JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
MELBA MOORE
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Singer and actor Melba Moore has crossed mediums, genres, and generations. Active on-stage and in studios since the mid-'60s, she broke through with a history-making Broadway role in Hair, won a Tony Award for Purlie, and was a two-time Grammy nominee all before she hit her creative and commercial stride as a recording artist. Although Moore scored a couple Top 20 R & B hits in 1976 with the effervescent disco single "This Is It" and the belting ballad "Lean on Me," both of which were Van McCoy collaborations, it was in the next decade that the four-octave vocalist truly excelled. She teamed up with Kashif as her primary '80s partner and in turn became one of the key voices in post-disco R & B, exemplified by hits including "Love's Comin' at Ya" (1982) and the chart-topping "Love the One I'm With (A Lot of Love)" (1986). Since Moore shifted her focus back to stage and screen, most memorably with Les Misérables and the autobiographical one-woman musical Sweet Songs of the Soul, she has still made time to record gospel and secular R & B albums. These include The Gift of Love (2009), a set of duets with Phil Perry, and Forever Moore (2016).
Beatrice Melba Hill was born in New York City to Bonnie Davis, a singer, and Teddy Hill, a saxophonist, big-band leader, and Harlem nightclub manager. Her parents can be heard together on "Don't Stop Now," a number one R & B hit for Davis in 1943. The performing arts were formally introduced to the future Melba Moore with dance lessons at the age of four. Her stepfather, musician Clem Moorman (who later cut a duets album with Davis), later insisted that she learn piano. Upon graduating from college, Moore became a music teacher, which she found very fulfilling. Nonetheless, her affinity for the entertainment industry persisted. She landed jobs singing jingles and background vocals, released her debut single on Musicor in 1966, and in 1967 hit it big when she joined the cast of the Broadway musical Hair. She replaced Diane Keaton and consequently made history as the first Black actress to replace a white actress in a leading Broadway role. Another Broadway hit, Purlie, earned Moore the 1970 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. Signed to Mercury Records, Moore narrowly missed the Billboard Hot 100 with "I Got Love" (from Purlie), and was nominated for a Grammy in the Best New Artist category (won that year by the Carpenters). After three albums for Mercury, namely I Got Love (aka Living to Give, 1970), Look What You're Doing to the Man (1971), and Melba Moore Live! (1972), along with appearances in film and on television, Moore and her then-husband established Hush Productions to manage and produce other artists. (Freddie Jackson and Meli'sa Morgan would later launch their careers with Hush.) Moore, the original Hush artist, signed with Buddah Records, where she issued four studio LPs: Peach Melba (1975), This Is It (1976), Melba (1976), and A Portrait of Melba (1977). The first three touched the Billboard 200 and R & B charts. Her biggest singles during this phase were "This Is It" and "Lean on Me," Top 20 R & B hits written and produced by Van McCoy. The latter earned Moore a second Grammy nomination, this time for Best R & B Vocal Performance, Female (won by Natalie Cole for "Sophisticated Lady"). Three subsequent albums with Epic, including another LP titled Melba (1978), Burn (1979), and Closer (1980), were highlighted by a McFadden and Whitehead-produced cover of the Bee Gees' "You Stepped Into My Life." Her third Top 20 R & B single, it reached number five on the dance chart and almost cracked the Top 40 of the Hot 100. Moore experienced her greatest commercial stretch on EMI and Capitol in the '80s, during which she recorded extensively with emergent post-disco master Kashif and associates Paul Laurence and Morrie Brown. What a Woman Needs (1981), The Other Side of the Rainbow (1982), and Never Say Never (1983), trailed by Read My Lips (1985), A Lot of Love (1986), and I'm in Love (1988), spawned over a dozen Top 20 R & B singles. Among these were "Love's Comin' at Ya," which missed the top of the dance chart by one spot; "Love the One I'm With (A Lot of Love)," a number five duet with Kashif; and the consecutive number one R & B hits "A Little Bit More" and "Falling," the former of which paired Moore with Freddie Jackson. Moore's work with Kashif, Laurence, and Brown epitomized the electronics-enhanced sound of R & B in disco's wake, but the singer also branched out into other styles, as on "Read My Lips," Grammy-nominated for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. Soul Exposed (1990) concluded Moore's Capitol era with the Surface collaboration "Do You Really Want Me" and a star-studded version of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as her two last hits for the label. Even after she became known most