Kenneth Morris (August 28, 1917 – February 1, 1989) was an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

composer of

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

and publisher who popularized several songs, including "

Just a Closer Walk with Thee "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" is a traditional gospel song and jazz standard that has been performed and recorded by many artists. Performed as either an instrumental or vocal, "A Closer Walk" is perhaps the most frequently played number in the ...

". Morris was born in New York in 1917 and performed in church as a youth before becoming a professional jazz musician. He studied at the Manhattan Conservatory of Music and founded a band which performed at the Chicago World's Fair in 1934. He became ill while in Chicago and decided to permanently relocate there. In Chicago he was introduced to several prominent members of the gospel community, including Charles Henry Pace and Lillian Bowles. Morris eventually became one of the first musicians to introduce the Hammond organ to gospel music. Morris met Sallie Martin (1896-1988), a Georgia native, in the choir at

First Church of Deliverance First Church of Deliverance is a landmark Spiritual church located at 4315 South Wabash Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. First Church of Deliverance was founded by Reverend Clarence H. Cobbs on May 8, 1929. The church began wi ...

in Chicago where she was the choir director and they co-founded Martin and Morris Music Company, the nation's oldest continuously running black gospel music publishing company, which operated from 1940 until the 1980s. In 1940 Morris arranged and published for the first time the well-known version of "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" after gospel musicians Robert Anderson and RL Knowles listened to William B. Hurse sing it in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

and brought it to Morris' attention.''Encyclopedia of African American Music'', Volume 3 (ABC-CLIO), pg. 83 Morris added some new lyrics and a choral arrangement. Morris bought out Martin in the 1973. Morris died in 1988, and his widow Necie ran the business for a short period after his death before closing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Kenneth Gospel music composers 1917 births 1989 deaths Musicians from New York City