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Melba Moore | |
|---|---|
 Moore in 1999 | |
| Born | Beatrice Melba Smith[1] (1945-10-29)October 29, 1945 (age 80) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Labels | |
Musical artist | |
| Website | Official website |
Beatrice Melba Smith (born October 29, 1945) known by her stage nameMelba Moore, is an American singer and actress.
Moore was born Beatrice Melba Smith on October 29, 1945, in New York City toGertrude Melba Smith (1920–1976), who was a singer professionally known as Bonnie Davis andTeddy Hill (1909–1978), a big band leader.[5][6] Moore grew up in theHarlem section of New York until age nine, when her mother remarried, to jazz pianist Clement Leroy Moorman and the family relocated toNewark, New Jersey. For high school, Moore attendedNewark Arts High School,[7][8] graduating in 1958.[9] In 1970, she graduated fromMontclair State College with a BA in music.[10][11][12]
Moore began her recording career in 1967, cutting the track "Magic Touch", which was left unreleased until 1986. In later years, it became a popular track on theNorthern soul scene, eventually leading to Moore performing it live in 2009 at theBaltic Soul Weekender 3 in Germany, north of Hamburg. In 1967, she began her performing career as Dionne in the original cast of the musicalHair, along withRonnie Dyson,Paul Jabara, andDiane Keaton. Moore replaced Keaton in the role of Sheila.
In 1970, Moore won aTony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Lutiebelle inPurlie, a role she would later reprise in the 1981 television adaptation forShowtime.
Moore did not return to Broadway until 1978, when she appeared (as Marsinah) withEartha Kitt inTimbuktu! but left the show after a few weeks and was replaced by Vanessa Shaw.
Following the success ofPurlie, Moore landed two big-screen film roles, released two successful albums, 1970'sI Got Love andLook What You're Doing to the Man, and co-starred with actorClifton Davis in the then-couple's own successfulvariety television series in 1972. Both Moore and Davis revealed that the show was canceled after its brief run when their relationship ended. When Moore's managers and accountants left her in 1973, she returned to Newark and began singing at benefit concerts. Her career picked up after she met record manager and business promoter Charles Huggins after a performance at theApollo Theater in 1974.
In 1975, Moore signed withBuddah Records and released the critically successful R&B albumPeach Melba, which included the minor hit "I Am His Lady". The following year, she scored her first significant hit with theVan McCoy-penned "This Is It",[13] which reached the Billboard Hot 100, the top-20 position on the R&B chart,[14] and top-10 in theUK Singles Chart, becoming her biggest success in that country.[15] "This is It" also became the number 1 disco track in the UK for that year.[citation needed] It was 18 years later when Australian singerDannii Minogue covered this song and made it to number 10 on the ARIA chart.
In 1976, she scored her third Grammy nomination with the R&B ballad "Lean on Me", which had been originally recorded byVivian Reed and later by Moore's idolAretha Franklin, who recorded the song as a B-side of her 1971 hit "Spanish Harlem". The song is most notable for Moore's extended long note at the end. In 1983, she re-recorded the song as a tribute to McCoy, who had died four years earlier. Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Moore struggled to match the success of "This Is It" with minor R&B/dance hits. However, her hit 'Pick Me Up, I'll Dance' released in May 1979, produced byMcFadden & Whitehead and released onEpic Records, did have considerable UK disco success, reaching UK chart position 48, along with a further hit that same year, also produced byMcFadden & Whitehead, with a cover version of the Bee Gees' hit "You Stepped into My Life",[13] which reached the top 20 on the R&B charts and 47 on the Billboard Hot 100.[14]
In 1982, Moore signed withCapitol Records and reached the top 5 on the R&B charts with thedance-pop/funk single "Love's Comin' at Ya",[14] which also hit the top 20 in the UK[15] (on EMI America EA 146) and became a sizable hit in some European countries for itspost-disco sound, followed by "Mind Up Tonight", which was another top 40 hit in the UK, reaching position number 22.[15] A string of R&B hits followed, including 1983's "Keepin' My Lover Satisfied" and "Love Me Right", 1984's "Livin' For Your Love", 1985's "Read My Lips"—which later earned Moore a third Grammy nomination (for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance),[13] making her just the third black artist afterDonna Summer andMichael Jackson to be nominated in the rock category—and 1985's "When You Love Me Like This".
In 1986, she scored two number 1 R&B hits, including the duet "A Little Bit More" with Freddie Jackson and "Falling".[14] She scored other popular R&B hits including "Love the One I'm With (A Lot of Love)" and "It's Been So Long".[14] That same year, Moore also headlined theCBS television sitcomMelba; its debut aired the same night as theChallenger explosion, and the show was abruptly cancelled, though five episodes aired that summer. 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".[14] Moore had a starring role in the 1990 horror filmDef by Temptation.
| This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately. Find sources: "Melba Moore" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Moore returned to Broadway in 1995, landing a part inLes Misérables. A year later, she started her long-running one-woman show,Sweet Songs of the Soul, later renamedI'm Still Standing. In 2003, Moore was featured in the filmThe Fighting Temptations, which starredCuba Gooding Jr. andBeyoncé Knowles. In 2007, she landed a role in a production ofAin't Misbehavin'. In 2009, independent label Breaking Records released the EPBook of Dreams, in which Moore was featured. That same year, Moore told her life story onTV-One'sUnsung, and later that year, she released her first R&B album in nearly 20 years, a duet withPhil Perry calledThe Gift of Love. Her song "Love Is" debuted on the R&B charts in 2011 at number 87.
