16 Facts About Gatemouth Moore

Gatemouth Moore was noted for his mellow singing voice, much in the style of Billy Eckstine.

Gatemouth Moore was born in Topeka, Kansas, and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, where he sang ballads and spirituals in his youth.

Gatemouth Moore graduated from Booker T Washington High School in Memphis.

Gatemouth Moore toured widely but settled in Clarksdale, Mississippi, around 1934.

Gatemouth Moore sang with the bands of Bennie Moten and Walter Barnes.

Gatemouth Moore made his first recordings in 1941 for the Gay Paree record label in Kansas City, Missouri, and moved between residencies in Kansas City, Memphis and Chicago.

Gatemouth Moore recorded for Damon Records and National Records and then for King Records in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Gatemouth Moore re-recorded many of his songs for King in 1947.

Gatemouth Moore was responsible for recruiting the blues singer Wynonie Harris to the label.

Gatemouth Moore was reportedly the first blues singer to perform at the Apollo Theater and many other theaters around the country, including Carnegie Hall in New York City.

In 1949, Gatemouth Moore was ordained as a minister of the First Church of Deliverance in Chicago, becoming a bishop.

Gatemouth Moore maintained his flair for showmanship in his work as a minister and gospel singer, on one occasion delivering an Easter sermon from a funeral casket with hearse and pallbearers, to raise money for charity.

Gatemouth Moore recorded gospel music for Chess and Coral and became a DJ at radio stations in Memphis, Birmingham, and Chicago.

Gatemouth Moore became the pastor of several churches in Mississippi and Louisiana, including in later years Yazoo City, Mississippi.

Gatemouth Moore made his last recordings for Johnny Otis' Blues Spectrum label in 1977, including a new song, "Beale Street Ain't Beale Street No More".

Gatemouth Moore died in Yazoo City, Mississippi, in 2004 at the age of 90.