Reverend Gatemouth Moore
| Gatemouth Moore | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Arnold Dwight Moore |
| Born |
November 8, 1913 Topeka, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | May 19, 2004 (aged 90) Yazoo City, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Genres | Blues, gospel |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, preacher, radio DJ, MC |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | c. 1930—1977 |
| Labels | Gay Paree, Damon, National, King, Chess, Coral, Blues Spectrum |
Arnold Dwight "Gatemouth" Moore (November 8, 1913 – May 19, 2004) was an American blues and gospel singer, songwriter, radio disc jockey, community leader and pastor, later known as Reverend Gatemouth Moore. During his career as a recording artist, Moore worked with various jazz musicians, including Bennie Moten, Tommy Douglas and Walter Barnes, and his songs were recorded by B.B. King and Rufus Thomas. He was noted for his mellow singing voice, much in the style of Billy Eckstine.
Moore was born in Topeka, Kansas, and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where he sang ballads and spirituals in his youth. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis. Around 1930 he left home, joined F. S. Wolcott's Rabbit's Foot Minstrels, and began performing with Ida Cox, Ma Rainey and Bertha "Chippie" Hill. He toured widely but settled in Clarksdale, Mississippi, around 1934.
According to some sources his nickname was derived from his loud speaking and singing voice, but Moore himself repeated a story that at a performance in Atlanta a drunken woman told him to "sing it, you gatemouth sonofabitch". He sang with the bands of Bennie Moten and Walter Barnes. In 1940, he was working with Barnes but was outside the hall when Barnes and most of his band died in the Natchez Rhythm Club fire.
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