In 2016, Moore released the albumForever Moore. Moore has continued to tour and perform since then, releasing her albumThe Day I Turned To You on December 13, 2019 – an album of R&B-inflected gospel music.
In 2021, Moore collaborated with Stone Foundation on the song "Now That You Want Me Back".[citation needed]
In 2022, Moore performed in Washington, D.C., inRoll On, a gospel musical that originally opened with her in 2006.
Moore has been married once and has a daughter.[16] Moore was engaged in a four-year relationship with television starClifton Davis during the early 1970s.[17] Davis later admitted that the relationship failed due to his drug abuse and mistreatment of Moore.[18] In September 1974, Moore married record manager and business promoter Charles Huggins. Moore and Huggins divorced after 17 years of marriage in 1991. In 1999, Huggins filed suit against Moore, claiming that she had publicly defamed him by stating that he abused her economically.[19]
Moore has described herself as a "born-again Catholic".[20]
In addition to her 1970Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Lutiebelle inPurlie, Moore's music career brought additional accolades. She was nominated for aGrammy Award in 1971 forBest New Artist.[13] In 1976, she earned another Grammy nomination forBest Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female for the song "Lean on Me".[21] Moore was nominated again for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1986 for "Read My Lips".[13]
Moore was the 2012 Recipient of the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival Theatre Legend Award. She was inducted into theNational Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame on October 4, 2015, in Detroit. Moore received the 2015 Sandy Hosey Lifetime Achievement Award during the Artists Music Guild's 2015 AMG Heritage Awards broadcast held on November 14, 2015, in North Carolina.[22]
On August 10, 2023, Moore received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame within the Live Theatre/Live Performance category.[23]
| Year | Album | Chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [14] | US R&B [14] | ||||
| 1970 | I Got Love
| — | — | ||
| 1971 | Look What You're Doing to the Man
| 157 | 43 | ||
| 1972 | Melba Moore Live!
| — | — | ||
| 1975 | Peach Melba
| 176 | 49 | ||
| 1976 | This Is It
| 145 | 32 | ||
| 1976 | Melba '76
| 177 | 30 | ||
| 1977 | A Portrait of Melba
| — | — | ||
| 1978 | Melba '78
| 114 | 35 | ||
| 1979 | Burn
| — | 71 | ||
| 1980 | Closer
| — | — | ||
| 1981 | What a Woman Needs
| 201 | 46 | ||
| 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
| — | 45 | ||
| 1990 | Soul Exposed
| — | 52 | ||
| 1996 | Happy Together (with The Lafayette Harris, Jr. Trio)
| — | — | ||
| 1999 | Solitary Journey
| — | — | ||
| 2001 | A Very Special Christmas Gift
| — | — | ||
| 2002 | A Night in St. Lucia
| — | — | ||
| 2003 | I'm Still Here
| — | — | ||
| 2004 | Nobody but Jesus
| — | — | ||
| 2007 | Live in Concert
| — | — | ||
| 2009 | The Gift of Love (withPhil Perry)
| — | — | ||
| 2016 | Forever Moore
| — | — | ||
| 2019 | The Day I Turned to You
| — | — | ||
| 2022 | Imagine
| — | — | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1979 | Dancin' with Melba
|
| 1995 | This Is It: The Best of Melba Moore
|
| 1997 | The Magic of Melba Moore (A Little Bit Moore)
|
| Year | Single (A-side, B-side) Both sides from same album except where indicated | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [14] | US R&B [14] | US Dance [14] | UK [15] | |||
| 1966 | "Don't Cry Sing Along with the Music" b/w "Does Love Believe in Me" | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
| 1969 | "I Messed Up a Good Thing" b/w "I'll Do It All Over Again" (Non-album track) | — | — | — | — | Living to Give |
| "We're Living to Give (To Give to Each Other)" b/w "The Flesh Failures (Let the Sun Shine In)" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970 | "Black Enough" b/w "My Salvation" | — | — | — | — | Cotton Comes to Harlem various artists soundtrack |
| "Time and Love" b/w "Facade" | — | — | — | — | Living to Give | |
| "I Got Love" b/w "I Love Making Love to You" (fromLiving to Give) | 111 | — | — | — | I Got Love | |
| "We're Living to Give (To Give to Each Other)" b/w "Purlie" (fromI Got Love) | — | — | — | — | Living to Give | |
| "Look What You're Doing to the Man" b/w "Patience Is Rewarded" | — | — | — | — | Look What You're Doing to the Man | |
