In a career dating back to the 1960s he has played with bands including Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, Greg Lake and Skid Row as well as having a successful solo career.
Moore started performing from a young age and got his first good guitar at the age of 14. In a career lasting over 30 years he has demonstrated that he is a fine musician, and his unique style of playing has adapted to very different music genres, including jazz rock jazz, blues, electric blues, hard rock, celtic rock and heavy metal.
One of his most famous non-blues records is Wild Frontier, his first studio album after a trip back to his native Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1985, this album has several songs about Ireland and even the music itself is steeped in Celtic roots. The title track was intended to be sung by Phil Lynott, however Lynott's death in January 1986 prevented that. The album is dedicated to Lynott's memory, with the words "For Philip" on the rear cover.
Wild Frontier contains the hit "Over the Hills and Far Away", which reached #20 in the UK as well as a cover of the Australian band The Easybeats' hit of the middle of the 1960s, "Friday on My Mind". The Max Middleton-penned "The Loner" was originally recorded by Cozy Powell for his Over the Top album in 1979 (which Moore did perform on, albeit not on Powell's recording of "The Loner"), but was substantially altered by Moore for his own recording, thus he was credited as a co-writer.
For blues fans, Moore's best recorded, live performance on video is "LIVE BLUES" recorded in a small night club in London and was released in 1992 on VHS. It is now available on DVD as well. "LIVE BLUES" also features two songs with B.B. King appearing on stage with Moore. "The Thrill Is Gone" on this recording is probably the best version of this, complete with More's Midnight Horns, female backup singers and dueling guitars. Many of Moore's standard songs are on this 90 minute show and were mixed better than most of the studio versions of the same tunes for a very rich and full sound. Even Moore's voice sounds better than it usually does in the studio. Moore did not seem interested in touring the United States.
Connection with Peter Green
According to numerous interviews he has given to guitar magazines, he was the protege of British Blues pioneer Peter Green, whom he had always admired ever since the Bluesbreakers days. When Green quit Fleetwood Mac and the entire music scene, he sold his famous nasal-sounding 1959 Gibson Les Paul to Moore for the same price that Moore had managed to sell his then guitar (a Gibson SG) for. The nasal sound of the neck pickup on Green's guitar was not, as used to be believed, the result of the pickup having been turned backwards, but instead its two coils had been - perhaps accidentally - reconnected in parallel and out of phase, as per the "in between" positions of a Fender Stratocaster. Moore has used this guitar in the recordings of some songs of his albums Still Got The Blues, After Hours and Blues For Greeny. Green and Moore also reportedly had a disagreement regarding what guitar the former was playing in the song "Albatross". Moore insists it was the Les Paul, because the guitar tone was particularly warm and rich in the bass, while Peter Green maintains he was using a Strat, as the vibrato in that song was not finger vibrato, but subtle tremolo arm vibrato. Up to the day of his death, Green and Moore remained good friends.
Guitars used
Over the years Gary has used numerous guitars. These include: Peter Green's 1959 Gibson Les Paul, Peter Green's 1961 Fender Stratocaster and 1950s Gibson Les Paul Junior. He has also used guitars from Charvel, Ibanez, Hamer, Jackson and Heritage. Amplification has generally come from Marshall, though Soldanos and Fender have also been used, as well as transistor-driven Dean Markley units (especially in the studio). He also has used numerous effects over the years. these include; Delay units such as the Echoplex, Overdrive/Booster units such as the Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tubescreamer variants, Marshall Bluesbreaker and Guv'nor pedals as well as Wah-Wah pedals such as the Vox Wah. He appears nowadays to favour Gibson and Fender Guitars through Marshall amps with any of the above Overdrive pedals and Wah pedals to make his sound.
Solo career
In 1973 he released his first solo album as the Gary Moore Band. In 1979 his solo career started again with help from Phil Lynott, the combination of Gary's blues based guitar and Phil's voice produced "Parisenne Walkways" which reached the UK Top Ten in April 1979 and the no.2 album 'Black Rose'. After a series of powerful rock records Gary returned to blues music with Still Got the Blues, with contributions from B. B. King, Albert King and Albert Collins the album was well received by fans and a huge success. Gary stayed with the blues format until 1997 when he decided to experiment with modern dance beats in Dark Days In Paradise; this left many fans as well as the music press confused. Back to the Blues saw Gary return to the tried and tested blues format.
