Marshall Wilborn is a bass player and songwriter who won IBMA Bass Player of the Year four years in a row, from 2009 to 2012. He has played bass with Jimmy Martin, the Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper, and the Lynn Morris Band, which he co-founded with his wife, banjo player Lynn Morris. He also writes songs that Alison Krauss, Rhonda Vincent, and Doyle Lawson have recorded.
Why Wilborn matters
Wilborn has spent 40 years as the bass player in traditional bands, including the Johnson Mountain Boys, Longview, and Michael Cleveland’s Flamekeeper. His four straight IBMA wins came while he played with Cleveland. His album Root 5 put the bass in front on a full record of instrumentals.
Life and career
Wilborn grew up in Austin, Texas. He first played banjo, but so many of his friends played banjo that he switched to bass. In 1981 he met Lynn Morris at a jam in Austin, and in 1982 he took the bass job in her Pennsylvania band, Whetstone Run.
In 1986 he spent several months in Jimmy Martin’s Sunny Mountain Boys, then joined the Johnson Mountain Boys. In 1988 he co-founded the Lynn Morris Band, and he and Morris married in 1989. The band recorded five albums for Rounder before Morris’s stroke in 2003 ended it. In 1994 he helped form Longview with Dudley Connell, Don Rigsby, Joe Mullins, James King, and Glen Duncan.
He joined Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper in 2007 and played with them until 2011, the years he won his four IBMA awards. He later played in Springfield Exit and, from late 2019, Chris Jones and the Night Drivers. He has also taught bass on DVD for the Murphy Method.
Playing style
Wilborn plays traditional bluegrass bass for traditional bands. His banjo roots show in Root 5: Bass and Banjo (Pinecastle, 1999), an album of bass instrumentals. He played bass and banjo on it, joined by banjo players Tony Furtado, Alan Munde, Ron Stewart, Scott Vestal, Pete Wernick, and others. In his video lessons he shows the slap bass technique.
Influences and legacy
Wilborn played beside Lynn Morris, Jimmy Martin, Dudley Connell, Tom Adams, Don Rigsby, Joe Mullins, and Michael Cleveland. His songs were recorded by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and Sierra Hull.
Signature tunes and songs
Mountain Girl, recorded by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver The Blue Road, recorded by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Heartstrings, recorded by Alison Krauss and Union Station Wishing Well Blues, recorded by Rhonda Vincent.
Essential recordings
Let the Whole World Talk, the Johnson Mountain Boys (Rounder, 1987) The Bramble and the Rose, Lynn Morris Band (Rounder, 1992) Root 5: Bass and Banjo (Pinecastle, 1999) Longview (Rounder, 1997) Fired Up, Michael Cleveland and Flamekeeper (Rounder, 2011)
Awards and honors
IBMA Bass Player of the Year (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) Bluegrass Now Fan’s Choice Bass Player of the Year (1998)
Watch and listen
Wilborn demonstrates bluegrass slap bass.
What to learn from Wilborn
Learn a banjo instrumental such as Cripple Creek or Foggy Mountain Breakdown, and play the melody on the bass. Then go back to backing the tune with roots and fifths. Wilborn’s Root 5 shows that knowing the melody makes a bass player’s backup stronger.
Sources
Marshall Wilborn, Wikipedia Wilborn, Marshall, BluegrassBios.com Awards by Category, IBMA
Related players
See the bass players hub and the bass guide. Lynn Morris was his bandmate and wife. Barry Bales won the IBMA bass award the year before his run and the year after it.