Bob Moore, Architect of Nashville Sound, dies at 88


NASHVILLE — Bob Moore, architect of the Nashville Sound of the 1950s and ’60s, who played bass on thousands of popular recordings, including Elvis Presley’s “Return to Sender” and Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” was here in a hospital Sept. 22 died. . He was 88 years old.

His death was confirmed by his wife, Kittra Bernstein Moore, who gave no cause.

As a pillar of the loosely assembled first Nashville session pros known as the A-Team, Mr. Moore played in many of the major country hits of his time, including Tammy Wynette. “Be With Your Man” Loretta Lynn’s “The Coal Miner’s Daughter” and George Jones “He Stopped Loving Him Today.”

They were all #1 country singles and each epitomizes the intuitive, uncluttered playing style that characterizes the less-more-less Nashville Sound.

A predominantly bass player, Mr. Moore also contributed to Roger Miller’s daring opening figure. “King of the Road” Along with Jeannie C. Riley’s hypocritical obsession with an indomitable bass line, “Harper Valley PTA” Both records were #1 country singles and major crossover hits, and Miss Riley reached the top of the pop charts in 1968.

For over 40 years, Mr. Moore has upgraded the bass in country music from an obsessive timekeeper to an instrument with significant tonal and emotional reach. Restrained and robust in turn, their creative expression elicited a gift for capturing the dramatic moment in a recording or arrangement.

“No matter how technically a good musician you are, what really matters is your playing taste.” foretold. “Many men can play a hundred notes per second; some can play a note and record much better.”

Mr. Moore’s powerful, empathetic playing has gone far beyond country music realms to include Simon & Garfunkel lookalikes. “Boxer” and Brook Benton “Rainy Night in Georgia” among several notable rockabilly records as well as other pop and soul hits.

As session leader for Monument Records, where he worked in the late 1950s, Mr. Moore arranged for recordings by Roy Orbison and others. “Only the lonely one” It became the top 10 pop single for Mr Orbison in 1960. The record remained at number 2 and could have continued to top the list without Brenda Lee. “Sorry.” Mr. Moore played bass in this one too.

He had a Top 10 pop record of his own: Mariachi-flavored instrumental “Mexico” (1961), credited to Bob Moore and his Orchestra. (The song was composed by Boudleaux Bryant, who with his wife Felice also wrote hits for Mr Orbison and the Everly Brothers.)

In 1960, Mr. Moore and some A-Teammates received an invitation to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island. After a series of violence in Newportset off by an angry crowd of concert audiences, some of whom were left out of the sold-out shows, the festival ended early and Mr. Moore was unable to perform, so he and a band were billed as the Nashville All-Stars. vibraphonist Gary Burton recorded an instrumental album called “After the Riot at Newport”.

“Anyone who has heard me play the bass knows my soul,” said Mr. Moore, looking back at his 2002 career. interview Via the Art of Slap Bass website. “I am studied, solid, complete, determined, courageous and reliable.”

In 2007, Mr. Moore and other A-Team members were inducted into the Nashville Musicians Hall of Fame.

His son, R. Stevie Moore, is also a musician, having played a leading role in the lo-fi or do-it-yourself movement popularized by indie-rock artists such as Pavement and Beck.

Bobby Loyce Moore was born on November 30, 1932 in Nashville and was raised by his widowed maternal grandmother, Minnie Anderson Johnson.

When Bobby was 9 years old, he set up a shoeshine station outside the Ryman Auditorium, then hosted the Grand Ole Opry. One of his regulars is Ernest Tubb and the Texas Troubadours bassist Jack Drake; Mr. Drake became an early mentor.

Bobby was in local bands before going on tour as the guitarist and stand-up bassist for the bards Jamup and Honey at the age of 15. Along with future A-Team guitarists Hank Garland and Grady Martin, he spent time in the bands of Opry stars Paul Howard and Little Jimmy Dickens before working with singers Red Foley and Marty Robbins.

Mr. Moore’s big break came in the early 1950s, when the Nashville bandleader Owen Bradley offered him a permanent job in the dance orchestra. Better still, Mr. Bradley promised Mr. Moore, who was weary of touring at the time, that he would work steadily on recording sessions, which he would soon oversee as the newly formed head of Decca Records’ local office.

Over the next three decades, Mr. Moore appeared on the hits of Decca prominent figures such as Kitty Wells and Conway Twitty, as well as others such as Jim Reeves and Earl Scruggs, who recorded for other labels. He appeared on nearly all of Patsy Cline’s Decca recordings of the 1960s. “Mad” In 1961 and most of Presley’s RCA production from the early to mid-60s, “Return to sender,” It was published in 1962.

In the early ’80s, as a new generation of musicians began to replace the original A-Team, Mr. Moore pursued other projects, including a term with Jerry Lee Lewis’ band. A hand injury forced his early retirement to perform that decade later.

In addition to his wife and son Stevie, Mr. Moore’s surviving daughter, Linda Faye Moore, is also a performance musician; two other sons, Gary and Harry; and two grandchildren.

In the early 1950s, when Mr. Bradley offered him a career as a studio musician, Mr. Moore discovered a life-changing musical friendship as a member of the A-Team.

“We were like brothers,” Art of Slap Bass said in an interview. “We had excellent musical chemistry and communication.” He continued: “We loved creating our music together. Through our music we were able to express our personality and express our emotions so effectively that the public began to recognize our individual styles.”



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