Beatrice Melba Smith (born October 29, 1945) known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress.

Biography

Early life and education

Moore was born Beatrice Melba Smith on October 29, 1945, in New York City to Gertrude Melba Smith (1920–1976), who was a singer professionally known as Bonnie Davis and Teddy Hill (1909–1978), a big band leader. Moore grew up in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

section of New York until age nine, when her mother remarried, to jazz pianist Clement Leroy Moorman and the family relocated to

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. For high school, Moore attended

Newark Arts High School Newark Arts High School is a four-year magnet public high school, serving students in Ninth through twelfth grades in Newark, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Newark Public Schools. The school is lo ...

, graduating in 1958. In 1970, she graduated from Montclair State College with a BA in music.

Early career

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 the

Northern soul Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British Mod (subculture), mod scene, based on a particular style of African American music, Black American ...

scene, eventually leading to Moore performing it live in 2009 at the Baltic Soul Weekender 3 in Germany, north of Hamburg. In 1967, she began her performing career as Dionne in the original cast of the musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

'', along with Ronnie Dyson, Paul Jabara, and

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...

. 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 portrayal of Lutiebelle in '' Purlie'', a role she would later reprise in the 1981 television adaptation for Showtime. Moore did not return to Broadway until 1978, when she appeared (as Marsinah) with

Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...

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, 1970's ''I Got Love'' and ''Look What You're Doing to the Man'', and co-starred with actor

Clifton Davis Clifton Duncan Davis (born October 4, 1945) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, minister, and author. Davis wrote The Jackson 5's No. 2 hit "Never Can Say Goodbye" in 1971. He has numerous Broadway credits, including ''Hello, Dolly! (mus ...

in the then-couple's own successful variety 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 the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

in 1974.

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, she scored her first significant hit with the Van McCoy-penned " This Is It", which reached the Billboard Hot 100, the top-20 position on the R&B chart, and top-10 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming her biggest success in that country. "This is It" also became the number 1 disco track in the UK for that year. It was 18 years later when Australian singer Dannii 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 by Vivian Reed and later by Moore's idol

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

, 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 by McFadden & Whitehead and released on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

, did have considerable UK disco success, reaching UK chart position 48, along with a further hit that same year, also produced by McFadden & Whitehead, with a cover version of the Bee Gees' hit " You Stepped into My Life", which reached the top 20 on the R&B charts and 47 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1982, Moore signed with

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

and reached the top 5 on the R&B charts with the

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

single "Love's Comin' at Ya", which also hit the top 20 in the UK (on EMI America EA 146) and became a sizable hit in some European countries for its

post-disco Post-disco is a term and genre to describe an aftermath in popular music history circa 1979–1986, imprecisely beginning with the backlash against disco music in the United States, leading to civil unrest and a riot in Chicago known as the Dis ...

sound, followed by "Mind Up Tonight", which was another top 40 hit in the UK, reaching position number 22. 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), making her just the third black artist after

Donna Summer Donna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the "Queen of Disco", while her music ...

and

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

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". She scored other popular R&B hits including " Love the One I'm With (A Lot of Love)" and "It's Been So Long". That same year, Moore also headlined the CBS television sitcom '' Melba''; its debut aired the same night as the Challenger 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". Moore had a starring role in the 1990 horror film '' Def by Temptation''.

Later career

Moore returned to Broadway in 1995, landing a part in ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

''. 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 Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most culturally significant figu ...

. In 2007, she landed a role in a production of '' 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's ''Unsung'', and later that year, she released her first R&B album in nearly 20 years, a duet with

Phil Perry Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also known for performing the opening song to Disney� ...

called ''The Gift of Love''. Her song "Love Is" debuted on the R&B charts in 2011 at number 87. In 2016, Moore released the album ''Forever Moore''. Moore has continued to tour and perform since then, releasing her album ''The 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". In 2022, Moore performed in Washington, D.C., in ''Roll On'', a gospel musical that originally opened with her in 2006.

Personal life

Moore has been married once and has a daughter. Moore was engaged in a four-year relationship with television star

during the early 1970s. Davis later admitted that the relationship failed due to his drug abuse and mistreatment of Moore. 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. Moore has described herself as a "born-again Catholic".

Accolades

In addition to her 1970 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Lutiebelle in '' Purlie'', Moore's music career brought additional accolades. She was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in 1971 for Best New Artist. In 1976, she earned another Grammy nomination for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance - Female for the song "Lean on Me". Moore was nominated again for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1986 for "Read My Lips". Moore was the 2012 Recipient of the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival Theatre Legend Award. She was inducted into the

National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame is an independent organization whose mission is to educate and to celebrate, preserve, promote, and present rhythm and blues music globally. History The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame was founde ...

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. On August 10, 2023, Moore received a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...

within the Live Theatre/Live Performance category.

Stage work

* ''

'' (1967) * '' Purlie'' (1970) * '' Timbuktu!'' (1978) * ''Inacent Black'' (1981) * ''Broadway at the Bowl'' (1988) * ''From the Mississippi Delta'' (1993, est) * ''

'' (1995) * ''

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

'' (2006) * ''Roll On'' (2006, 2022) * ''Straight 2the Head'' (2013) * ''Great God A'Mighty'' (2013) * ''

Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill ''Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill'' is a play with music featuring several of Billie Holiday's most famous songs. The play was written by Lanie Robertson and recounts some events in the life of Holiday. It premiered in 1986 at the Alliance T ...

'' (2018) * ''After Midnight'' (2018)

Filmography

* '' Cotton Comes to Harlem'' (1970) – Singer at the Apollo Theater (uncredited) * '' The Sidelong Glances of a Pigeon Kicker'' (1970) – Model at Party * ''

Lost in the Stars ''Lost in the Stars'' is a musical theatre, musical with book and lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Kurt Weill, based on the novel ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948) by Alan Paton. The musical premiered on Broadway theatre, Broadway in 19 ...

'' (1974) – Irina * '' The Doctors'' (1978) as herself on the March 20th episode performing "I got Love" & "Stranger in Paradise" * ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'' (1979) as Claudette Plummer on the 14th episode of the 3rd season, The Stimulation of Stephanie/The Next Step/ Life Begins at 40 * '' Charlotte Forten’s Mission'' (1985) – Charlotte Forten * '' Christmas with Flicka'' (1987) – Herself * '' All Dogs Go to Heaven'' (1989) – Whippet Angel (named Annabelle in later installments) (voice) * '' Yakety Yak, Take It Back'' (1991) – Herself and Tibi the Take it Back Butterfly (voice) * '' The Fighting Temptations'' (2003) – Bessie Cooley

Discography

Albums

Compilations

Singles

* "Let's Stand Together" and "Take My Love" charted together on the US ''Billboard'' Dance chart, but charted separately elsewhere.

References

External links

* *
SoulTracks.com profile of Melba MooreMelba Moore @ soulandfunkmusic.comMelba Moore 2012 Audio Interview at Soulinterviews.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Melba 1945 births Living people 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century African-American actresses 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Actresses from New York City Actresses from Newark, New Jersey African-American Catholics African-American Christians Age controversies American disco singers American film actresses American gospel singers American musical theatre actresses American soul singers American stage actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Capitol Records artists Drama Desk Award winners Epic Records artists Mercury Records artists Newark Arts High School alumni Singers from New York City Singers from Newark, New Jersey Theatre World Award winners Tony Award winners