Tiny Moore
Encyclopedia
Billie "Tiny" Moore was a Western swing musician
who played the electric mandolin
and fiddle
with Western swing legend Bob Wills
and the Texas Playboys in the 1940s.
Born in the Gulf Coast town of Port Arthur, Texas
, in 1920, Moore was the first well-known American musician in any genre whose primary instrument was the electric mandolin . While a member of the Texas Playboys from 1946 to 1952, he played a Gibson EM-150 8-string mandolin using 4 single strings instead of pairs. This gave his mandolin an electric guitar like sound. Later, in 1952, he commissioned the first American-built, 5-string electric mandolin from Paul Bigsby
. At the time Moore was playing in a band led by Bob Wills' brother, Billy Jack
. The Bigsby 5-string mandolin had single courses of strings
(rather than the paired courses on a standard mandolin) and added a low C string to the standard G, D, A and E
. This tuning actually gives the instrument a wider range of notes than a guitar
.
Western swing is a hybrid of country
, blues
, and jazz
; Tiny Moore's style of playing draws upon all of these sources. Moore and his Bigsby mandolin were strongly identified with each other for the remainder of his career. The instrument is arguably the most famous electric mandolin in the history of American popular music.
In the mid 1960's he taught group guitar lessons at the local YMCA
in Sacramento
, California
. He taught every style of music from Old Timey folk to The Beatles
. He also operated Tiny Moore Music, a music store in Sacramento, and sold copies of the Bigsby mandolin built by Jay Roberts of Yuba City.
In the 1970s he was part of "The Strangers"
, which was Merle Haggard's
band. During that decade he also made two recordings with David Grisman
for Kaleidoscope Records: "Tiny Moore Music" and "Back to Back," a duet album with Jethro Burns
.
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
who played the electric mandolin
Electric mandolin
The electric mandolin is an instrument tuned and played as the mandolin and amplified in similar fashion to an electric guitar.As with electric guitars, electric mandolins take many forms:...
and fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
with Western swing legend Bob Wills
Bob Wills
James Robert Wills , better known as Bob Wills, was an American Western Swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader, considered by music authorities as the co-founder of Western Swing and universally known as the pioneering King of Western Swing.Bob Wills' name will forever be associated with...
and the Texas Playboys in the 1940s.
Born in the Gulf Coast town of Port Arthur, Texas
Port Arthur, Texas
-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...
, in 1920, Moore was the first well-known American musician in any genre whose primary instrument was the electric mandolin . While a member of the Texas Playboys from 1946 to 1952, he played a Gibson EM-150 8-string mandolin using 4 single strings instead of pairs. This gave his mandolin an electric guitar like sound. Later, in 1952, he commissioned the first American-built, 5-string electric mandolin from Paul Bigsby
Paul Bigsby
Paul Adelburt Bigsby was the designer of the Bigsby vibrato tailpiece and proprietor of Bigsby Guitars...
. At the time Moore was playing in a band led by Bob Wills' brother, Billy Jack
Billy Jack
Billy Jack is a 1971 action film. It is the second, and highest grossing, in a series of motion pictures centering on a character of the same name, played by Tom Laughlin who also directed and co-wrote the script. Filming began in Prescott, Arizona, in fall 1969, but the movie was not completed...
. The Bigsby 5-string mandolin had single courses of strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
(rather than the paired courses on a standard mandolin) and added a low C string to the standard G, D, A and E
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
. This tuning actually gives the instrument a wider range of notes than a 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...
.
Western swing is a hybrid of country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, blues
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...
, and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
; Tiny Moore's style of playing draws upon all of these sources. Moore and his Bigsby mandolin were strongly identified with each other for the remainder of his career. The instrument is arguably the most famous electric mandolin in the history of American popular music.
In the mid 1960's he taught group guitar lessons at the local YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
in Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. He taught every style of music from Old Timey folk to The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. He also operated Tiny Moore Music, a music store in Sacramento, and sold copies of the Bigsby mandolin built by Jay Roberts of Yuba City.
In the 1970s he was part of "The Strangers"
The Strangers (country band)
The Strangers were the back-up band for Merle Haggard, country music singer and guitarist in the Bakersfield sound.The group mainly served as the backup band for Haggard...
, which was Merle Haggard's
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
band. During that decade he also made two recordings with David Grisman
David Grisman
David Grisman is an American bluegrass/newgrass mandolinist and composer of acoustic music. In the early 1990s, he started the Acoustic Disc record label in an effort to preserve and spread acoustic or instrumental music.-Biography:Grisman grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey...
for Kaleidoscope Records: "Tiny Moore Music" and "Back to Back," a duet album with Jethro Burns
Kenneth C. Burns
Kenneth C. Burns was an American country musician, comedian, and mandolin player. He was better known by his stage name Jethro from his years with Henry D. Haynes as part of the comedic musical duo Homer and Jethro beginning in 1936.-Biography:Burns was born Conasauga, Tennessee on March 10, 1920...
.