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Biography
BLP sources|date=May 2010Infobox musical artist| name = Melba Moore| birth_name = Beatrice Melba Smithcite web|url= http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp? bioindex=1824& category=EntertainmentMakers& occupation=Singer%20\%26%20Stage%20Actress& name=Melba%20Moore |title=The HistoryMakers |accessdate=2010-07-24| name = Melba Moore| image = Melba.jpg| caption =| background = solo_singer| birth_date = Birth date and age|1945|10|29|birth_place = New York City , New York , United States | genre = Pop music|Pop , Rhythm and blues|R& B , disco , soul music|soul , dance-pop , post-disco | occupation = Singing|Singer , songwriter , actress | instrument = Human voice|Vocals , Piano | label = Mercury Records , Buddah Records , Epic Records , Capitol Records | years_active = 1970–present| associated_acts = Freddie Jackson , Van McCoy , Meli'sa Morgan , Kashif (musician)|Kashif | website = http://www.melbamoore.com Beatrice Melba Smith (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name, Melba Moore is an United States|American disco , Rhythm and blues|R& B singing|singer and actress . She is the daughter of saxophone|saxophonist Teddy Hill and R& B singer Bonnie Davis .
Early life
Melba Moore was born in 1945 in New York City, New York|New York City , New York to parents Teddy Hill and Gertrude Melba Smith, later known as Bonnie Davis . She initially was raised in Harlem, New York until the age of nine when her mother remarried a jazz pianist named Clement Mooreman. Moore attended Newark Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey|Newark , New Jersey .Arts High School (2009). A Brief History. Newark Arts High School. Retrieved on 2008-08-10 from http://www.nps.k12.nj.us/arts/a_brief_history.htmDead link|date=January 2010. Retrieved on 2009-12-24 from http://www.nps.k12.nj.us/arts/about_us_2.htm. Her mother, Bonnie Davis had a No. 1 R& B hit with "Don't Stop Now", prior to Melba's birth. Although her biological father was Big Band leader and saxophonist Teddy Hill, it was her stepfather Mooreman (who played on "Don't Stop Now") who became a prime influence and encouragement in Moore's musical pursuits and talent, insisting she learn to play the piano. Initially, Moore graduated from college and worked as a music teacher, but soon opted to switch careers. Moore chose her stage name by shortening her stepfather's surname from Moorman to Moore and using her middle name, "Melba".Citation needed|date=December 2009
Early career
Moore began her performing career in 1967 as Dionne in the original cast of the musical Hair (musical)|Hair along with Ronnie Dyson and Diane Keaton . Moore replaced Keaton in the role of Sheila. In 1970, Moore won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her role in Purlie (she portrayed Lutiebelle). She would not return to Broadway afterwards until 1978 when she appeared (as Marsinah) with Eartha Kitt in Timbuktu! , but left the show after a few weeks and was replaced by Vanessa Shaw. Following the success of Purlie , Moore landed two big screen film roles, released two successful albums including 1970's I Got Love and ''Look What You're Doing to the Man'' and co-starred with actor Clifton Davis in the then-couple's own successful variety show|variety television series in 1972. Both Moore and Davis revealed that the show was canceled after its brief run when their relationship came to an end. Moore's career faced problems after Moore's managers and accountants left her in 1973. Moore returned to Newark and began singing for benefits. Her career picked up after meeting record manager and business promoter Charles Huggins following a performance at the Apollo Theater in 1974. Marrying in 1975, Moore and Huggins formed Huesh Productions, signing notable R& B artists such as Freddie Jackson and Meli'sa Morgan .
Music career
In 1975, Moore signed with Buddah Records and released the critically successful R& B album, Peach Melba , which included the minor hit, "I Am His Lady". The following year, in 1976, Moore scored her first significant hit with the Van McCoy -penned " This Is It (Van McCoy song)|This Is It ", which reached the Billboard Hot 100, the top twenty position on the R& B chart and also reached the top ten in the UK , becoming her biggest success in that country.yay& #33; In 1976, she scored her third Grammy nomination with the R& B ballad, "Lean on Me", which had been recorded originally by Vivian Reed and later by Moore's idol Aretha Franklin who recorded the song as a b-side to her 1971 hit, " Spanish Harlem ". The song is most notable for Moore's extended long note at the end of the track. In 1983, she re-recorded the song as a tribute to McCoy, who died four years earlier of illness. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Moore struggled to match the success of This Is It with minor R& B/dance hits, gaining another hit with 1979's "You Stepped Into My Life", which was released on Epic Records and hit the top 20 on the R& B charts and also became one of her biggest pop hits.
