Shelley Moore (March 10, 1932 – June 23, 2016) was an English-born American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

singer. She was born in

Essex, England Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, and in the 1950s performed in nightclubs and for American troops in England, appeared on British television and radio, and released several singles on the Columbia,

Starlite Starlite is an intumescent material said to be able to withstand and insulate from extreme heat. It was invented by British hairdresser and amateur chemist Maurice Ward (1933–2011) during the 1970s and 1980s, and received significant publi ...

, and

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

record labels, including two EPs, ''Portrait of Shelley'' and ''Kool Kanary''. Bill Kohlhaase, "Orange County Jazz Scene Gets Moore of the Same: Performing: Westminster singer has recorded 'You Can Count on Me,' an album of standards and her originals"
''LA Times'', January 8, 1992; retrieved June 28, 2016.Randy Lewis, "Singer Came Long Way To Be Where Jazz Began"
''LA Times'', October 10, 1986; retrieved June 28, 2016.
''Orange County Register'', June 23, 2016; retrieved June 28, 2016.Shelley Moore profile
45cat.com; retrieved June 28, 2016. After touring the US with bandleader

Vic Lewis Victor Lewis MBE (29 July 1919 – 9 February 2009) was a British jazz guitarist and bandleader. He also enjoyed success as an artists' agent and manager. Biography He was born in London, England. Lewis began playing the guitar at the age o ...

, she began singing with the

Ray McKinley Ray McKinley (June 18, 1910 – May 7, 1995) was an American jazz drummer, singer, and bandleader. He played drums and later led the Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra in Europe. He also led the new Glenn Miller Orchestra in 1956. ...

band, and then moved to America in 1961. She was signed by the

Argo In Greek mythology the ''Argo'' (; in Greek: ) was a ship built with the help of the gods that Jason and the Argonauts sailed from Iolcos to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. The ship has gone on to be used as a motif in a variety of sour ...

label, a subsidiary of

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock and roll ...

. On her first album, ''For the First Time'', her accompanists included

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five RIAA certification, gold records and three Grammy Awards ...

Plas Johnson Plas John Johnson Jr. (born July 21, 1931) is an American soul-jazz and hard bop tenor saxophonist, probably most widely known as the tenor saxophone soloist on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He also performs on alto and baritone sax ...

, and

Eddie Harris Eddie Harris (October 20, 1934 – November 5, 1996) was an American jazz musician, best known for playing tenor saxophone and for introducing the electrically amplified saxophone. He was also fluent on the electric piano and organ. His best-k ...

. She wrote some of her own songs. She married attorney Ken Golden, a U.S. citizen, and retired from the music industry in 1963 to raise their two children, Danny and Bryna. Later, she started performing again throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. She returned to performing in the late 1970s, in clubs in the

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

area. In 1992 she released the album ''You Can Count on Me'', which contained both

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

s and original songs.

Death

A longtime

Westminster, California Westminster is a city in northern Orange County, California, known for its many Vietnamese refugees who immigrated to the city during the 1980s. They settled largely in Little Saigon, and the city is known as the "capital" of overseas Vietnames ...

resident, she died on June 23, 2016, aged 84. No place or cause of death was provided.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moore, Shelley 1932 births 2016 deaths English jazz singers Musicians from Essex Traditional pop music singers British women jazz singers Place of death missing Argo Records artists