The UB Interview: Legendary Melba Moore Talks Legacy + Memoir

Born in Harlem and raised in Newark NJ, The Marvelous Melba Moore is an American prolific 5-octave singer, Tony Award-winning actress, and a four-time Grammy-nominated artist.

She has conquered the genres of Broadway, Contemporary Soul/R&B, Pop, Rock, Jazz, Gospel, and Classical music.

Destined to be a star, Ms. Moore started her Broadway career in the original cast of HAIR, where she replaced Diane Keaton, becoming the first African American woman to replace a white actress in a lead role.

She would later solidify her place in America’s heart with her Tony Award-winning performance as Luttie Belle Gussie Mae Jenkins in “Purlie.”

Her other Broadway works include “TIMBUKTU!” (alongside Eartha Kitt and directed by Geoffrey Holder), “Innocent Black,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” and “Brooklyn Chicago”, and “LES MISERABLES” – the latter setting another first when she became the first Black woman to play the lead role of Fantine.

Ms. Moore’s success only continued to expand with her recording career.

Her remake of her friend Aretha Franklin’s classic “Lean On Me” earned her a Grammy nomination and has become just one of her signature songs.

The hit “Read My Lips” made Ms. Moore one of three Black women nominated for a Grammy in the Rock category (the others being Tina Turner and Donna Summer).

Melba Moore was the first solo artist to perform a non-operatic concert at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House, and she has also performed at the L’Olympia Hall in Paris, France.

She has received the prestigious Drama Desk Award, The Ellis Island Award, The Artist Guild Award, The Trumpet Award of Excellence, a History-makers tribute, invitations to the White House under Presidents Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan as well as perform for the United Nations General Assembly.

An entertainer who also happens to be a civil and equal rights activist, Ms. Moore has served as an outspoken advocate for minorities’, children’s, and women’s rights.

She marched arm in arm with Mrs. Coretta Scott King and Rev. Jesse Jackson, and worked closely with Dr. Betty Shabazz, Dr. Dorothy I. Height (National Council of Negro Women), and Dr. C. Delores Tucker (National Political Congress of Black Women).

In recent years Melba Moore was honored with the 2,760th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As well, release her memoir, “This Is It – Marvelous……And Getting Better.” Taking the reader on the highs and lows of her career.

The entertainment veteran shares how she had to pivot time and again, especially in an industry that didn’t always know what to do with the massive voice within her petite being.

Aries from UB caught up with the legendary Melba Moore to catch up on all things Melba.

Melba Mooretalks to us about her recent performances and what makes her continue to return to the stage.

Plus she dishes on how she has reinvented herself over and over again, as well as how faith has held her together in a forever changing industry.

Ms. Moore also shares why her classic “Falling,” is one of her favorite songs and why she decided to write her memoir.

And Melba Moore explains why she loves social media and why its important for her brand and much more!

Melba Moore was born on November 29th, 1945 in New York City to Teddy Hill and Gertrude Smith Moorman, who performed under the name Bonnie Davis. Her mother was born in the Deep South, and spent time in New Orleans, Louisiana and Pipe Shop, Alabama before moving to New York City.

There, she began her singing career with Teddy Hill and His Orchestra, which was led by Melba’s biological father. Melba’s father was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and later moved to New York City, where he became a big band leader and the manager of Minton’s Playhouse, a prominent jazz club in Harlem.

Shortly after Melba was born, her mother separated from her biological father and married Clement Leroy Moorman, who was also a musician. Melba‘s stepfather was born in Newark, New Jersey, and was a member of a musical group called the Piccadilly Pipers. He met Melba‘s mother when she auditioned for the ensemble.

Melba Moore grew up in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, where she attended the St. Thomas the Apostle School. With her mother, singer Bonnie Davis, Melba attended performances at the Apollo Theater, where she developed an interest in tap dance.

She enrolled in dance lessons at the Mary Bruce School of Dance, and studied with members of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Melba was also influenced by her stepfather, jazz musician Clement Leroy Moorman, and took piano lessons along with her half siblings.

After her mother and stepfather married, Melba moved with her family to Newark, New Jersey, where she attended Cleveland Junior High School and the integrated Arts High School. She joined the vocal club and choir, and continued to develop her musical talent with the help from her peers and mentors.

She also performed in the school’s production of the opera “Aida” by Giuseppe Verdi. Melba Moore‘s favorite black performers, included Eartha Kitt, Diahann Carroll and Lena Horne.

Melba Moore graduated from Arts High School in Newark, New Jersey. Although she had aspirations of pursuing a career in music, she lacked the confidence to apply to music school, and her parents encouraged her to find a job with security and stable pay.

Melba Moore decided to enroll at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey, where she studied music education. She continued to perform and honed her musical abilities; and her stepfather, Clement Leroy Moorman, eventually recognized that Melba’s true passion was performance.

He introduced her to several talent agents, and she began to do backup vocal work as a studio musician. In the late 1960s, Melba Moore joined Voices, Inc., an all-black performance ensemble that sang and dramatized African American history. Melba Moore continued to do studio work as a backup vocalist; and, in 1968, landed her first Broadway role in “Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.”

Melba Moore was raised by a nanny, Lulubelle Hattie Mae Stentley Hawkins, who was a former sharecropper from rural South Carolina. Hawkins was a strict disciplinarian; and, as a result, Melba struggled with her self-image as a child. However, as her career progressed, Melba Moore developed her confidence. In 1970, she landed a role in “Purlie,” and became one of the first African American stars to emerge on Broadway.

