We’ve heard from many readers since then asking how she is doing, and we are happy to share that she is doing fine, and continuing to make progress in her struggles to recover. Lynn suffered her stroke 3 days after what was expected to be a routine knee replacement procedure (due to a blood clot), leaving her with a substantial reduction in facility on her right side, and a frustrating aphasia that restricts her ability to communicate verbally.

As we spoke today, Lynn’s language issues were apparent, but she takes it all in stride with good humor and an enduring spirit. Marshall, her husband and former musical partner, joined us in the conversation, and would pop in to help whenever Lynn was unable to complete a thought or find the word she was after.

She has been working with a speech therapist, and is making progress in dealing with her aphasia.

“I found a teacher in DC, Darlene Williamson – I can write a letter now. She works with stroke survivors, and has all the knowledge.

My talking is not exactly right, but I’m good. I’m a strong woman.”

Marshall explained how Williamson came into their life…

“Darlene has been working with Lynn for a while, and it’s a very positive thing. The two of them have become great friends. Darlene is one of many angels that have come into her life.

Our friend Esther Meckler (from Connecticut) found Darlene for us. Esther is the head of SpayUSA, and we became friends through Lynn’s association with ASPCA and her animal welfare activities.

About 3 years ago Esther was visiting DC, and we met her for dinner and talked about Lynn’s aphasia. Within a day or two after that, Esther had done the one thing that had never occurred to me to do – get on the Internet and Google aphasia – and she found this place about an hour from where we live called the Stroke Comeback Center, Darlene’s practice.”

I think I first heard Lynn Morris in the mid-1970s when she was the banjo picker and vocalist with the City Limits Bluegrass Band, based in Denver, CO where she was in college. She made quite a splash as a banjo picker – at a time when female pickers were much rarer than today – winning first place at the prestigious National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, KS in both 1974 and 1981.

She and Marshall soon appeared together in a Pennsylvania-based group called Whetstone Run. Though they had met previously and jammed together, this was the first time they had worked regularly together.

“Lynn and I met in my home town, Austin, TX, in the spring of ‘82. She was in the midst of talking about joining Whetstone Run. When she took the job, and moved to Pennsylvania, we kept in touch, and when the bass player gave his notice, Lynn told them that I was the guy for the bass job. They, solely on her recommendation, offered me the job, and I packed up and moved to PA.”

They had a good run in the ’80s, even making a TV appearance on The Nashville Network (now CMT) for their popular Fire On The Mountain program in November of 1983. Lee Olsen (now with Keith Case & Associates) was on mandolin, and Mike Gorrell (now with Northwest Territory) was on guitar. Lynn played both banjo and guitar.

The Lynn Morris Band debuted in 1988, and over the years utilized the talents of such noted musicians as Tom Adams, Rob Ickes, David McLaughlin, Ron Stewart and Jesse Brock. Lynn would play either guitar or banjo, as her personnel dictated, and Marshall always held down the bass duties. She and Marshall were married in 1989.

During this time, she also recorded a clawhammer banjo video for The Murphy Method, now available on DVD. The Lynn Morris Band continued to be a top draw at festivals and concerts – also winning awards for their stellar recordings – until her stroke in 2003.

Lynn said that she is able to get out again, and is currently running sound on shows for Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie. She isn’t quite ready to return to performing, however.

“I don’t sing – I can, but I don’t want to yet. Almost ready – just not yet.

My left hand is great – right hand is not good. Banjo playing is slow, slow, slow…

I can’t write either – letters are hard now. I know everything fine, but I can’t bring them out.”

She also expressed affection for the many folks who encourage her return to the stage, and is grateful for their support.

“I love these people… I had a stroke, but I’m living, and every day (God… thank you so much for every day!) I am thankful for them all.”

Lynn Morris is a rare gem who will be long-remembered should her musical contributions all be behind her, but what a treat it would be to hear from her again.

We’ve heard from many readers since then asking how she is doing, and we are happy to share that she is doing fine, and continuing to make progress in her struggles to recover. Lynn suffered her stroke 3 days after what was expected to be a routine knee replacement procedure (due to a blood clot), leaving her with a substantial reduction in facility on her right side, and a frustrating aphasia that restricts her ability to communicate verbally.

