William Moore--Tidewater Musician

N-37

William "Bill" Moore was born in Georgia in 1893. Nearby stood his home and barbershop. Paramount recorded Moore in Chicago in 1928 and released eight songs, some of the earliest by an African American folk performer from Virginia. They are still valued and performed by musicians. "Old Country Rock," a dance tune, refers to the Rappahannock River and the town of Tappahannock, while "Barbershop Rag" testifies to his fine ragtime guitar style and his profession. Moore also performed blues for his customers and dance audiences as well as popular songs such as "Ragtime Millionaire." He died in Fauquier County in 1951 and is buried in the Warrenton Cemetery.

Department of Historic Resources, 2005

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References/Bibliographic Citation:

Virginia Traditions: Non-Blues Secular Music. Global Village Music, Blue Ridge Institute Series, CD 1001; Deep River of Song: Black Appalachia, String Bands, Songsters and Hoedowns. Rounder Records 1823, 1999; All eight released Moore sides are re-issued on Ragtime Blues Guitar (Document records, DOCD-5062), liner notes by Chris Smith; another eight unreleased sides are listed in Kip Lornnell, Virginia’s Blues, Country & Gospel Records, 1902-1943: An Annotated Discography. University Press of Kentucky, 1989, pp. 119–120; Bruce Bastin, Red River Blues: The Blues Tradition in the Southeast. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1986, pp. 300–301; published sources conflict on Moore’s birth year, but the 1900 Georgia census and Moore’s grave marker have the same date.