Bob Moore
Encyclopedia
Bob Loyce Moore is an American
session musician
, orchestra leader
, and bassist
who was a member of the legendary Nashville A-Team
during the 1950s and 60s.
and developed his musical skills as a boy. By age 15 he was playing double bass
on a tent show tour with a Grand Ole Opry
musical group, and at 18, he accepted a position touring with Little Jimmy Dickens
. At age 23, his abilities brought an offer to play on the famed Red Foley
ABC-TV show, Ozark Jubilee
. Playing with the show's band in Springfield, Missouri
on Saturdays and traveling to Nashville during the week proved to be exhausting, however, and after two years, he returned to Nashville.
Moore was 12 years old when he met Owen Bradley
, who was playing trombone in Nashville radio station WSM-AM
's staff band. In 1950, Bradley hired Moore to perform on a direct-to-disk transcription which was recorded via cable from the stage of the Ryman Theatre
. Soon thereafter, Bradley became the head of Nashville's division of Decca Records
, and brought Moore in as a session musician. Moore went on to perform on over 17,000 documented (Federation of Musicians Local 257) recording sessions and was a key member of the Nashville A-Team, a core group of first call studio musicians, that began to coalesce in the early 1950s.
In 1958, he played on his first of many Elvis Presley
sessions. The following year he teamed up with Fred Foster
to establish Monument Records
, where, as the label's musical director, he created the first rock opera backing Roy Orbison
. In 1960, he formed the Bob Moore Orchestra and recorded an album which included "Mexico
", a 1961 45 rpm single
that went to number seven on the Billboard pop music
chart, remaining in the Top 40 for ten weeks. The song also topped the Easy Listening
chart for one week in 1961. It sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc
. Bob Moore plays the very much recognized bass intro on the Roger Miller hit, "King of The Road".
Moore worked in a variety of music scenes, including a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival
and recording with Arthur Fiedler
and the Boston Pops Orchestra
. He had strong roots in country music
, and in 1994 Life
named him the number one Country Bassist of all time. He performed with such diverse artists as Bob Dylan
, Marty Robbins
, Jerry Lee Lewis
, Flatt and Scruggs, Sammy Davis, Jr.
, Julie Andrews
, Andy Williams
, Connie Francis
, Moby Grape
, Wayne Newton
, Quincy Jones
, Burl Ives
, Roger Miller
and French
singer Johnny Halliday.
Bob Moore was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007.
, is a longtime rock musician known for his many independent home recordings and DIY ethic. Moore's daughter, Linda Faye Moore, was a Miss Tennessee
and a top 10 finisher in the Miss America
pageant; and a member of the 1980s country-pop female band Calamity Jane, which had minor hits with 1981's "Send Me Somebody To Love" and a 1982 cover
of The Beatles
' "I've Just Seen a Face
." Moore's two other sons, Gary and Harry, are not in the music industry.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
, orchestra leader
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, and bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
who was a member of the legendary Nashville A-Team
The Nashville A-Team
The Nashville A-Team was a nickname given to a group of session musicians in Nashville, Tennessee, who earned wide acclaim in the 1950s and 1960s. They backed dozens of popular singers, including Elvis Presley, Eddy Arnold, Patsy Cline, Jim Reeves, Bob Dylan and others.The Nashville A-Team's...
during the 1950s and 60s.
Biography
Bob Moore was born in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
and developed his musical skills as a boy. By age 15 he was playing double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
on a tent show tour with a Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
musical group, and at 18, he accepted a position touring with Little Jimmy Dickens
Little Jimmy Dickens
James Cecil Dickens , better known as Little Jimmy Dickens, is an American country music singer famous for his humorous novelty songs, his small size, 4'11" , and his rhinestone-studded outfits...
. At age 23, his abilities brought an offer to play on the famed Red Foley
Red Foley
Clyde Julian Foley , better known as Red Foley, was an American singer, musician, and radio and TV personality who made a major contribution to the growth of country music after World War II....
ABC-TV show, Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee
Ozark Jubilee is the first U.S. network television program to feature country music's top stars, and was the centerpiece of a strategy for Springfield, Missouri to challenge Nashville, Tennessee as America's country music capital...
. Playing with the show's band in Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
on Saturdays and traveling to Nashville during the week proved to be exhausting, however, and after two years, he returned to Nashville.
Moore was 12 years old when he met Owen Bradley
Owen Bradley
Owen Bradley was an American record producer who, along with Chet Atkins and Bob Ferguson, was one of the chief architects of the 1950s and 1960s Nashville sound in country music and rockabilly.-Before the fame:...
, who was playing trombone in Nashville radio station WSM-AM
WSM (AM)
WSM is the callsign of a 50,000 watt AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. Operating at 650 kHz, its clear channel signal can reach much of North America and various countries, especially late at night...
