Johnny Moore (musician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This biography does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Johnny Moore (born 14 December 1934; died 30 December 1998) was an American rhythm and blues singer with The Drifters.

Moore began as lead of the Cleveland based group, The Hornets, before being discovered by The Drifters. He joined the group as lead vocalist, in New York in 1955, at age 21. He was drafted and forced to leave the group; upon returning, he recorded as a soloist under the name "Johnny Darrow". He rejoined the Drifters, now comprised of four new members, and became the lead singer in 1964 when current lead Rudy Lewis was found dead. The grop was due to record "Under the Boardwalk", and Moore took over the lead vocals. Subsequently, he became permanent lead.

Moore had a string of hits with the group in the sixties, most notably "Saturday Night At The Movies", "Up on the Roof", "Come On Over To My Place", "At The Club" and "Up In The Streets Of Harlem". He remained with the group when it moved to the United Kingdom in the 1970s, and remains the group's longest serving member- he was in the group until his death in 1998.

Moore was given a posthumous Pioneer Award in 1999 by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.