Wild Bill Moore
Encyclopedia
William M. Moore known as Wild Bill Moore, was an American
jazz
and R&B
tenor saxophone
player.
Living in Detroit, he was Michigan
's amateur Golden Gloves
light heavyweight
champion in 1937, and turned professional for a while, but also played the alto saxophone
. By 1944 he had switched to tenor, influenced by Chu Berry and Illinois Jacquet
, and made his first recordings
with Christine Chatman, the wife of Memphis Slim
. The following year he began performing and recording in Los Angeles with Slim Gaillard
, Jack McVea
, Joe Turner
, Dexter Gordon
and others, including playing on Helen Humes
’ hit record
"Be-Baba-Leba".
In 1947 he moved back to Detroit and began recording with his own band, which included baritone player Paul Williams
, later famous for "The Hucklebuck". In December of that year he recorded "We're Gonna Rock, We're Gonna Roll", for the Savoy
label
. The record
was a modest hit, and is remembered today as one of many candidates for “the first rock and roll record”. It was one of the first records played by Alan Freed
on his "Moondog" radio shows in 1951. However, by the standards of its time it was quite a primitive recording, notable mainly for the juxtaposition of the words “rock” and “roll”, and the battling saxophones of Moore and Williams. In 1949 he cut "Rock And Roll", reportedly featuring Scatman Crothers
on vocals.
Moore continued recording (and re-recording his hit) for several years, and continued playing in clubs in and around Detroit. In this period he also recorded several jazz albums for the Jazzland label. In 1971 he was sought out by Marvin Gaye
to play his saxophone on the album What's Going On
, notably the track "Mercy Mercy Me".
Eventually he returned to Los Angeles and lived there until his death.
In their 1992 Faber and Faber
book, What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record?, Jim Dawson
and Steve Propes dedicated a chapter to Moore and his influential "We're Gonna Rock, We're Gonna Roll."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
and 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...
tenor saxophone
Tenor saxophone
The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
player.
Living in Detroit, he was Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
's amateur Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...
light heavyweight
Light heavyweight
In boxing, the light heavyweight is a weight division above 168 pounds [12 Stone or 76.204 kilograms] and up to 175 pounds [12.5 stone or 79.38 kilograms]), falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight...
champion in 1937, and turned professional for a while, but also played the alto saxophone
Alto saxophone
The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in 1841. It is smaller than the tenor but larger than the soprano, and is the type most used in classical compositions...
. By 1944 he had switched to tenor, influenced by Chu Berry and Illinois Jacquet
Illinois Jacquet
Jean-Baptiste Illinois Jacquet was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on "Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo....
, and made his first recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
with Christine Chatman, the wife of Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other...
. The following year he began performing and recording in Los Angeles with Slim Gaillard
Slim Gaillard
Bulee "Slim" Gaillard was an American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his vocalese singing and word play in a language he called "Vout"...
, Jack McVea
Jack McVea
Jack McVea was an American swing, blues, and rhythm and blues woodwind player; he played clarinet and tenor and baritone saxophone...
, Joe Turner
Joe Turner
Joe Turner is the name of:* Big Joe Turner , blues singer* Joe Turner , jazz/stride pianist* Joe Lynn Turner , rock musician* Joe Turner , English footballer...
, Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon
Dexter Gordon was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and an Academy Award-nominated actor . He is regarded as one of the first and most important musicians to adapt the bebop musical language of people like Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Bud Powell to the tenor saxophone...
and others, including playing on Helen Humes
Helen Humes
Helen Humes was an American jazz and blues singer.Humes was successively a teenaged blues singer, band vocalist with Count Basie, saucy R&B diva and a mature interpreter of the classy popular song.-Career:...
’ hit record
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
"Be-Baba-Leba".
In 1947 he moved back to Detroit and began recording with his own band, which included baritone player Paul Williams
Paul Williams (saxophonist)
Paul "Hucklebuck" Williams was an American blues and rhythm and blues saxophonist and songwriter. In his Honkers and Shouters, Arnold Shaw credits Williams as one of the first to employ the honking tenor sax solo that became the hallmark of rhythm and blues and rock and roll in the 1950s and...
, later famous for "The Hucklebuck". In December of that year he recorded "We're Gonna Rock, We're Gonna Roll", for the Savoy
Savoy Records
Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part in popularizing bebop.Savoy Records is an American record label specializing in jazz, R&B and gospel. Starting in the mid 1940s, Savoy played an important part...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
. The record
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
was a modest hit, and is remembered today as one of many candidates for “the first rock and roll record”. It was one of the first records played by Alan Freed
Alan Freed
Albert James "Alan" Freed , also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey. He became internationally known for promoting the mix of blues, country and rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll...
on his "Moondog" radio shows in 1951. However, by the standards of its time it was quite a primitive recording, notable mainly for the juxtaposition of the words “rock” and “roll”, and the battling saxophones of Moore and Williams. In 1949 he cut "Rock And Roll", reportedly featuring Scatman Crothers
Scatman Crothers
Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers was an American actor, singer, dancer and musician known for his work as Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show Chico and the Man, and as Dick Hallorann in The Shining in 1980...
on vocals.
Moore continued recording (and re-recording his hit) for several years, and continued playing in clubs in and around Detroit. In this period he also recorded several jazz albums for the Jazzland label. In 1971 he was sought out by Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
to play his saxophone on the album What's Going On
What's Going On
What's Going On is the eleventh studio album by soul musician Marvin Gaye, released May 21, 1971, on the Motown-subsidiary label Tamla Records...
, notably the track "Mercy Mercy Me".
Eventually he returned to Los Angeles and lived there until his death.
In their 1992 Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
book, What Was the First Rock 'n' Roll Record?, Jim Dawson
Jim Dawson
Jim Dawson is a Hollywood, California-based author and self-proclaimed "fartologist" who has written three books about farting, including the best-selling 'Who Cut the Cheese?'-Biography:...
and Steve Propes dedicated a chapter to Moore and his influential "We're Gonna Rock, We're Gonna Roll."
Discography
- Wild Bill's Beat (Jazzland), 1961
- Bottom Groove (Jazzland), 1961
- Things That I Used To Do, (Big Joe TurnerBig Joe TurnerBig Joe Turner was an American blues shouter from Kansas City, Missouri. According to the songwriter Doc Pomus, "Rock and roll would have never happened without him." Although he came to his greatest fame in the 1950s with his pioneering rock and roll recordings, particularly "Shake, Rattle and...
), (Pablo), 1977