for her music, Moore continued to handle stage and screen work, with Timbuktu!, The Love Boat, Falcon Crest, Les Misérables, and even her own sitcom, Melba, accounting for a small fraction of the shows in which she was involved. Stage work, most notably with Les Misérables and her autobiographical one-woman musical Sweet Songs of the Soul, took precedence in the '90s. Moore did record Happy Together (1996) with jazz pianist Lafayette Harris, Jr. and also issued Solitary Journey (1999). The latter led to additional gospel-oriented projects such as I'm Still Here (2000), The Day I Turned to You (2002), and Nobody But Jesus (2004). Moore and Phil Perry later met up for The Gift of Love (2009). The next decade, Moore released Forever Moore (2016), her first solo secular album in almost 30 years. --Andy Kellman of All Music Guide. |
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1970 Purlie - The Original Broadway Cast Recording | |||
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01. Walk Him Up The Stairs – Prologue 02. New Fangled Preacher Man 03. Skinnin' A Cat 04. Purlie 05. The Harder They Fall 06. The Barrels Of War & The Unborn Love 07. Big Fish, Little Fish 08. God's Alive |
09. I Got Love 10. Great White Father 11. Down Home 12. First Thing Monday Mornin' 13. He Can Do It 14. The World Is Comin' To A Start 15. Walk Him Up The Stairs – Epilogue | ||
1970 I Got Love | |||
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01. I Got Love (From The Broadway Musical "Purlie") 02. Time And Love 03. I Messed Up On A Good Thing 04. Purlie (From The Broadway Musical "Purlie") 05. Captain St. Lucifer 06. I Love Making Love To You |
07. We're Living To Give (To Give To Each Other) 08. Sunny 09. The Flesh Failures (Let The Sun Shine In) (From The Broadway Musical "Hair") 10. Easy To Be Hard (From The Broadway Musical "Hair") 11. He Comes Down This Morning (From The Broadway Musical Version Of "Raisin In The Sun") 12. The Facade | ||
1971 Look What You're Doing to the Man | |||
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01. Look What You're Doing To The Man 02. Searchin' For A Dream 03. Medley a. Walk A Mile In My Shoes b. Twenty Five Miles 04. Patience Is Rewarded |
05. You Got The Power (To Make Me Happy) 06. If I Had A Million (From The Off-Broadway Show "The Me Nobody Knows") 07. He Ain't Heavy He's My Brother 08. Heaven Help Us All 09. The Thrill Is Gone 10. Loving You Comes So Easy | ||
1973 Living to Give | |||
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01. Time And Love 02. I Messed Up On A Good Thing 03. The Flesh Failures (Let The Sun Shine In) 04. Captain St Lucifer 05. I Love Making Love To You 06. Purlie |
07. We're Living To Give (To Each Other) 08. Sunny 09. Easy To Be Hard 10. He Come Down This Morning 11. People 12. The Facade | ||
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1975 Peach Melba | |||
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01. Must Be Dues 02. Get Into My Mind 03. If You Can Believe 04. Sunshine Superman 05. My Soul Is Satisfied 06. I Am His Lady |
07. Green Birds Fly 08. Natural Part Of Everything 09. Love Can Be Good To You 10. A Million Years Before This Time 11. If I Lose | ||
1976 Melba [1976] | |||
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01. The Way You Make Me Feel 02. Good Love Makes Everything Alright 03. The Long And Winding Ro | ad 04. Ain't No Love Lost 05. The Greatest Feeling 06. Mighty Clouds Of Joy 07. (I Need) Someone 08. So Many Mountains | ||
1976 This Is It | |||
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01. This Is It 02. Free 03. One Less Morning 04. Make Me Believe In You 05. Lean On Me |
06. Stay Awhile 07. Play Boy Scout 08. Blood Red Roses 09. Brand New | ||
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1977 A Portrait of Melba | |||
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01. You Are My River 02. Promised Land 03. I Don't Know No One Else To Turn To 04. Standing Right Here |
05. Just Another Link 06. Living Free 07. Is This The End 08. Love And I Aren't Strangers Anymore | ||
1978 Melba [1978] | |||
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01. You Stepped Into My Life 02. There's No Other Like You 03. It's Hard Not To Like You 04. Together Forever |
05. Pick Me Up, I'll Dance 06. Happy 07. I Promise To Love You 08. Where Did You Ever Go | ||
1979 Burn | |||
| 01. Burn 02. Hot And Tasty 03. If You Believe In Love 04. Night People |
05. I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love 06. Can't Give It Up 07. Miss Thing 08. Need Love | ||
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1979 Dancin' with Melba | |||
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01. Standing Right Here 02. Free 03. Play Boy Scout |
04. Promised Land 05. Make Me Believe In You | ||
1980 Closer | |||
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01. Everything So Good About You 02. You Got Me Loving You 03. Closer 04. Something On Your Mind 05. Shame |