Albums
* Grinding Stone, 1973
* Parisienne Walkways, 1977
* Back on the Streets, 1978
* Corridors of Power, 1982
* Live at the Marquee, 1983
* Rockin' Every Night - Live in Japan, 1983
* Victims of the Future, 1983
* Dirty Fingers, 1984
* We Want Moore, 1984
* Run for Cover, 1985
* Wild Frontier, 1987
* After the War, 1989
* Still Got the Blues, 1990
* After Hours, 1992
* Blues Alive, 1993
* Ballads & Blues 1982-1994, 1994
* Blues For Greeny, 1995
* Dark Days in Paradise, 1997
* Out in the Fields - The Very Best of Part 1, 1998
* Blood of Emeralds - The Very Best of Part 2, 1999
* A Different Beat, 1999
* Back to the Blues, 2001
* Power Of The Blues, 2004
* Old New Ballads Blues, 2006
* Close As You Get, 2007
* Bad For You Baby, 2008
Singles
* Parisienne Walkways
* Out in the Fields
* Empty Rooms
* Wild Frontier
* Still Got the Blues
The Future (2005-present)
Later on in 2006, Gary will support BB King on his 'Farewell UK Tour'. It unfortunately did not lead to a tour of the United States with BB King.
The studio album entitled 'Old New Ballads Blues' was a follow up of 2004's 'Power of the Blues' and it featured new material as well as new versions of fan favourites 'Midnight Blues' and 'All your Love'
Gary Moore has also sold his Les Paul that was given to him by Peter Green to a private owner.
On February 6th 2011, he died from a heart attack in his sleep while on holiday in Spain.
External links
* The Official Gary Moore World Wide Website: http://www.gary-moore.com/
* The Lord Of The Strings - World Wide Gary Moore Fansite: http://www.garymoore.hu/eng.htm Thanks for the music.
I Can't Quit You Baby
Gary Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I've got to put you down for awhile
You know I can't quit you, baby
But I've got to put you down for awhile
Well, you messed up my happy home, babe
Made me mistreat my only child
You know I love you, baby
My love for you I could never hide
My love for you I would never hide
Yes, you know you're the onliest one, darlin'
You're just my heart's desire
Well, I'm so tired I could cry
I could just lay down and die
I'm so tired I could cry
I could just lay down and die
You know I love you, baby
You're just my heart's desire
When you hear me moanin' and groanin', baby
You know it hurts me way down inside
When you hear me moanin' and groanin', baby
You know it hurts me way down inside
Yes, when you hear me holler, baby
You know you're my heart's desire
These lyrics describe the struggles of a man who is deeply in love with a woman but has to leave her for a while because of the pain she has caused him. The man admits that he can't quit her, but he knows he needs to put her down for a while because she has caused chaos in his life. He acknowledges that he loves her and could never hide his love for her, but he has to take a break from her because she has messed up his happy home and made him mistreat his child. He expresses that she is his heart's only desire, but he is so tired and hurt that he could cry or even lay down and die.
Through these lyrics, Gary Moore portrays the intense emotions of love, pain, hurt, and exhaustion. The man in the song is torn between his love for the woman and the pain she causes him. He loves her deeply, but he understands that he has to let her go for a while. The tone of the song is melancholic yet soulful, which evokes a sense of empathy in the listener.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't quit you, baby
I am unable to leave you, my dear
But I've got to put you down for awhile
However, I have to distance myself from you temporarily
You know I can't quit you, baby
You are aware that leaving you is not easy for me
Well, you messed up my happy home, babe
You caused trouble in my previously contented household, my love
Made me mistreat my only child
Your actions drove me to mistreat my own flesh and blood
You know I love you, baby
My love for you, my dear is genuine and strong
My love for you I could never hide
I can't keep my affection for you a secret
Yes, you know I love you, baby
You are well aware of my feelings towards you, my love
You know you're the onliest one, darlin'
You, my dear, are the only one for me
You're just my heart's desire
You are the one that my heart craves
Well, I'm so tired I could cry
I am mentally and physically exhausted to the point of tears
I could just lay down and die
I feel so drained that I could die at any moment
When you hear me moanin' and groanin', baby
When you hear me complain and groan, my love
You know it hurts me way down inside
You understand that it causes me immense emotional pain
Yes, when you hear me holler, baby
Indeed, when you hear me shout in agony, my love
You know you're my heart's desire
You comprehend that you are the one my heart yearns for
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Willie Dixon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bryan Nelson
Best cover of this song ever done! (by anyone)
Jeanette Campbell
Mercy ! Give my eye teeth for the live video... Power of the Blues....no words for how killer this album is...
tomski233
Magic! Gary Moore your music lives on..
Tim Mitzlaff
Dam he just rips it to pieces!
U Nes
Rest In Peace
I can't quit you Master !
michael casty
Hey now this is a great version of “ Can’t Quit You Baby “ No need to compare Page with Moore they both are interpreting their own version of this blues song ! Anybody heard of Otis Rush ?? Give his version a listen, Just clean guitar 🎸 with no pedals and an attitude! I do have to say they Mr. Moore’s solo on this tune Rips pretty Hard, tight and in the pocket !!
Peace ☮ from Hawaii 🤙🎸🐳🌋🌺🐠🏄🏼♂🏖🏝🏄😎🐟
Strandmelodie beachmelodie
Thank you for loading i love this song
Peter Foxwell
What album/ CD is this from? Amazing!
Paul Stevens
Power of the blues.
jamminjoe44
Led Zeppelin, with Jimmy Page`s version, owns Gary Moore`s version any day!!