Enid music scene loses a icon | CPT PPP Coverage

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ENID, Okla. — Enid’s music scene lost one of its stalwarts with the death Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, of Dallas Morris, 84.

Friends and fellow musicians said Morris was hard to miss when he showed up where the music was playing. He stood 6 feet, 4 inches tall and always wore a top hat. He also would boom out in a good-natured way what friends said was his catch phrase: “This better be good.”

“He was a presence in the room,” Sylvan Reynolds said.

Reynolds recalled the first time he met Morris years ago. He was performing at a gig when he noticed “a tall gentleman in a top hat smiling and tapping along with the music.”

They got to know each other as they talked about music and their friendship grew from that point.

“Dallas was one of those people who never met a stranger,” Reynolds said. “He loved people and people seemed to love him.”

Stacey Sanders, a local musician, had a similar story about meeting Morris.

“He heard me play and we got to talking, and we became friends,” Sanders said.

He was struggling while working on an album at the time, and during a dinner, Morris asked him how things were going, and when Sanders told him, Morris launched into one of his stories he was famous for, “Well, did I ever tell you about …”

“He inspired me to write three songs about his stories,” Sanders said. “It was just fascinating to hear the stories he told.”

Even though they “were different generations,” a shared love of music drew Sanders and his wife Kay closer to Morris and his wife Carol.

“Dallas was just a character,” Kay said.

April Danahy said she met Morris at a young age.

“I met Dallas when I was in junior high school,” she said. “His daughter Suzi and I were friends and we would have sleepovers at the Morris home. He was quiet and polite.”

Later, they met again at an Enid music venue.

“Our paths crossed again at Turpin Tunes in 2012,” Danahy said. “He was always encouraging and a pretty good musician himself. His standards included ‘Little Red Wagon,’ ‘Bandit’ and ‘Chicken Truck,’ which was a crowd pleaser.

“Dallas offered sage advice and knew no strangers, only potential friends. He was a father figure to so many people. His smile lit up any room, and you could always find him listening to live music. His signature top hat and booming voice was comforting and fun. I’m so happy to be friends not only with Suzi but her whole family, Dallas, her mother Carol and sister Chelly.”

Morris was born Sept. 7, 1939, in Gainesville, Texas, but grew up in Ada. He taught himself to play guitar.

Stacey Sanders said Morris liked to play Jimmy Rogers and Hank Williams songs.

“He started as a musician as a younger man,” Reynolds said, “and just continued all his life. Dallas was a great man for coming up with obscure songs you hadn’t heard in a long time.

“It’s Enid’s loss. He will be missed.”