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.
Stormy Monday Featuring Albert King
Gary Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
but Tuesday's just as bad.
Call it stormy Monday,
Tuesday's just as bad.
Wednesday is worse,
and Thursday's all so sad.
The eagle flies on Friday,
Eagle flies on Friday,
Saturday I go out to play.
Sunday I go to church,
I get down on my knees and pray.
Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy, mercy on me.
Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy, mercy on me.
Oh, I'm crazy about my baby,
please send her home to me.
Yeah, yeah.
Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy, mercy on me.
Yeah, Lord have mercy,
Lord have mercy on me.
Well, I'm crazy about my baby,
please, please send her home.
Call it stormy Monday.
"Stormy Monday" is a blues standard written by T-Bone Walker in 1947, but the most popular version was recorded by Bobby "Blue" Bland in 1962. This version, however, is a cover by Gary Moore featuring Albert King. The song tells a story of a man who is struggling to get through the week as he deals with his problems in life. He complains that Monday is a stormy day, but this doesn't really make much difference as the rest of the week is just as bad. Wednesday is worse, and Thursday is even sadder.
The character in the song seems to find some relief on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, an eagle flies, which could be used to symbolize freedom. And on Saturday, he goes out to play, demonstrating his desire to let loose after a long week. However, on Sunday, he goes to church to pray and seek guidance. The character is evidently facing difficult times in his life and is struggling to make sense of his situation. He is begging the Lord for mercy and pleading with him to help him bring his beloved partner back home.
Line by Line Meaning
Call it stormy Monday
Acknowledge the feeling of despair and hopelessness that comes with the start of the week
But Tuesday's just as bad.
The negative emotions from Monday persist throughout the week and carry on into Tuesday
Call it stormy Monday, Tuesday's just as bad.
The repetition emphasizes the cycle of hopelessness and despair that the singer is experiencing
Wednesday is worse, and Thursday's all so sad.
The week continues to worsen, carrying the same negative emotions
The eagle flies on Friday, Saturday I go out to play.
The weekend comes as a relief from the weekday routine
Eagle flies on Friday, Saturday I go out to play. Sunday I go to church, I get down on my knees and pray.
The weekend is a temporary respite from the negative emotions of the week but the singer longs for something more substantial
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, mercy on me.
The singer reaches out for help to overcome their struggles
Oh, I'm crazy about my baby, please send her home to me. Yeah, yeah.
The artist seeks relief from their despair by longing for the presence of their loved one
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, mercy on me. Yeah, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy on me. Well, I'm crazy about my baby, please, please send her home.
The repetition emphasizes the artist's plea for mercy and the longing for their loved one's return
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EARL HINES, BILLY ECKSTINE, BOB CROWDER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@chrisbutlersmith9970
I met Gary a few times , I lived about half a mile from him and used to bump into him in the local shop and fuel station and what a fantastic man , he was always socialble and gave you time to chat . RIP Gary not just a great guitarist but also a great man with a kind soul .
@Angel-fz8dr
I cannot begin to imagine how cool it is to be neighbor with one of the all time great guitarists that ever walked the face of this earth!
@chrisbutlersmith9970
Hi Angel thanks for comment and it was cool . Just up the road was a village with a pub who had live bands with a permanent stage set up in the garden . One evening which I missed George Harrison was there and Gary Moore arrived with his guitar and amp and they got on the stage and did a one off Jam . A part of history I missed . Take care and 2 legends missed forever .
@Angel-fz8dr
@@chrisbutlersmith9970 Thanks for the reply, Chris. Hate to say it, but you definitely missed a historic gig that evening. And you are probably still kicking yourself to this day about that. Those legends are long gone, but their music will live forever. Cheers!
@chrisbutlersmith9970
Most definitely do hun and you must like the blues . If you can check out Larry Miller, he used to play with Gary Moore and has gone down the solo route . He has videos on here but not good quality. He is often touring England 🇬🇧. Check out the dates. Love Chris
@tomasaguirre1764
Then you met a Legend.
@tfajsh
Albert King’s voice and guitar licks are like butter. Gary plays with pure fire. Put them together and you get perfection. Rest In Peace amongst the legends!
@josemanuelpalharespostiga5601
Theres's no perfection enought just us & them ( think...)
@MiskoErceg
Yes my friend
@terjebergstrom6038
❤ my heroes199❤