Gatemouth Moore Day

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 jazzmusicians, 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.

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