As we spoke today, Lynn’s language issues were apparent, but she takes it all in stride with good humor and an enduring spirit. Marshall, her husband and former musical partner, joined us in the conversation, and would pop in to help whenever Lynn was unable to complete a thought or find the word she was after.

She has been working with a speech therapist, and is making progress in dealing with her aphasia.

“I found a teacher in DC, Darlene Williamson – I can write a letter now. She works with stroke survivors, and has all the knowledge.

My talking is not exactly right, but I’m good. I’m a strong woman.”

Marshall explained how Williamson came into their life…

“Darlene has been working with Lynn for a while, and it’s a very positive thing. The two of them have become great friends. Darlene is one of many angels that have come into her life.

Our friend Esther Meckler (from Connecticut) found Darlene for us. Esther is the head of SpayUSA, and we became friends through Lynn’s association with ASPCA and her animal welfare activities.

About 3 years ago Esther was visiting DC, and we met her for dinner and talked about Lynn’s aphasia. Within a day or two after that, Esther had done the one thing that had never occurred to me to do – get on the Internet and Google aphasia – and she found this place about an hour from where we live called the Stroke Comeback Center, Darlene’s practice.”

I think I first heard Lynn Morris in the mid-1970s when she was the banjo picker and vocalist with the City Limits Bluegrass Band, based in Denver, CO where she was in college. She made quite a splash as a banjo picker – at a time when female pickers were much rarer than today – winning first place at the prestigious National Bluegrass Banjo Championship in Winfield, KS in both 1974 and 1981.

She and Marshall soon appeared together in a Pennsylvania-based group called Whetstone Run. Though they had met previously and jammed together, this was the first time they had worked regularly together.

“Lynn and I met in my home town, Austin, TX, in the spring of ‘82. She was in the midst of talking about joining Whetstone Run. When she took the job, and moved to Pennsylvania, we kept in touch, and when the bass player gave his notice, Lynn told them that I was the guy for the bass job. They, solely on her recommendation, offered me the job, and I packed up and moved to PA.”

They had a good run in the ’80s, even making a TV appearance on The Nashville Network (now CMT) for their popular Fire On The Mountain program in November of 1983. Lee Olsen (now with Keith Case & Associates) was on mandolin, and Mike Gorrell (now with Northwest Territory) was on guitar. Lynn played both banjo and guitar.

The Lynn Morris Band debuted in 1988, and over the years utilized the talents of such noted musicians as Tom Adams, Rob Ickes, David McLaughlin, Ron Stewart and Jesse Brock. Lynn would play either guitar or banjo, as her personnel dictated, and Marshall always held down the bass duties. She and Marshall were married in 1989.

During this time, she also recorded a clawhammer banjo video for The Murphy Method, now available on DVD. The Lynn Morris Band continued to be a top draw at festivals and concerts – also winning awards for their stellar recordings – until her stroke in 2003.

Lynn said that she is able to get out again, and is currently running sound on shows for Bill Emerson & Sweet Dixie. She isn’t quite ready to return to performing, however.

“I don’t sing – I can, but I don’t want to yet. Almost ready – just not yet.

My left hand is great – right hand is not good.  Banjo playing is slow, slow, slow…

I can’t write either – letters are hard now. I know everything fine, but I can’t bring them out.”

She also expressed affection for the many folks who encourage her return to the stage, and is grateful for their support.

“I love these people… I had a stroke, but I’m living, and every day (God… thank you so much for every day!) I am thankful for them all.”

Lynn Morris is a rare gem who will be long-remembered should her musical contributions all be behind her, but what a treat it would be to hear from her again.

It is a little over ten years since the debut release by the super group bearing the name Longview and with their first release they caused so much of a furor that two more followed in quick succession. Now it is six years since the last and I, for one, didn’t expect to enjoy the prospect of another album.

