Arnold "Gatemouth" Moore (November 8, 1913, Topeka, Kansas - May 19, 2004, Yazoo City, Mississippi) was an American blues and gospel singer, songwriter and pastor. A graduate of Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, he claimed to have earned his nickname as a result of his loud speaking and singing voice.[1]
During his career as a recording artist, Moore worked with various jazz musicians, including Bennie Moten, Tommy Douglas and Walter Barnes, and had songs recorded by B.B. King and Rufus Thomas.[2]
In 1949, Moore was ordained as a minister First Church of Deliverance in Chicago and went on to preach and perform as a gospel singer and DJ at several radio stations in Memphis, Birmingham and Chicago.[1]
Moore holds distinctions as a survivor of the 1940 Natchez Rhythm Club Fire and as the first blues singer to perform at Carnegie Hall.[1] A brass note on Beale Street Walk of Fame was dedicated to Moore in 1996.[3] He was also featured in Martin Scorsese's 2003 documentary The Blues.