Biography
Alice Moore ranked among the foremost classic blues singers and pianists to emerge from the early St. Louis scene. Listeners who equate blues with dark moods would regard her as the standout figure for having created "Black Evil Blues," widely considered one of the most downcast recordings in the genre. Throughout her career she performed under the names "Little" Alice Moore and Little Alice From St. Louis, worked with Kokomo Arnold, and displayed an affinity for unconventional instrumental choices. Although Midwest country blues discs seldom featured accordion, she incorporated the instrument on several sides and enlisted trombonist Ike Rodgers for accompaniment that deviated from standard practice.
Her recording career unfolded in two distinct phases, beginning in the late 1920s and resuming from 1934 through 1937. The initial Paramount releases reportedly triggered intense competition among record collectors. Her partner at the time was the established bluesman Peetie Wheatstraw, who joined Arnold on tracks that document both notable details of the era’s music community and strong examples of the blues itself; when Moore sings “Here comes Peetie drunk again” midway through “Dark Angel,” the remark carries unmistakable weight. She also recorded under the thinly veiled aliases L.A. Moore and A. LaMoore, a practice that itself prompted commentary in the form of the lyric “Alice Moore is my real right name.” Her most successful release, “Blue, Black and Evil,” proved sufficiently potent to warrant three separate recorded versions.
Her recording career unfolded in two distinct phases, beginning in the late 1920s and resuming from 1934 through 1937. The initial Paramount releases reportedly triggered intense competition among record collectors. Her partner at the time was the established bluesman Peetie Wheatstraw, who joined Arnold on tracks that document both notable details of the era’s music community and strong examples of the blues itself; when Moore sings “Here comes Peetie drunk again” midway through “Dark Angel,” the remark carries unmistakable weight. She also recorded under the thinly veiled aliases L.A. Moore and A. LaMoore, a practice that itself prompted commentary in the form of the lyric “Alice Moore is my real right name.” Her most successful release, “Blue, Black and Evil,” proved sufficiently potent to warrant three separate recorded versions.
Singles