It wouldn't be until 1982 when Moore started to gain huge success as a singer signing with Capitol Records and reaching the top 5 on the R& B charts with the dance pop / funk single, "Love's Comin' At Ya", which also hit the top 20 in the UK and became a sizable hit in some European countries for its post-disco sound. A string of R& B hits would follow during this decade including 1983's "Keepin' My Lover Satisfied" and "Love Me Right", 1984's "Livin' For Your Love", 1985's "Read My Lips", which later won Moore a fourth Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, making her just the third black artist after Donna Summer and Michael Jackson to be nominated in the rock category, and 1985's "When You Love Me Like This". In 1986, she scored two number-one R& B hits, including the duet, " A Little Bit More (Melba Moore song)|A Little Bit More ", with Freddie Jackson and " Falling (Melba Moore song)|Falling ". She scored other popular R& B hits including " Love the One I'm With|Love the One I'm With (A Lot of Love) " and "It's Been So Long". In 1986, Moore also headlined the CBS television sitcom, Melba (TV show) that debuted the same night as the Challenger explosion and was abruptly canceled shortly thereafter. Her success began to wane as the decade closed, although she managed two further Top 10 R& B hits, "Do You Really (Want My Love)" and "Lift Every Voice and Sing" (which featured such artists as Jackson, Stevie Wonder , Aretha Franklin , Jeffrey Osborne , Anita Baker and Stephanie Mills ).
In the mid-1990s Melba Moore traveled with Gospel Play called "Mama I'm Sorry" aside Gospel's sisterly duo of Erica and Tina Atkins that was written and Produced by Michael Matthews.
Current work
Moore returned to Broadway in 1995 landing a part in Les Misérables (musical)|Les Misérables . A year later, she started her long-running one-woman show, Sweet Songs of the Soul , later renamed ''I'm Still Standing .
In 2003, Moore was featured in the film , The Fighting Temptations , which starred Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Beyoncé Knowles . In 2007, she landed a role in the Broadway revival of '' Ain't Misbehavin' (musical)|Ain't Misbehavin' .
In 2009 independent label Breaking Records released the EP Book of Dreams , in which Moore was featured. That same year Moore told her life story on TV One (US TV network)|TV-One 's Unsung and later that year released her first R& B album in nearly 20 years, a duet release with Phil Perry called The Gift of Love .
Moore is currently working on a new album which is scheduled to be released in 2011. The album is being produced by Rahni Song and Dominic McFadden, son of the late Gene McFadden of McFadden & Whitehead . Her song called "Love Is" debuted on the R& B charts in 2011 at #87.
Moore is a born-again Christian .
Awards
In addition to her Tony Award , Moore music career brought additional accolades. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist|Grammy Award in 1971 for 'Best New Artist'. Her 1975 second album, Peach Melba , saw her get a Grammy Award|Grammy nomination. In 1976, she earned another Grammy nomination for Grammy Award for Best Female R& B Vocal Performance|Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female for the song "Lean on Me",. http://theenvelope.latimes.com/factsheets/awardsdb/env-awards-db-search,0,7169155.htmlstory? searchtype=all& query=melba+moore& x=22& y=8 TheEnvelope.LATimes.com - Fact Sheet on Melba Moore Moore was also nominated for Best Female Rock Vocal in 1986 for "Read My Lips".
Discography
Albums
Label
Year
Album
Chart positions
U.S.
U.S. R& B
Mercury Records
1970
I Got Love
& mdash;
& mdash;
1971
'' Look What You're Doing to The Man
157
43
1972
Melba Moore Live!
& mdash;
& mdash;
Buddah Records
1975
Peach Melba
176
49
1976
This Is It
145
32
1976
Melba '76
177
30
1977
A Portrait of Melba
& mdash;
& mdash;
Epic Records
1978
Melba '78
114
35
1979
Burn
& mdash;
71
1980
Closer
& mdash;
& mdash;
EMI America Records
1981
What a Woman Needs
201
46
Capitol Records
1982
The Other Side of the Rainbow
152
18
1983
Never Say Never
147
9
1985
Read My Lips
130
30
1986
A Lot of Love
91
7
1988
I'm in Love
& mdash;
45
1990
Soul Exposed
& mdash;
52
"—" denotes release did not chart or was not released
Singles
Year
Single
Chart positions
U.S.