The three remaining original members Marshall Wilborn (acoustic bass, vocals), Don Rigsby (mandolin, vocals) and James King (vocals) are joined by Lou Reid (guitar, vocals), Ron Stewart (fiddles, vocals) and J.D. Crowe (banjo, vocals) for this particular set of recordings. To quote from the liner notes, the result is…

“…a potent new line-up with the chops, discipline, and heart required to make the bluegrass tradition come alive. From the first note to the last, Deep In The Mountains is a striking update of the band’s long-held goal: soulful old-school bluegrass with soaring lead singing and riveting three-part harmonies.”

Deep In The Mountains, self produced by the group member and recorded at Skaggs’ Place Studio; Hendersonville, Tennessee, comprises a dozen excellent songs ‚Ķ‚Ķ‚Ķ..

Eating Out of Your Hand, Dudley Connell’s Weathered Grey Stone – what irony!, Randall Hylton’s Room at the Top of the Stairs, Don’t Leave Me Alone (one of two James King’s favourites by Cullen Galyean), Old Log Cabin (John Sloas-Lonnie Nipper), Cotton Eyed Joe, I’ll Love Nobody But You, Baptism of Jesse Taylor (classic country from Dallas Frazier and Sanger Shafer), the Louvin Brothers’ composition I’m Gonna Love You One More Time, At the First Fall of Snow, I Love You Yet and Georgia Bound (Charlie Moore-Bill Napier).

Don Rigsby, the prime mover in getting things organised for this album, comments ………………..

“The songs were compiled by all of the members of the band and Ken Irwin too. There actually are no new songs per se, but lots of obscure old material in keeping with the Longview tradition. The lead singing duties are split with James, Lou Reid and I. Of interest to all of the fiddlers and banjo pickers out there will be a version of Cotton Eyed Joe from Ron Stewart and J.D. Crowe with a break from myself and one from Lou Reid too.

As for rehearsal, the way we have always made these was to hatch the arrangements in the studio and record them while they were fresh.

We are currently booking shows and are booked by Mike Drudge at Class Act Entertainment. We hope to see the fans at some premier event in the near future.”

Rigsby adds in the liner notes,

“Though we don’t work a hundred dates a year, when we do play, we’re as real a band as Rhonda Vincent & the Rage or Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver. We all love playing together; that’s the absolute truth of it. But we also all have other bands and commitments. That makes it much more intense; you play with more fervour when you know you’re not going to have that many opportunities.”

Deep In The Mountains marks the group’s return to the Rounder label, whose website indicates a CD release date of March 11.

Rigsby explains the thinking regarding the return to the Rounder roster of artists ……..

“It was the consensus of the collective members of the group that since J.D., Ron, Marshall and James were all Rounder artists already, much could be accomplished in the promotional department and it would simplify lots of this. Rebel did a good job for us too.”

Lou Reid endorses this ………

“James wanted to put this album on Rounder because they were very interested in this CD. James is a Rounder artist as well as Crowe. Ron and Marshall both have recorded for them as well.”

And adds a personal observation ……….

“I enjoyed very much working with Ken Irwin, he was instrumental in keeping the ‘tradition’ in the traditional sound that Longview is known for.”

There aren’t any audio clips available at the moment but we will let you know when there are.

I had been expecting this announcement since last week, as the new band photo (to the right) was on display at the Roe Entertainment booth in the IBMA exhibit hall during the recently-concluded World Of Bluegrass trade show – even though Marshall was not with the band when I saw them perform.

Marshall has an impressive resume, having been a part of several notable bands over the course of his career. These include The Johnson Mountain Boys and The Lynn Morris Band, as well as a stint with Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys. His addition to the Flamekeeper roster will provide another successful notch on his belt.

White House was a Nashville-area outfit that produced a CD and performed a few shows with David Parmley, Missy Raines, Charlie Cushman, Larry Stephenson and Jason Carter, and The Dreadful Snakes and The Sidemen were Nashville favorites at The Station Inn.

A new group in the VA/MD area sure to generate a similar sort of buzz is Seneca Rocks! Band members include Dudley Connell, Marshall Wilborn, Sally Love, David McLaughlin and Tom Adams. Students of 1970s era bluegrass will recognize that the four gentlemen in the group were all part of The Johnson Mountain Boys, a dynamic and engaging band that developed a large and loyal following for their brand of traditional “old school” bluegrass.

