Byrd Moore

Born William B. Moore in 1899 in Blackwater, Virginia, Byrd Moore spent his days as a wandering musician whose background remains otherwise obscure. He earned his keep primarily through barbering while traveling across Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, occasionally performing as a guitarist and vocalist of modest skill. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s he cut numerous recordings, frequently appearing as an accompanist, and maintained a steady partnership with banjoist Dock Boggs throughout the Wise County region of Kentucky. Additional collaborations included work alongside Clarence (Tom) Ashley; together they issued the eerie track “Frankie Silvers” on Columbia Records in 1929 under the name Byrd Moore’s Hot Shots. By the late 1940s Moore’s health had declined, leaving him in residence at the Wise County Poorhouse, where accounts indicate he died in 1949.