Deacon John Moore
Encyclopedia
Deacon John Moore better known as Deacon John is a blues
, rhythm and blues
and rock and roll
musician
, singer, and bandleader
.
. He plays guitar
and is the brother of the Creole
scholar Sybil Kein
.
He was active on the New Orleans R&B
scene since his teens, and became a session man on many hit recordings of the late 1950s and the 1960s, including those by Allen Toussaint
, Irma Thomas
, Lee Dorsey
, Ernie K-Doe
, and others.
His band the Ivories at New Orleans' Dew Drop Inn attracted an enthusiastic following, sometimes upstaging visiting national acts Moore was hired to open for. While highly regarded locally and by his fellow musicians, lack of hit records under his own name kept him from the national fame achieved by a number of his peers.
In 2000 Moore was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame.
He is featured in the documentary film
Going Back to New Orleans: The Deacon John Film and the concert DVD, "Deacon John's Jump Blues."
he remains a local favorite on the New Orleans music scene. On 25 July 2006 Moore became president of the local branch of the American Federation of Musicians
.
On April 10, 2007, Moore's son, Keith was shot and killed at the age of 42, in New Orleans. Keith was locally famous in New Orleans as an ambient noise artist, and the founder of Noizefest, an alternative, modern addition to the Jazzfest festivities.
In January 2008, Deacon John was selected to close the Inauguration of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal by performing "God Bless America" with the 156th Army Band and a Navy fly-over of jets, and later headline the Governor's Inuagural Ball.
In 2008, in ceremonies and performance in New Orleans at NOCCA, Deacon John was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
.
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, singer, and bandleader
Bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a band of musicians. The term is most commonly, though not exclusively, used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or rock and roll music....
.
Career
Moore grew up in New Orleans' 8th Ward8th Ward of New Orleans
The 8th Ward is a section of New Orleans, Louisiana. It is one of the Downtown Wards of New Orleans, with a Creole history.The 8th Ward is a narrow strip stretching from the Mississippi River on the south to Lake Pontchartrain in the north...
. He plays guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and is the brother of the Creole
Louisiana Creole French
Louisiana Creole is a French Creole language spoken by the Louisiana Creole people of the state of Louisiana. The language consists of elements of French, Spanish, African, and Native American roots.-Geography:...
scholar Sybil Kein
Sybil Kein
Sybil Kein is a Louisiana Creole poet, playwright, scholar, and musician.Dr. Provost largely created the field of Creole Studies through her early publications and presentations...
.
He was active on the New Orleans R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
scene since his teens, and became a session man on many hit recordings of the late 1950s and the 1960s, including those by Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint is an American musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.Many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Fortune Teller", "Play Something Sweet ", "Southern...
, Irma Thomas
Irma Thomas
Irma Thomas is an American Grammy Award-winning soul and rhythm and blues singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans"....
, Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey was an African American pop/R&B singer during the 1960s. Much of his work was produced by Allen Toussaint with instrumental backing provided by the Meters.-Career:...
, Ernie K-Doe
Ernie K-Doe
Ernie K-Doe , born Ernest Kador, Jr., was an African American rhythm and blues singer best known for his 1961 hit single "Mother-in-Law" which went to #1 on the Billboard pop chart in the U.S.-Early career:...
, and others.
His band the Ivories at New Orleans' Dew Drop Inn attracted an enthusiastic following, sometimes upstaging visiting national acts Moore was hired to open for. While highly regarded locally and by his fellow musicians, lack of hit records under his own name kept him from the national fame achieved by a number of his peers.
In 2000 Moore was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame.
He is featured in the documentary film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Going Back to New Orleans: The Deacon John Film and the concert DVD, "Deacon John's Jump Blues."
he remains a local favorite on the New Orleans music scene. On 25 July 2006 Moore became president of the local branch of the American Federation of Musicians
American Federation of Musicians
The American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada is a labor union of professional musicians in the United States and Canada...
.
On April 10, 2007, Moore's son, Keith was shot and killed at the age of 42, in New Orleans. Keith was locally famous in New Orleans as an ambient noise artist, and the founder of Noizefest, an alternative, modern addition to the Jazzfest festivities.
In January 2008, Deacon John was selected to close the Inauguration of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal by performing "God Bless America" with the 156th Army Band and a Navy fly-over of jets, and later headline the Governor's Inuagural Ball.
In 2008, in ceremonies and performance in New Orleans at NOCCA, Deacon John was inducted into The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame is an IRS certified 501 non-profit organization based in the state capitol of Baton Rouge, La., that seeks to preserve Louisiana's rich music culture and heritage and to further educate its citizens and people worldwide about the state’s unique role contributing...
.
Discography
- 1990 Singer Of Song (Singer Of Song)
- 1999 Live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 1994 (RedBone)
- 2003 Deacon John's Jump Blues (Vetter) CD & DVD