Each has remained active in bluegrass since JMB disbanded. Dudley now plays guitar and sings with Seldom Scene, Marshall is in frequent demand as a free-lance and session bass man, and has worked for quite some time with his wife, Lynn Morris. David has been most active as a recording engineer and producer, and has released an instructional DVD for mandolin.

The lone member of Seneca Rocks with no Johnson Mountain connection is Sally Love, who has been a fixture on the DC bluegrass circuit for some time, winning an award from the Washington Area Music Association in 2003 for best bluegrass vocalist.

Banjo picker Tom Adams, who also performed with The Lynn Morris Band, Blue Highway and Dale Ann Bradley after being a Johnson Mountain Boy, is returning to more regular playing after a frustrating bout with hand problems. He was diagnosed with focal dystonia a few years ago, a nervous system syndrome that caused him to have problems with his picking accuracy, and prompted him to leave Dale Ann’s group.

Tom reports that he is making great progress on that front, and welcomes the chance to strap on the banjo once again with Seneca Rocks!

“Getting together with these guys helped put the banjo back in my hands. It’s therapy and really good music all at the same time. I’m so very thankful to get to do this.”

Recording for the band’s CD has just begun, and Dudley told us that they haven’t even chosen all of the material yet, and there is no solid target date for completion or release. The choice of songs reflects a wide variety of stylistic influences, something that has been a trademark of Dudley Connell projects since the JMB days. They plan to record a Hoagy Carmichael song (Rocking Chair), one from bluesman Blind Willie Johnson (In My Time Of Dying), a Johnny Cash number (Give My Love to Rose) and Flatt & Scrugg’s Steamboat Whistle Blues. He also indicated that they will recut a Seldom Scene song, Easy Ride From Good Times To The Blues (by Herb Pedersen), which was recorded before Dudley joined the Scene, and House Where Were Wed from The Blue Sky Boys.

You can find a schedule on their web site and see whether one of their rare live shows might be in your part of the world. They also expect to have audio samples up online as the recording progresses.

UPDATE 6/15, 1:45 p.m.: Dudley shared some further thoughts about how the Johnson Mountain Boys influence affects the sound of the new band.

“With four members of the JMB reuniting into the new band, Seneca Rocks, it is almost inevitable that there will be elements of the old band’s sound. The new sound perhaps also reflects the fact that 20 years after the JMB started, time and experience has changed and colored the way we approach music. We are not trying to recreate music that we have already done, but rather use what we have learned from working together to create something unique. In addition, I would describe the material as being a little broader and drawn from a wider variety of sources than the JMB group.

Sally’s singing and playing do introduce a softer element to the overall sound but you might be surprised how sassy her singing can be. Sally is a very expressive singer and sings whatever is required of a given song. That being said, she approaches some material with barely a whisper and busts you in the mouth when that is what is required.”

UPDATE 6/16, 7:00 a.m.: Tom Adams also took the opportunity to express his thoughts about the Johnson Mountain Boys and Seneca Rocks!.

“My thoughts on the band are related directly to the fact that I’m playing with 2 fingers. I’m not thinking anything about sounding or not sounding like the JMB. This is a band that is very sensitive to the fact that I can play on slow songs and on some that venture into the medium tempo range (as songs go in the bluegrass genre). I’m sure there will be comparison with the JMB, as weighing new experiences against old ones is how people naturally catalog information in their brains. I see the band’s sound as an intersection of opportunity and circumstance, and the five of us simply enjoy making music together.”

As many of our readers may know, Lynn suffered a stroke during knee replacement surgery a few years ago, and was unable to perform for quite some time. She has been making a slow but steady recovery ever since, and her husband Marshall Wilborn has this comment posted on their site:

Lynn does indeed continue her recovery in a very positive way. Thanks so much, once again, to all of you for your good thoughts, prayers, and well wishes over these last three years. You can’t imagine how much it’s meant to us!

We look forward to seeing you at the festivals.

The site also indicates that cards and notes can be sent to Lynn at: