WSTalk Fall Winter 2023 - Flipbook - Page 8
Melba Moore
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For many, the last few years have been a challenge, at best,
but for the legendary singer/actress Melba Moore, they have
been a revelation. Like many of us, Ms. Moore, who has
starred on Broadway, in 昀椀lm and on television, found ways
to entertain herself while being entertained by the new activities and innovations that developed during the pandemic.
But few were as innovative as DJ D-Nice’s “Club Quarantine,” a livestream of his skills on the turntables that draw
millions of viewers, earned him The NAACP Image Award
for Entertainer of the Year in 2021 and helped many of us
endure the monotony of being sheltered in place.
The virtual dance party not only drew the likes of President and Mrs. Obama but Oprah Winfrey, Halle Berry,
President Joe Biden and almost every actor, activist and artist known to mankind, breaking Instagram’s LIVE feed and
forcing the platform to modify its capacity.
And at that Club Quarantine Party, D-Nice played hits and
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shouted out notables as they entered the party. But when he
dropped the needle on Ms. Moore’s 1978 dance classic You
Stepped Into My Life, the room erupted with excitement
and those in attendance were quick to bring his attention
that “MELBA MOORE IS IN HERE!” D-Nice called out
her name and celebrated her presence and introduced a new
generation to an icon.
So In Love, the 昀椀rst release from IMAGINE, her latest offering to the musical landscape, spent 3 weeks atop The UK
Soul Top 30 Chart in November 2021 and returned Moore
to airwaves in the United States and around the globe. The
world is ready for MORE MELBA!
The 昀椀rst single was a labor of love for the mother/
daughter duo. Moore notes “It was 昀椀rst brought to me by
my daughter and her uncle (veteran music producer) Beau
Huggins (whose sophisticated stylized sound ruled the charts
with hits for Moore, Freddie Jackson, Lillo Thomas, Kenny
G, Kashif and many more). “Charli has grown up in the
industry. She has diverse interests but one thing that I know
for sure is, she has a genuine love and knowledge of music.
So, we thought, `why don’t we do a project together?’”
Melba Moore, the Tony Award-winning, Grammy Award
nominated siren, has commanded stages around the world
and who has conquered Broadway in memorable roles in
HAIR (1967), PURLIE (1970) and became the 昀椀rst Black
woman to inhabit the role of Fantine in LES MISERABLES
(1995), also used the pandemic period of re昀氀ection to work
on new music with her sweetest collaborator and greatest
creation, her daughter Charli Huggins, who also happens
to the head of The Gallery Entertainment, her own independent label. The label is set to release IMAGINE, Melba
Moore’s 2022 project featuring new music and a return to
her R&B roots. She is the epitome of an entertainer and a
consummate performer.
elba
Honored with the likes of Diana Ross, Patti Labelle and
Nancy Wilson, Melba Moore was among those who were
celebrated at Oprah’s now historic Legends Ball.
Melba Moore has done it all, twice. At the tender age of
10, Melba notes that it was then that she was introduced to
music and that “I didn’t have any music in my life before my
mother married my stepfather. He introduced music into
our home and into my life.” From that moment forward,
Melba began to develop her 5-octave, note-holding soprano
that would soon bring audiences to their feet. The Newark,
NJ Arts High School graduate started doing recording sessions after a chance meeting with singer/songwriter/composer Valerie Simpson (of Ashford & Simpson).