| 1971 | "Loving You Comes So Easy" b/w "If I Had a Million" | — | — | — | — | |
| "Take Up a Course in Happiness" b/w "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" (fromLook What You're Doing to the Man) | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| 1972 | "I Ain't Got to Love Nobody Else" b/w "Love Letters" | — | — | — | — | |
| 1975 | "I Am His Lady" b/w "If I Lose" | — | 82 | — | — | Peach Melba |
| "Must Be Dues" b/w "Natural Part of Everything" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976 | "This Is It" b/w "Stay Awhile" | 91 | 18 | 10 | 9 | This Is It |
| "Lean on Me" b/w "One Less Morning" | — | 17 | — | — | ||
| "Free" | — | — | 14 | — | Dancin' with Melba | |
| "Make Me Believe in You" | — | — | 6 | — | ||
| "Play Boy Scout" | — | — | 14 | — | ||
| 1977 | "Good Love Makes Everything Alright" | — | — | 36 | — | Melba(Buddah) |
| "The Long and Winding Road" b/w "Ain't No Love Lost" | — | 94 | — | — | ||
| "The Way You Make Me Feel" b/w "So Many Mountains" | 108 | 62 | — | — | ||
| "The Greatest Feeling" b/w "The Long and Winding Road" UK release only | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978 | "Standing Right Here" b/w "Living Free" | — | 69 | 53 | — | A Portrait of Melba |
| "I Don't Know No One Else to Turn To" b/w "Just Another Link" | — | — | — | — | ||
| "You Stepped into My Life" b/w "There's No Other Like You" | 47 | 17 | 5 | — | Melba (Epic) | |
| 1979 | "Pick Me Up, I'll Dance" b/w "Where Did You Ever Go" | 103 | 85 | 22 | 48 | |
| "Miss Thing" b/w "Need Love" | — | 90 | 41 | — | Burn | |
| "Night People" b/w "Hot and Tasty" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980 | "Everything So Good About You" b/w "Next to You" | — | 47 | — | — | Closer |
| 1981 | "Take My Love"1 b/w "Just You, Just Me" (Non-album track) | — | 15 | 12 | — | What a Woman Needs |
| "Let's Stand Together"1 b/w "What a Woman Needs" | — | 44 | — | |||
| 1982 | "Love's Comin' at Ya" b/w Instrumental version of A-side (Non-album track) | 104 | 5 | 2 | 15 | The Other Side of the Rainbow |
| 1983 | "Mind Up Tonight" b/w Instrumental version of A-side (Non-album track) | — | 25 | 17 | 22 | |
| "Underlove" b/w "Underlove" (M&M mix, non-album track) | — | 35 | 42 | 60 | ||
| "Keepin' My Lover Satisfied" b/w Instrumental version of A-side (Non-album track) | — | 14 | 57 | — | Never Say Never | |
| 1984 | "Livin' for Your Love" b/w "Got to Have Your Love" (Instrumental version, non-album track) | 108 | 6 | — | — | |
| "Love Me Right" b/w "Never Say Never" | — | 15 | — | — | ||
| 1985 | "I Can't Believe (It's Over)" b/w "King of My Heart" | — | 29 | — | — | Read My Lips |
| "Read My Lips" b/w "Got to Have Your Love" (fromNever Say Never) | 104 | 12 | — | — | ||
| "When You Love Me Like This" b/w "Winner" (Edited instrumental, non-album track) | 106 | 14 | — | — | ||
| 1986 | "Love the One I'm With (A Lot of Love)"(withKashif) b/w "Don't Go Away" | — | 5 | — | — | A Lot of Love |
| "A Little Bit More"(withFreddie Jackson) b/w "When We Touch (It's Like Fire)" | — | 1 | — | 96 | ||
| "Falling" b/w "Got to Have Your Love" (fromNever Say Never) | — | 1 | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "I'm Not Gonna Let You Go" b/w "Dreams" | — | 26 | — | — | |
| "It's Been So Long" b/w "Don't Go Away" | — | 6 | — | — | ||
| 1988 | "I Can't Complain" (withFreddie Jackson) b/w "There I Go Falling In Love Again" (fromA Lot of Love) | — | 12 | — | — | I'm in Love |
| "I'm in Love" (withKashif) b/w "Stay" (fromA Lot of Love) | — | 13 | — | — | ||
| "Love & Kisses" b/w "I'm in Love" (Summertime Shorts version, with Kashif—non-album track) | — | 68 | — | — | ||
| 1990 | "Do You Really (Want My Love?)" 12" single with four different mixes Only the original version appears on the album | — | 10 | 39 | 93 | Soul Exposed |
| "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing" b/w Same song with narration by Rev. Jesse Jackson (Non-album track) | — | 9 | — | — | ||
| 1998 | "Everybody" CD single with five different mixes | — | — | — | — | Solitary Journey (Featuring three of the five mixes) |
| 2005 | "My Heart Belongs to You" 12" single with three different mixes | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
| 2011 | "Love Is" | — | 87 | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
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