21 Facts About Melba Moore

Beatrice Melba Smith was born on October 29,1945 and known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress.

Moore was born Beatrice Melba Smith on October 29,1945, in New York City to Gertrude Melba Smith, who was a singer professionally known as Bonnie Davis and Teddy Hill, a big band leader.

For high school, Melba Moore attended Newark Arts High School, graduating in 1958.

Melba Moore began her recording career in 1967, cutting the track "Magic Touch", which was left unreleased until 1986.

In later years, it became a popular track on the Northern soul scene, eventually leading to Melba Moore performing it live in 2009 at the Baltic Soul Weekender 3 in Germany, north of Hamburg.

In 1970, Melba Moore won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Lutiebelle in Purlie, a role she would later reprise in the 1981 television adaptation for Showtime.

Melba Moore's career picked up after she met record manager and business promoter Charles Huggins after a performance at the Apollo Theater in 1974.

The song is most notable for Melba Moore's extended long note at the end.

That same year, Moore headlined the CBS television sitcom Melba; its debut aired the same night as the Challenger explosion, and the show was abruptly cancelled, though five episodes aired that summer.

Melba Moore had a starring role in the 1990 horror film Def by Temptation.

Melba Moore returned to Broadway in 1995, landing a part in Les Miserables.

In 2003, Melba Moore was featured in the film The Fighting Temptations, which starred Cuba Gooding Jr.

In 2021, Melba Moore collaborated with Stone Foundation on the song "Now That You Want Me Back".

In 2022, Melba Moore performed in Washington, DC, in Roll On, a gospel musical that originally opened with her in 2006.

Melba Moore was engaged in a four-year relationship with television star Clifton Davis during the early 1970s.

In September 1974, Melba Moore married record manager and business promoter Charles Huggins.

In 1999, Huggins filed suit against Melba Moore, claiming that she had publicly defamed him by stating that he abused her economically.

Melba Moore was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1971 for Best New Artist.

Melba Moore was nominated again for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1986 for "Read My Lips".

Melba Moore was the 2012 Recipient of the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival Theatre Legend Award.

Melba Moore received the 2015 Sandy Hosey Lifetime Achievement Award during the Artists Music Guild's 2015 AMG Heritage Awards broadcast held on November 14,2015, in North Carolina.