John Alfred Moore (December 14, 1934 – December 30, 1998)
''The Independent'' was an American

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

singer with the Drifters. He was one of the group's principal lead singers, leading on many of their hit singles, and was a 1988 inductee into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

with The Drifters.

Career

Born in

Selma, Alabama Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. Abou ...

, United States, Moore began as lead of the

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

based group the Hornets, before being discovered by the Drifters. He joined the group as lead vocalist in New York in 1955, at age 21. He was drafted into the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

for national service; upon returning, he recorded as a soloist under the name "Johnny Darrow". He rejoined the Drifters, now with four new members, and became the lead singer in 1964, after the death of Rudy Lewis, who was due to record " Under the Boardwalk" the next day. Moore took over the lead vocals. Subsequently, he became permanent lead. Moore had a string of hits with the group in the 1960s, most notably " Saturday Night at the Movies", "Come On Over to My Place", " At the Club" and "Up in the Streets of Harlem". He remained with the group touring the United Kingdom from early 1970 to 1998, establishing him as the group's longest-serving member.

United Kingdom

Having relocated to the UK in the early 1970s, Moore and the group scored with a string of hits, " Kissin' in the Back Row of the Movies", "There Goes My First Love", "Can I Take You Home Little Girl", "Hello Happiness" and "You're More Than a Number in My Little Red Book". In 1982, exhausted, he left the group and then launched his own group based in London.

Death

Moore died en route to London's Mayday Hospital; the cause of death was ruled to be

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. He was 64. He was survived by his wife Jennifer Moore and their three sons. Christian Moore, David Moore and John Moore Jr. Johnny Moore is also survived by his daughters Dawn M. Haley and D’Tonya Dean.

Awards and honors

* In 1988, Moore was inducted into the

. * Moore was given a posthumous Pioneer Award in 1999 by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Johnny 1934 births 1998 deaths American expatriates in the United Kingdom American rhythm and blues singers The Drifters members Atlantic Records artists Sue Records artists Singers from Alabama Musicians from Selma, Alabama Deaths from respiratory failure 20th-century American singers American tenors American soul singers Deaths from pneumonia in England 20th-century American male singers