Steve Wildsmith

Our cover story on Friday is one Mr. R.B. Morris, unofficial poet-laureate of East Tennessee. He’s a playwright, poet, singer-songwriter, activist and an all-around good guy.

From a story we did a couple of years ago:

The man himself has long defied categorization, and even he admits that his body of work – poetry, stage plays, several albums worth of singer-songwriter driven folk and blues-rock – leaves many confounded as to how, exactly, to pin him down.

There are a lot of labels that fit – from hard-drinking roustabout to scholarly writer-in-residence at the University of Tennessee (a position he currently occupies) to collaborator of some of the best musicians, known and unknown, in Knoxville and beyond. Many East Tennesseans may have a passing knowledge of Morris as a musician, but most don’t realize just how much he’s respected by his peers.

Singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams calls him “the greatest unknown songwriter in the country,” and country-rock maverick Steve Earle says Morris “is the reason I started writing poetry.”

Born at Fort Sanders, Morris has always made Knoxville his home, despite his occasional wanderings. He’s spent time in San Francisco, collaborating with the biographer of Jack Kerouac, and in Knoxville he’s taken up the cause of celebrating and clamoring for the recognition of Agee, Knoxville writer-extraordinaire who penned “A Death in the Family.” His concerts are as hard to categorize as his music.

His songwriting, and his spoken-word poetry, is starkly beautiful and haunting, and his solo acoustic shows usually hold audiences spellbound. There’s a melancholy sadness to his acoustic songs, and a shot of adrenaline to his rockers, all of which make up his three available records, “Take That Ride,” “Knoxville Sessions” and “Zeke and the Wheel.”

In anticipation of the cover story and the concert on Friday, May 29, at The Square Room, we’re honored to offer two free R.B. Morris downloads:

Download “Empire,” by R.B. Morris: right-click here (choose “Save Target As” or “Save Link As”)

Download “City,” by R.B. Morris: right-click here (choose “Save Target As” or “Save Link As”)

Buy “Empire” by R.B. Morris: click here