MELBA MOORE was destined to be a star!
Hailing from a musical family, Ms. Moore graduated from the famed Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey. At the encouragement of her parents, she went on to pursue music education at Montclair State University, but her inner voice told her she had to see if she could make it as a performer.
Ms. Moore’s stepfather, pianist Clement Moorman, introduced her to several agents which eventually landed her a role in the cult classic musical HAIR. It was in HAIR that Ms. Moore became the first African-American woman to replace a white actress, who happened to be the acclaimed Diane Keaton, in a lead role on Broadway.
A year and a half later, she starred in PURLIE, which earned her a TONY Award for her portrayal as “Lutiebelle.” Ms. Moore later appeared alongside the iconic Eartha Kitt as “Marsinah” in the musical TIMBUKTU.
Although Ms. Moore enjoyed working on Broadway, she didn’t want to forget about her first love - music. Deciding to focus more on her music career, she made her recording debut on Mercury Records with I AM LOVE, followed by LOOK WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO THE MAN. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for “Best New Artist.”
During this time, television shows (including her own variety show for CBS), numerous Grammy nominations and recordings followed. Ms. Moore was a regular on THE TONIGHT SHOW with Johnny Carson as well as THE FLIP WILSON SHOW. She scored a string of Billboard charted hits with songs like “This Is It” and “You Stepped Into My Life.” As well, Ms. Moore was the first female pop artist to do a non-operatic solo concert at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House.
Ms. Moore continued to enjoy great success musically with such chart-topping songs as “Love’s Comin’ At Ya,” “Keepin’ My Lover Satisfied,” “Living For Your Love,” and “Read My Lips,” which she received a Grammy nomination for “Best Female Rock Vocal’. She had also garnered two #1 hit singles for “Falling” and “A Little Bit More,” a duet with R&B hit-maker Freddie Jackson.
Ms. Moore later released SOUL EXPOSED which featured a stellar version of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” otherwise known as the Negro National Anthem. It featured such artists as Freddie Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Dionne Warwick, Jeffrey Osborne, Lou Gossett Jr., Bobby Brown, Anita Baker, and Stephanie Mills.
During this period Ms. Moore worked hard on her philanthropy. One of her major accomplishments was being instrumental in having “Lift Every Voice and Sing” inducted in the United States Library of Congress as the official Negro National Anthem. She worked strongly with Dr. Dorothy I. Height and the National Council of Negro Women as their national membership chairwoman. She also worked with Dr. C. Delores Tucker and the National Congress of Black Women.
Ms. Moore also had a deep passion for children, especially those who were abandoned, abused, and born with AIDS and addicted to crack. She gave her time working with Hale House and also founded her own organization, The Melba Moore Foundation for Children.
Ms. Moore later returned to Broadway in the lead role of ‘Fantine’ in the musical LES MISERABLES. She became the first Black actress to step into that role in the acclaimed musical. More recently, she starred with Beyonce and Cuba Gooding Jr. in the motion picture THE FIGHTING TEMPTATIONS.
Currently, Ms. Moore is working on an autobiography with professor and former New York Times writer Mel Watkins detailing all of her achievements over the span of her career. She is also in the studio working on a new album which is scheduled to be released in early 2011. The album is being produced by Rahni Song and Dominic McFadden, son of the late Gene McFadden of McFadden and Whitehead.
