David Morris makes an emotional return to Mountain Stage, recorded live on the West Virginia State Capitol grounds in Charleston. Raised in the Clay County town of Ivydale, Morris and his brother John became an important link between old-time masters like Ira Mullins and a new breed of folk and traditional artists in West Virginia.
In 1965, David Morris was selected to represent West Virginia folk music at the New York World's Fair; then, 17 years later, he represented Kentucky's Berea College at the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tenn. Morris served as a medic in Vietnam during the late '60s, an experience that affected both his life and his music. In the early '70s, he and his brother received two grants from the Rockefeller Foundation and one from the National Endowment For The Arts to help organize grassroots folk festivals in communities across the Appalachian region.
Morris continues to perform, often with his son Jack Ballangee, as he does here. They're backed during their set by the Mountain Stage band.
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