WILLIAM MOORE
Nascut a Dover, Geòrgia, Estats Units, va ser l'únic music de Virgínia que va gravar per al segell Paramount (1928 a Chicago). Resident de Tappahannock, Virginia, Moore va gravar setze peces per Paramount discogràfica en 1928. Els seus quatre discos de 78 rpm són buscats pels col·leccionistes i han estat nombrosos els seus re-llançaments en LP i CDi albums recopilatoris . Les seves cançons (per exemple, "Ragtime Millionaire", "Old Country Rock", "One Way Gal") han estat versionades per Dave "Snaker" Ray, John Fahey, Stefan Grossman i Duck Baker, The Insect Trust i The Notting Hillbillies. ( *)
Va morir a Warrenton, Virginia.
(*) Recordeu, el grup de Mark Knopfler , concretament el tema One Way Gal que aparéix en el disc MISSING ...PRESUMED HAVING A GOOD TIME ....encara que als crédits del mayteíx hi figura com a "tema tradicional "
Segons el veía el dibuixant R. CRUMB
William Moore was a blues musician who spent a significant portion of his life in the town of Tappahannock, Virginia. His ragtime-inspired playing was captured by a Paramount Records session held in Chicago circa January 1928, from which eight songs were commercially released of sixteen that received a copyright. The issued recordings bear the name "William Moore" or "Bill Moore," and are some of the earliest commercial recordings by an African American from Virginia. William Moore appears as card number 1 on the Yazoo set "Heroes of the Blues," illustrated by underground artist Robert Crumb, and this honor reflects his popularity among 78-rpm record collectors and guitar revivalists from the 1960s until today.
Moore was born in Georgia on March 3, 1893, the son of Harriet and Frank Moore. The 1900 census lists the family in Dover, Screven County, Georgia, with Moore's father farming rented land. It is not known exactly when Moore came to Virginia, but his playing fits into the syncopated East Coast style that was common in both states. Moore met his first wife, Gwendolyn Gordon, in Atlantic City around 1920 and they soon married. She was from Warsaw, Virginia, and the marriage undoubtedly is the reason Moore came to the nearby town of Tappahannock. Moore lived close to the First Baptist Church in Tappahannock and residents of the town and his son William Edsel Moore recall him performing on the guitar, piano, violin, and accordion.
Moore was living in Tappahannock when he traveled to Chicago to record for Paramount, and his songs reflect the place and culture of the time. Moore's "Old Country Rock" is a fine example of a country dance tune, with a caller imploring various family members and fellow dancers to "rock," before telling them to "step back and let me rock." The song's narration refers to the Rappahannock River and the town of Tappahannock, where Moore worked as a barber, as well as to life-long Tappahannock resident Ernest Gaines. Moore's song "Barbershop Rag" testifies to both his skilled guitar playing and to his profession. Virginia audiences would have also appreciated his twelve-bar blues songs, such as "Midnight Blues," and the references to Ford motor cars and banking problems in "Ragtime Millionaire," a variation on Irving Jones's novelty composition. Moore's son, William Edsel Moore, remembers his father performing both "Ragtime Millionaire" and "Tillie Lee," another popular tune.
Moore moved to Fredericksburg around 1929 and worked at Chester Bailey's barbershop on Caroline Street in that city. His first wife passed away around 1930 and he then married a hairdresser from Warrenton, moving to that town in Fauquier County, Virginia. He died in Warrenton on November. 22, 1951, and is buried in the Warrenton Cemetery.
Middle Peninsula African-American Genealogical and Historical Society partnered with James River Blues Society, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and the Essex Public Library to erect a Virginia State Historical Marker in William Moore’s memory in the town of Tappahannock. The Moore marker, dedicated on December 3, 2005, and located across the street from the Essex Public Library, was the fourth in a series of markers erected across the state of Virginia honoring early blues pioneers. Members of Moore’s family participated in the dedication, which was followed by blues performances at the Essex Public Library. The Library mounted a display of items related to Moore’s life and the distinctive Piedmont or East Coast guitar style that Moore’s music embodied. December 3, 2005, was declared William Moore Day in Essex County by the Essex County Board of Supervisors.
Written by Gregg D. Kimball, Director of Publications and Education Services, Library of Virginia, in 2005
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