Out
Following the news that he passed away, Morris’ loved ones spoke out.
“We’re so blessed to have had 90 years with him as the patriarch of our family,” his grandson Zack Morris said in a statement. “Thank you to our music industry family and to his vast community of friends in Nashville, Boca, and beyond for loving him all these many years.”
Continuing to speak about Morris, Higham stated, “He was larger than life, and never met a dream he couldn’t build. He was larger than life and never met a dream he couldn’t build.”
Morris is survived by his wife of 68 years, Earline; his daughter-in-law, Jennifer; grandchildren, Zack, Colton, Nick, and Kendall; and great-grandchildren, Mary Dee and Gus. He is preceded in death by his son, Tim.
The family is planning to have a celebration of life later this fall. They ask for donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in lieu of flowers.