06. Never Gonna Let You Get Away 07. Rest Inside My Love 08. I Could Never Miss You More 09. Next To You 10. You Don't Know "What You Do To Me" | ||
1981 What a Woman Needs | |||
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01. Let's Stand Together 02. Your Sweet Lovin' 03. What A Woman Needs 04. Take My Love |
05. Overnight Sensation 06. Each Second 07. Piece Of The Rock 08. Let's Go Back To Lovin' | ||
1982 The Other Side of the Rainbow | |||
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01. Love's Comin' At Ya 02. Underlove 03. Mind Up Tonight 04. Knack For Me |
05. How's Love Been Treatin' You 06. Don't Go Away 07. I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch) 08. The Other Side Of The Rainbow | ||
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1983 Never Say Never | |||
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01. Love Me Right 02. Keepin' My Lover Satisfied 03. Got To Have Your Love 04. Livin' For Your Love |
05. It's Really Love 06. Never Say Never 07. Lovin' Touch 08. Lean On Me | ||
1985 Read My Lips | |||
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01. Love Of A Lifetime 02. I Can't Believe It (It's Over) 03. Read My Lips 04. Dreams 05. When You Love Me Like This |
06. Winner 07. King Of My Heart 08. To Those Who Wait 09. Mind Over Matter | ||
1986 A Lot of Love | |||
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01. There I Go Falling In Love Again 02. It's Been So Long 03. I'm Not Gonna Let You Go 04. Love The One I'm With (A Lot Of Love) 05. You Trip Me Out |
06. A Little Bit More 07. Falling 08. Stay 09. When We Touch (It's Like Fire) 10. Don't Go Away | ||
1988 I'm in Love | |||
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01. Love And Kisses 02. I'm In Love 03. Love Always Finds A Way (To Your Heart) 04. I Can't Complain 05. I Don't Know No One Else To Turn To |
06. I'll Never Find Another You 07. Keeps Me Runnin' Back 08. First Love 09. This Time 10. Test Of Time | ||
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1990 Soul Exposed | |||
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01. Do You Really Want My Love 02. Hold Me 03. New Love 04. I Love Being In Love 05. Lift Every Voice And Sing 06. Face To Face | v
07. Crying In The Night 08. Don't You Want To Be My Lover 09. Too Many Lovers 10. Stormy Weather 11. Credits (13) | ||
1999 Solitary Journey | |||
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01. Lift Every Voice (Hip Hop) 02. Everybody (R & B Mix) 03. Anything Thatcha Want 04. Still In Love 05. Sweet Jesus 06. Farewell 07. Let You Play With My Love |
08. Will You Be Good To Me 09. Unconditional Lovin' 10. Silent Screams 11. Heaven 12. Lift Every Voice (Bonus Track) 13. Everybody (Original Mix) 14. Everybody (Club Mix) (Bonus Track) | ||
2001 A Very Special Christmas Gift | |||
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01. This Christmas 02. What Child Is This? 03. Forever 04. O Come All Ye Faithful 05. Silent Night 06. Jingle Bells 07. No More Tears (For Yesterday) |
08. Away In A Manger 09. First Noel 10. Silver Bells 11. O Holy Night 12. Go Tell It On The Mountain 13. We Wish You A Merry Christmas 14. Jingle Bells (Reprise) | ||
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2002 I'm Still Here | |||
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01. I'm Still Here 02. Praise Yah! 03. Champions 04. Call Me 05. The Other Side of the Rainbow |
06. Rise My Sister 07. The Day I Turned to You 08. Lamb of God 09. Master and Friend 10. Lift Every Voice | ||
2002 A Night in St. Lucia | |||
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01. Lift Every Voice & Sing 02. Blue Skies 03. Don't Mean A Thing 04. Stormy Weather 05. Air Mail Special 06. Tisket A Tasket 07. Mister Paganini 08. Night In Tunisia |
09. My Guy 10. Too Many Fish In The Sea 11. Don't Mess With Bill 12. Aquarius 13. Easy To Be Hard 14. Let The Sun Shine In 15. Purlie 16. Lean On Jesus | ||
2004 Nobody But Jesus... | |||
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01. Nobody But Jesus 02. There Is Power in the Blood 03. Master and Friend 04. I Believe in Principles 05. What a Friend We Have in Jesus 06. Call Me 07. Precious Lord |
08. Praise Him 09. Rise My Sister 10. Right by My Side 11. Praise Yah! 12. The Other Side of the Rainbow 13. Higher Ground 14. Nobody But Jesus (Reprise) | ||
2016 Forevewr Moore | |||
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01. I'm Gonna Shine 02. How Sweet It Is 03. Let's Dance " 04. It's My Time Again 05. Free |
06. The Way Of Love " 07. Last Forever 08. Things Always Work Out 09. Forever Moore | ||
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2019 Day I Turned to You | |||
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01. I'm Still Here " 02. Praise Yah! 03. Champions 04. Call Me 05. The Other Side Of The Rainbow |
06. Rise My Sister 07. The Day I Turned To Yo 08. Lamb Of God 09. Master and Friend 10. Lift Every Voice | ||