U.S. R& B
U.S. Dance
UK cite book
1970
"Look What You're Doing To The Man"
& mdash;
& mdash;
& mdash;
& mdash;
1975
"I Am His Lady"
& mdash;
82
& mdash;
& mdash;
1976
This Is It "
91
18
2
9
"Lean On Me"
& mdash;
14
& mdash;
& mdash;
"Free"
& mdash;
& mdash;
14
& mdash;
"Make Me Believe In You"
& mdash;
& mdash;
6
& mdash;
"Play Boy Scout"
& mdash;
& mdash;
14
& mdash;
1977
"Good Love Makes Everything Alright (Greatest Feeling)"
& mdash;
& mdash;
36
& mdash;
"The Long and Winding Road"
& mdash;
94
& mdash;
& mdash;
"The Way You Make Me Feel"
& mdash;
62
& mdash;
& mdash;
1978
"You Stepped Into My Life"
47
12
5
& mdash;
"Standing Right Here"
& mdash;
62
53
& mdash;
1979
"Miss Thing"
& mdash;
90
41
& mdash;
"Pick Me Up, I'll Dance"
& mdash;
85
22
48
1981
ref>1
& mdash;
44
12
& mdash;
ref>1
& mdash;
15
& mdash;
1982
" Love's Comin' At Ya "
& mdash;
5
2
15
1983
"Keepin' My Lover Satisfied"
& mdash;
14
57
& mdash;
"Mind Up Tonight"
& mdash;
25
17
22
"Underlove"
& mdash;
35
42
60
1984
"Livin' for Your Love"
& mdash;
6
& mdash;
& mdash;
1985
"I Can't Believe (It's Over)"
& mdash;
29
& mdash;
& mdash;
"Read My Lips"
& mdash;
12
& mdash;
& mdash;
"When You Love Me Like This"
& mdash;
14
& mdash;
& mdash;
1986
A Little Bit More " (with Freddie Jackson )
& mdash;
1
& mdash;
96
"Love the One I'm With (A Lot of Love)"
& mdash;
5
& mdash;
& mdash;
Falling "
& mdash;
1
& mdash;
& mdash;
1987
"I'm Not Gonna Let You Go"
& mdash;
26
& mdash;
& mdash;
"It's Been So Long"
& mdash;
6
& mdash;
& mdash;
1988
"I Can't Complain"
& mdash;
12
& mdash;
& mdash;
"I'm in Love"
& mdash;
13
& mdash;
& mdash;
"Love & Kisses"
& mdash;
68
& mdash;
& mdash;
1990
"Do You Really (Want My Love? )"
& mdash;
10
39
93
"Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing"
& mdash;
9
& mdash;
& mdash;
"—" denotes release did not chart or was not released
note|1|1 "Let's Stand Together" and "Take My Love" charted together on the Hot Dance Club Songs|U.S. Billboard Dance chart, but charted separately elsewhere.
See also
List of disco artists (L-R)
List of post-disco artists
List of female movie actors by name: M
Guests on Soul Train
List of performers on Top of the Pops
List of Broadway musicals stars
List of artists who reached number one on the Billboard R& B chart
References
Reflist
Further reading
cite journal |last=Als |first=Hilton |authorlink= |date=8 February 2010 |title=Critic's Notebook: Let the Sunshine In |journal= The New Yorker |volume=85 |issue=48 |pages=13|url= http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/notebook/2010/02/08/100208gonb_GOAT_notebook_als |accessdate=28 September 2011
External links
http://www.melbamoore.com Melba Moore official website
http://www.myspace.com/melbamoore Melba Moore's Official Myspace page
IBDB name|12159
IMDb name|0601610
http://www.soultracks.com/melba_moore.htm SoulTracks.com profile of Melba Moore
http://www.soulandfunkmusic.com/artist/melba_moore Melba Moore @ soulandfunkmusic.com
TonyAward MusicalFeaturedActress 1947-1975
Persondata|NAME= Moore, Melba |ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Hill, Melba |SHORT DESCRIPTION=American singer, actress |DATE OF BIRTH= October 29, 1945 |PLACE OF BIRTH= New York City, New York, U.S. |DATE OF DEATH= |PLACE OF DEATH= DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Melba Category:African-American actors Category:African American singers Category:American Christians Category:American female singers Category:American gospel singers Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American soul singers Category:American disco musicians Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American boogie musicians Category:Musicians from New York Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:American stage actors Category:Drama Desk Award winners Category:Theatre World Award winners Category:Tony Award winners Category:Mercury Records artists Category:Epic Records artists Category:Capitol Records artists Category:1945 births Category:Living people
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