Lee Moore (musician)

Lee Moore (born September 24, 1914 in Circleville , Ohio , as Walter LeRoy Moore , † August 17, 1997 ) was an American country musician and radio host. Moore was known through the WWVA Jamboree with his wife Juanita Moore in the 1940s and 1950s .

Life

Childhood and youth

Lee Moore was born in Ohio in 1914. Growing up in a rural setting, he was early influenced by Hawaiian music and old-time , which he heard on the nearby WAIU broadcaster in Columbus , Ohio. He also made his first appearances at this station and graduated from school in 1932.

Career

Moore then joined the hiking group Doc Schneider's Yodeling Texas Cowboys , with whom he toured the country. He later settled in Portsmouth , Ohio, where he found work at WPAY. Moore then became a member of the Mountain Melody Boys , which could be heard on WCMI of Ashland , Kentucky .

In 1937 he joined Buddy Starcher and the ensemble of the station WCHS, where he met his future wife Juanita (* 1917). The two began performing as a duo and quickly became favorites of listeners to Old Farm Hour , a live show that aired on WCHS Saturday evenings. On November 15, 1938, Moore married Juanita and moved with her from radio station to radio station over the next few years. While Moore cultivated the image of a cowboy on stage (he even carried two pistols at times) and played guitar or dobro , his wife sang religious songs such as The Legend of the Dogwood Tree or When Angels Rolled The Stone Away . Her engagements have taken her to WHIS ( Bluefield , West Virginia ), WMMN ( Fairmont , West Virginia), WSVA ( Harrisonburg , Virginia ), KFNF ( Shenandoah , Iowa ), WROL ( Knoxville , Tennessee ), WPAQ ( Mt. Airy , North Carolina ) and finally to WWVA ( Wheeling , West Virginia) in 1949 , where they became stars of the WWVA Jamborees .

Remember me

In 1940 their son Roger Lee Moore was born, who was part of their shows as a young child. At WWVA Moore also hosted a nightly show that earned him the nickname "Coffee Drinking Night Hawk". He continued this show with a short interruption until 1969. It was not until 1953 that the couple made their first recordings for the small label Cross Country Records, which consisted of duets and solo numbers by Lee Moore, despite their great popularity. But in 1960, Lee Moore and Juanita split. Lee Moore then recorded other records for various local labels such as Wheeling, Mark, Essgee and Emperor and remained connected to the WWVA Jamboree. He also recorded albums for Arc Records from Canada and Rural Rhythm Records from the States, some of which he was accompanied by the famous backing band Red Smileys , the Bluegrass Cut-Ups .

An original unreleased album was released in 1984 on Cattle Records in Germany and Moore moved with his new wife to Troy , New York State in 1974 , for which he left the WWVA Jamboree. He continued to perform in the area, making recordings for Fontone, Tenn-Cann and Revonah, as well as another album for Cattle.

Lee Moore died in 1997. Shortly before his death, he was honored with a US flag and the flag of New York, which previously hung over the respective capitals for a long time. In the record business, Moore's influence and success were minimal, but as a DJ and live artist, he entertained traditional country music for over half a century. He was therefore honored with the induction into the Country Music DJ Hall of Fame in 2000.

Discography

Singles

Discography is not exhaustive.

year	title	#	Remarks
Cross Country Records
	Dark as a Dungeon / My Own Sweet Darling Wife	CX522-32
	Remember Me / Let's Say Hello Like We Said Goodbye	CX 526-38R

Albums

• 1962: Lee and Juanita Moore
• 1965: The Coffee Drinking Night Hawk (Canada)
• 1965: More Coffee Drinking Night Hawk (Canada)
• 1967: Radio Favorites of Country Music
• 1967: Everybody's Favorite
• 1983: Wheeling's Coffee Drinking Night Hawk (Germany)
• 1984: A Living Legend in Country Music (Germany)
• 1998: 20 Early Country Favorites

Web links

• biography
• Lee Moore (musician) on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)
• Lee and Juanita Moore on Hillbilly-Music.com (English)