Marshall Wilborn
Best known for
Bass
Lead Vocals
Marshall Wilborn is one of the most respected bass players in contemporary bluegrass — a four-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year (2009–2012), accomplished songwriter, and co-founder of the Lynn Morris Band with his wife Lynn Morris. He anchored the Johnson Mountain Boys during their peak years in the late 1980s, co-founded the IBMA-winning supergroup Longview, and has spent the past four decades as the go-to bassist and harmony singer for many of the finest traditionally-rooted bands in the music.
- Born March 12, 1952 in Austin, Texas. Raised in the Austin area, where he took up banjo as his first instrument. When too many of his friends also gravitated toward banjo, he switched to the bass.
- In 1981, met banjo player Lynn Morris at a jam session in Austin while she was in town caring for her father. When the bass slot opened up in 1982 in Morris’s Pennsylvania-based band Whetstone Run, Wilborn took the job. The band (Lee Olsen, mandolin; Mike Gorrell, guitar) recorded one album featuring five Wilborn originals. Lynn and Marshall stayed with Whetstone Run until 1986 and have been a couple ever since.
- In 1986 briefly toured as bassist with Jimmy Martin & the Sunny Mountain Boys. Later that year received an invitation from Dudley Connell to join the Johnson Mountain Boys, replacing Larry Robbins. The JMB lineup of Connell, Stubbs, Underwood, McLaughlin, and Wilborn was the classic peak-years band, whispered about as the “missing ingredient” when Connell and crew first heard Marshall playing in Whetstone Run.
- Settled in Winchester, Virginia — where he still lives — during his Johnson Mountain Boys years. Married Lynn Morris in 1989.
- Co-founded the Lynn Morris Band in 1988 after the Johnson Mountain Boys’ farewell concert at Lucketts, Virginia. The band signed with Rounder Records following their October 1988 IBMA showcase, and released a remarkable run of albums: The Lynn Morris Band (1990), The Bramble and the Rose (1992), Mama’s Hand (1995), You’ll Never Be the Sun (1999), and Shape of a Tear (2003). “Mama’s Hand” won IBMA Song of the Year in 1996.
- The Lynn Morris Band effectively ended when Lynn suffered a stroke in 2003. Her recovery has been slow but steady; she reunited with her band on stage in 2011.
- Co-founded Longview in 1994 with Dudley Connell, Don Rigsby, James King, Joe Mullins, and Glen Duncan. The Stanley Brothers-influenced supergroup released Longview (1997), High Lonesome (1999), Lessons in Stone (2002), and Deep in the Mountains (2008), winning IBMA Recorded Event of the Year (1997) and Song of the Year (1998).
- In 1999, released Root 5 (Pinecastle) — a distinctive solo album of bass instrumentals accompanied by banjo, featuring Wilborn on both instruments alongside Lynn Morris, David McLaughlin, Tom Adams, Tony Furtado, Alan Munde, Craig Smith, Ron Stewart, Scott Vestal, and Pete Wernick. Nominated for IBMA Instrumental Recording of the Year.
- 1998: Voted Bass Player of the Year by Bluegrass Now Magazine’s Fan’s Choice awards. Four-time IBMA Bass Player of the Year (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).
- In 2006, co-formed Seneca Rocks! with Dudley Connell, Tom Adams, David McLaughlin, and Sally Love Connell — the first four having all been Johnson Mountain Boys alumni.
- Member of Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper from 2007 to 2011. Current member of Springfield Exit with Linda Lay, David Lay, David McLaughlin, and Tom Adams — debut album That Was Then released in 2015. Joined Chris Jones & The Night Drivers in late 2019 and continues with them.
- The Johnson Mountain Boys were inducted into the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2020. Wilborn has also taught the Murphy Method of bluegrass instruction on DVD for Mel Bay.
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The Johnson Mountain BoysPlayed on recordings with The Johnson Mountain Boys
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James KingPlayed on recordings with James King
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LongviewPlayed on recordings with Longview
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Lynn MorrisPlayed on recordings with Lynn Morris
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The Lynn Morris BandPlayed on recordings with The Lynn Morris Band
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Junior Sisk and Joe MullinsPlayed on recordings with Junior Sisk and Joe Mullins
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Russ CarsonPlayed on recordings with Russ Carson
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Michael Cleveland and FlamekeeperPlayed on recordings with Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper
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Tony TrischkaPlayed on recordings with Tony Trischka
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Hazel Dickens, Carol Elizabeth Jones and Ginny HawkerPlayed on recording with Hazel Dickens, Carol Elizabeth Jones and Ginny Hawker