Morris attended the Jordan Conservatory in Indianapolis, the University of Washington, the new School for Social Research, and the Julliard School of Music.
Morris studied piano with Alfred Mirovich and conducting and composing with Victor Kolar. Morris debuted as a concert pianist with the Evansville Philharmonic.
Morris composed a musical version of "How Green Was My Valley in 1966 under the title "A Time for Singing." Unfortunately it was not successful.
John Morris is also the composer of the score for the four part PBS mini-series, "The Scarlet Letter" (1979).
Had two children: his son Evan, who died in 2014 and daughter Bronwen.