's staff band. In 1950, Bradley hired Moore to perform on a direct-to-disk transcription which was recorded via cable from the stage of the Ryman Theatre
Ryman Auditorium
The Ryman Auditorium is a 2,362-seat live performance venue, located at 115 5th Avenue North, in Nashville, Tennessee and is best known as the historic home of the Grand Ole Opry....
. Soon thereafter, Bradley became the head of Nashville's division of Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
, and brought Moore in as a session musician. Moore went on to perform on over 17,000 documented (Federation of Musicians Local 257) recording sessions and was a key member of the Nashville A-Team, a core group of first call studio musicians, that began to coalesce in the early 1950s.
In 1958, he played on his first of many Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
sessions. The following year he teamed up with Fred Foster
Fred Foster
Fred Foster is an American songwriter, record producer, and founder of Monument Records.-Biography:...
to establish Monument Records
Monument Records
Monument Records was an American record label, Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958, by Fred Foster and Buddy Deane . Buddy Deane soon left the company, and in the early 60's bought KOTN in Pine Bluff, Arkansas where he retired to until his death...
, where, as the label's musical director, he created the first rock opera backing Roy Orbison
Roy Orbison
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer-songwriter, well known for his distinctive, powerful voice, complex compositions, and dark emotional ballads. Orbison grew up in Texas and began singing in a rockabilly/country & western band in high school until he was signed by Sun Records in Memphis...
. In 1960, he formed the Bob Moore Orchestra and recorded an album which included "Mexico
Mexico (Bob Moore song)
"Mexico" is the title of a 1961 instrumental recording by American bassist, orchestra leader and Rockabilly Hall of Fame member Bob Moore. Moore was a noted session musician in the 1950s and 1960s who worked with Elvis Presley, Pat Boone, Roy Orbison and Brenda Lee, among others...
", a 1961 45 rpm single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
that went to number seven on the Billboard pop music
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart, remaining in the Top 40 for ten weeks. The song also topped the Easy Listening
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
chart for one week in 1961. It sold over one million copies, earning a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. Bob Moore plays the very much recognized bass intro on the Roger Miller hit, "King of The Road".
Moore worked in a variety of music scenes, including a performance at the Newport Jazz Festival
Newport Jazz Festival
The Newport Jazz Festival is a music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. It was established in 1954 by socialite Elaine Lorillard, who, together with husband Louis Lorillard, financed the festival for many years. The couple hired jazz impresario George Wein to organize the...
and recording with Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler was a long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the country...
and the Boston Pops Orchestra
Boston Pops Orchestra
The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....
. He had strong roots in country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, and in 1994 Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
named him the number one Country Bassist of all time. He performed with such diverse artists as Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Marty Robbins
Marty Robbins
Martin David Robinson , known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist...
, Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
, Flatt and Scruggs, Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
, Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
, Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
, Connie Francis
Connie Francis
Connie Francis is an American pop singer of Italian heritage and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1950s and 1960s. Although her chart success waned in the second half of the 1960s, Francis remained a top concert draw...
, Moby Grape
Moby Grape
Moby Grape is an American rock group from the 1960s, known for having all five members contribute to singing and songwriting and that collectively merged elements of folk music, blues, country, and jazz together with rock and psychedelic music...
, Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton
Wayne Newton is an American singer and entertainer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He performed over 30,000 solo shows in Las Vegas over a period of over 40 years, earning him the nicknames The Midnight Idol, Mr. Las Vegas and Mr. Entertainment...
, Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Burl Ives
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
, Roger Miller
Roger Miller
Roger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
singer Johnny Halliday.
Bob Moore was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007.
Family
Moore's son, R. Stevie MooreR. Stevie Moore
Robert Steven Moore is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. In addition to having numerous albums released on labels around the world, the prolific Moore has self-released over 400 cassette and CD-R albums since 1968, as well as dozens of home videos, mostly through the R. Stevie Moore...
, is a longtime rock musician known for his many independent home recordings and DIY ethic. Moore's daughter, Linda Faye Moore, was a Miss Tennessee
Miss Tennessee
The Miss Tennessee competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Tennessee in the Miss America pageant.-History:...
and a top 10 finisher in the Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
pageant; and a member of the 1980s country-pop female band Calamity Jane, which had minor hits with 1981's "Send Me Somebody To Love" and a 1982 cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "I've Just Seen a Face
I've Just Seen a Face
"I've Just Seen a Face" is a song by The Beatles. It appears on their 1965 United Kingdom album Help!, although in the United States it and "It's Only Love" first appeared on the Capitol version of the Rubber Soul album.-Composition:...
." Moore's two other sons, Gary and Harry, are not in the music industry.