Sparkle Moore (born Barbara Morgan on November 6, 1936 in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, United States) is an American

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western musi ...

singer who was influential as a pioneer of female rockabilly. Her name arose because of her similarity to Sparkle Plenty, a supporting character in the

Dick Tracy ''Dick Tracy'' is an American comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a tough and intelligent police detective created by Chester Gould. It made its debut on Sunday, October 4, 1931, in the '' Detroit Mirror'', and was distributed by the Chicago T ...

comic strip. Sparkle dressed in men's clothing, often including leather, and sported an

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Presley's sexuall ...

-influenced pompadour. In 1956, she toured with

Gene Vincent Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American rock and roll musician who pioneered the style of rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-a-Lula", is ...

and was scheduled to perform on the

Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

, which was subsequently cancelled due to illness. In 1957, Sparkle retired from music to concentrate on raising a family. In 2010, she released a 22 track CD of home recordings ''Spark-A-Billy''.

Discography

Original releases

*Fraternity F-751 – November 17, 1956 – "Rock-A-Bop" / "Skull And Cross Bones" *Fraternity F-766 – May 1957 – "Killer" / "Tiger" *Sparkle Moore – 2010 – ''Spark-A-Billy'' *Unissued tracks – "Flower Of My Heart", "Killer" lt. vers. "Tiger" lt. vers.

Compilation reissues

*Ace CDCHD 1016 (CD) : ''Good Girls Gone Bad'' (Wild, Weird, And Wanted) *Ace CDCHD 316 (CD) : ''All American Rock 'N' Roll From Fraternity Records'' *Ace CDCHD 815 (CD) : ''Them Rockabilly Cats'' *Ace CDCHD 822 (CD) : ''All American Rock 'N' Roll: The Fraternity Story, Vol. 2'' *Crown 56- 200 (LP) : ''Rock, Rock, Rock, Vol. 2'' *Eagle EA-R 90207 (CD) : ''Cool Off Baby'' *Folkline 274- 162 (CD) : ''Rockabilly Kittens, Vol. 2'' *Pompadour DA 002 (10-in. LP) : ''Man's Ruin: Skin-Tone Rock 'N' Roll'' *Rounder 1031 (LP) : ''Wild, Wild Young Women'' *Supersonic LP-FV 1172 (LP) : ''Hot Boppin' Girls, Vol. 4'' *Unlimited Prod. ULP 1006 (LP) : ''Let's Have A Ball''

References

1936 births Living people American rockabilly musicians Musicians from Omaha, Nebraska American women rock singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers {{US-singer-stub