She won a Tony Award for best performance by a featured actress in a musical for the role.

In 1972, “The Melba Moore-Clifton Davis Show” premiered as a variety show co-starring Melba Moore and actor Clifton Davis, whom she was dating. The show’s success launched Melba Moore’s career as a solo musical artist, and she began appearing on television shows like “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” During this time, Melba Moore struggled with drug addiction. After a medical emergency caused by a faulty birth control device, she returned to her mother’s home in Newark, New Jersey and started on the path to recovery.

Melba Moore became her own manager in 1973. She secured performance at a benefit concert at the Apollo Theater in New York City, where she met Charles Huggins. After marrying, Moore and Huggins built a multimillion dollar company called Hush Productions, and Melba Moore revived her career as a vocalist with the release of the album “Peach Melba,” which earned a Grammy Award nomination in 1975. Three years later, Melba Moore performed in “Timbuktu!” alongside Eartha Kitt and Geoffrey Holder. Her daughter, Melba Charli Huggins, was born in 1979, and Melba Moore continued to tour as a solo artist while helping her husband manage the production company.

Melba had hits like “This Is It,” “Lean On Me” and “You Stepped Into My Life,” garnering Grammy nominations and international success. Later signed to Capitol Records, she followed that success with “Love’s Comin At Ya” and then a string of R&B hits followed, including “Read My Lips“—which later won Melba a third Grammy nomination (for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance), making her just the third black artist after Donna Summer and Michael Jackson to be nominated in the rock category.

Hits like the #1 “A Little Bit More” with Freddie Jackson and “Falling,” a hypnotic ballad that features one of the longest held notes in recorded history. Melba Moore would also record “Lift Every Voice And Sing” (the Negro National Anthem) at the behest of Dr. Dorothy Height, the president of the National Council of Negro Women, who wanted Moore to use her formidable talent to ensure that the song would reach a new generation.

During the early 1990s, Melba Moore’s husband divorced her suddenly, and stole her financial assets. He also ruined her reputation in the entertainment industry, and she lost custody of her daughter. She focused on developing her talent as an actress, and landed Broadway roles in “From the Mississippi Delta” in 1993 and “Les Miserables” in 1995.

Melba Moore divorced her husband, Charles Huggins, in 1991. Due to financial constraints, she began to focus on her work as an actress. She also started a new career as a gospel singer, and toured the South and Midwest performing in gospel plays. Through this experience, Melba Moore reconnected with her faith. While on tour, Melba was contacted by her daughter, and the two redeveloped their relationship. Melba Moore discovered that while her daughter was estranged, she was taken care of by Bill Cosby and Camille Cosby. In 1995, Melba Moore created “Sweet Songs of the Soul,” an autobiographic play that caught the attention of director Richard Jay Alexander, who cast her in his Broadway production of “Les Miserables.” She went on to release the gospel album “Nobody but Jesus.”

Melba Moore began her career as a gospel artist by touring the South and the Midwest during the early 1990s. While on tour, she rekindled her faith by sharing testimony and fellowship with other musical artists.

Melba started a one-woman show in summer of 1998; “One of the reasons I want to do a one-woman show is that I don’t think people know who I am,” Melba then explained. “I’ve worked with so many different people-like Milton Berle, James Ingram and Eartha Kitt, but people haven’t had a chance to really see me alone. A lot of people know that I am a singer and that I have a variety of acting credits, but a lot of my personality has been hidden over the years. The time has come for people to know who I am and what I represent.”

During the 2000s, Melba Moore continued to incorporate her faith into her career, and also worked on her craft as an actress. She was invited by Jackie Taylor and the Black Ensemble Theater in Chicago, Illinois to perform in the musical “The Jackie Wilson Story” in 2002. The production toured nationally, including at performed at the Apollo Theater in New York City. In 2003, Melba landeda starring role opposite Shirley Caesar and Angie Stone in the film “The Fighting Temptations,” which also starred Beyonce Knowles and Cuba Gooding, Jr.

During the pandemic, like many of us Melba found herself home often craving for entrainment. She logged on to Instagram on D-Nice’s Live and she was hooked! D-Nice had a tearful moment, once realizing the legend was among the present in the comments. Since then, the two legendary entertainers have worked together. With D-Nice inviting Melba out on his “Club Quarantine” tour. Last September, Melba took the stage along with Stephanie Mills, KRS-One, Anthony Hamilton, and more, apart of the Brooklyn BRIC celebration.

Melba Moore‘s latest album “Imagine,” made a return to her R&B roots.

With this album, marvelous Melba Moore continues to leave nothing to the imagination because we hear her passion – clear and direct. Her conversations today reflect the struggles of many generations — from breaking barriers to transcending the waves of time. “So In Love,” is the first release that spent 3 weeks atop The UK Soul Top 30 Chart in November 2021. The song has returned Melba to airwaves in the US and around the globe. The single is currently #1 on the UK Soul Chart, again!

“I have lots of younger people bringing me new music,” Melba states, but stands soundly on her musical history, noting that “we’re the foundation of it.” “Since God has given me my good health and ability to continue to do my work, it’s my privilege now to say, ‘This is where it came from, this is how it was, and I’m here to pass it on to you.’ It is not only the foundation of Afrocentric culture, but it’s part of America and world history.”

She is timeless… She is unapologetic.. She is marvelous!

UB Black Music Month Spotlight: The Extraordinary Melba Moore