FLOD Spotlight - Issue 8

2 FLOD SPOTLIGHT | 2019 WINTER ISSUE | FIRSTLADIESOFDISCOSHOW.COM
The Southern Charm of
Dorothy
Moore
By James Arena
The year was 1976—a time when classic disco music was dominating radio airwaves and exploding out
of the clubs. A background singer then exploring solo opportunities, Dorothy Moore had no idea her
recently released single, a gentle ballad called “Misty Blue,” which had been languishing on the shelves
of Malaco Records for years, would sidestep pop’s then current flavor and vault up the national music
surveys. Reportedly, the track started out as a B-side but was quickly flipped after a buzz began to build for it.
Produced by Tom Couch (who founded Malaco in 1967) and James Stroud and written by Bob Montgomery,
the song reached number three on Billboard’s pop chart, number two on the magazine’s R&B survey and enjoyed
tremendous success across Europe.
The Jackson, Mississippi, native was soon thrust into the spotlight and eventually netted a Grammy nomination
for her vocal performance of the track (as well as for her successful follow-up single, “I Believe In You”). Inspired
by the divine sounds of luminaries such as Mahalia Jackson, Aretha Franklin and Etta James, Ms. Moore made her
own indelible mark on the music industry with a song that was broadly embraced by pop, R&B, country and even
disco fans of the period. She continues to enjoy a busy performance schedule today, saying, “I am so blessed to still
be receiving so much love from my audiences when I perform ‘Misty Blue.’”
PHOTO CREDIT: Kat Armendariz
It’s wonderful to be speaking with you, Dorothy. I
purchased your single “Misty Blue” back in the day,
and the song has stayed with me all these years. To
begin our conversation, would you tell me a little
about your early years and when you discovered your
voice?
Why thank you so much!
I was raised by my great grandmother. I was born in her house.
Back then, my mother—black people—didn’t have much access to
hospitals and all that. So they had a midwife to deliver babies. My
mother was living with my great grandmother and that’s where I
was born. My great grandmother raised me, and I stayed with her
until I got married. My mother discovered my talent for singing.
She was a singer too. She used to sing in her school choir. At the age
of three, she noticed I had a vibrato. I started singing for the church
I attended at the age of five. I grew up near the railroad tracks and
learned how to compose music listening to the clicky clack of the
tracks when the trains would go by.
They used to have a talent show at a local movie theater every
Wednesday night. It was called the Alamo Theater. The deejay at
WOKJ radio hosted it. I was on that. I started singing for a paying
audience by the time I was 12. I would sing the blues—I didn’t
know what the blues was, but I knew the audience loved it. I heard
the blues songs of that time at a local cafe and on the radio. I also
started singing Etta James songs and sang at talent shows at my
school.
In the mid-’60s you were signed to Epic Records and
became part of a girl group called The Poppies. Tell
me about these early days in your professional career.
I got discovered by a man named Bob McCree. He came to our
house looking for a girl who had been singing around town—
that was me. He had just started a studio (an old movie theater
he had remodeled into a studio) and he wanted to record me for
backgrounds for other stars. Two other young ladies were also
background singers. We’d harmonize, and that led to the producer
wanting to record us as a group—The Poppies—and I was the lead
singer. It was fun. We were only together for a couple of years. We
recorded an album called Lullaby of Love. We went to Nashville to
record it with a producer named Billy Sherrill. He also produced
Tammy Wynette. Our album went to #58—something like that—it
was a totally pop album. We toured with Joe Tex, Billy Stewart,
Wilson Pickett—just a host of them. We were in awe of these stars
and having the opportunity to open for them, singing on these big
stages. It was an honor for me. We stayed together for two years.
The other girls didn’t really want to be professional singers—it was
more of a hobby for them. But it became a profession for me. It was
something for me to do—that’s the way it was for me. I didn’t think
I was ever going to become a star.
Were those good times for you?
Oh, yes. Singing came to me like drinking water. In those days, it
was simple, we had fun, would laugh and joke around. I just did the
jobs they brought me. And when stars came in, our mouths would
hang wide open. I did the background vocals on Jean Knight’s
(1971) hit “Mr. Big Stuff.” If you listen real good, you can hear me
singing “oooh, yeah.” She was a big star at the time, and I was like,
“Oh wow.” I’m on a lot of records from back then.
You mentioned Jean Knight, one of the key stars on
Mississippi’s Malaco Records, an important indie
label in the ’70s. Your biggest hits would be recorded
with this company, who you were signed with for
several years. The most popular and successful of
these hits was the 1976 ballad “Misty Blue.” I’d love
to know how this emotional and stirring classic came
to be.
FLOD SPOTLIGHT | 2019 WINTER | FIRSTLADIESOFDISCOSHOW.COM 3