b
y Cyrus Webb
Over the past 20 years I have had the honor of interviewing
many notable individuals who have made their mark on the work and shared joy with others along the way. One of those is
definitely Melba Moore.
The Tony-winning, Grammy-nominated actress, singer and
songwriter has been all over the place, and in 2024 she was still riding high
from receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As her year was coming
to a close, I had a chance to speak with Ms. Moore again about her career and
current projects as well as the gift she has been given.
Ms. Moore, I'm so glad to be able to speak with you again.
It's so good to see you getting your flowers while you can appreciate it. Your
work is being rewarded, and one thing that has really stood out to me is the
amount of appreciation you have. What was it like for you to reflect back on
that highlight of your career being recognized with the star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame?
Once it happened, and I was there with the people who
actually made it happen, I don't think I so much reflected on my career as I
did the people that made it happen. And looking at them and realizing somebody
like Kat Williams…If that fee hadn't been paid, I couldn't have gotten it. I
didn't even know him, but he was there. So I was focused on who is this young
man? Let me go find out about his talent. And I said, oh my God! Look at him
and not just look at him...why did he think so much of me?
Now this was the first time that we're meeting, so you
can't really get to know each other; but you know the essence of what this
means and who they are. And since it's a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame it's
there permanently. So, you realize how important this is, because it's a
permanent achievement. And then I look at Kat, I look at Luenell…. some of the
people that were there helping celebrate it with me. Then I was like ‘Wait a
minute. Why is Tisha Campbell here?’
But the thing about it is, she told me ‘Remember when we
met when I was a little girl?’ And she reminded me of something I had
forgotten. The main thing she said is, ‘You were very kind to me.’ I said, oh
my God. That's what this is all about. How did you live your life so that when
you didn't have all those thousands of dollars to make this happen, even if you
were accomplished, everything else, somebody said, you are a good person, so I want
to do this for you. Those kinds of things you reflect on, because they’re right
in your face.
And there are people around the world who feel that way,
Ms. Moore. They appreciate how you share your gift with them.
Let’s talk about Broadway. What is that stage like for you
to feel that energy in real time while you're on the stage?
Well, that in itself is amazing; but what you evoked in me
is that when you talk about people all over the world saying that they heard a
song of mine, I realize that the voice is really something special.
It's how we communicate with each other. Everything they
know about me, all the other things I bring come through that little channel. To
me, it's not just a hit record. I remember when so many opportunities were
coming to me, I’d said, ’Okay, if you had to make a choice, what would be your
foundation? What would be the central part that would cut to the heart of
things?’
That thing that if you lose some things along the way,
it's the heart of it. You gotta keep the heart beating, and for me it's been
music. What you said to me invoked that I made the right choice, because for me
it's a calling. I've learned how to use my voice in many ways now that I'm
mature.
A lot of things would be gone if I didn't learn about how
the whole being works. I actually, in some ways, am getting better, but I just
mean because of contemplating all these things and hearing back from people who
see you from a way you can't see yourself. It's the voice and how you take care
of it, how you give it to people and how it affects other people's lives. So,
you’re responsible for what you send out to people. And I think I made the
right choice. <laugh>. Yeah, I chose the voice.
I love that. You said something that made me think of
something, Ms. Moore. When you talk about the voice, I think of all of us. We
have a gift. We all have a talent. It's really up to us to be able to use it. I
guess I want to ask you, have you always trusted it? Have you always trusted
that gift that you've been given?
Absolutely not. And I found out late that I had it. In my
early life there was no music, because my mother was a single parent, and she
was trying to take care of my grandmother as well. She was gone all the time, so
there was nobody to tell me that I had a great voice.
Usually if singing or speaking is your gift, you learn
about that early, because it's part of your body. I didn't learn about it until
[my mother] married my stepfather. She married a musician. He had two other
children, so now I had a sister and brother. You learn about how to get along
with other people, because I'm not an only child anymore. I'm not just around
old adults now. I'm around people my own age. That's a whole other thing. I
think that you carry that over into communications of any kind, especially for
music, because it's style, fashion. I'm glad I chose the voice and understand
that it comes from God. That’s why I can’t give up. Even when it’s difficult
you have to keep going, because you never know if the best things in my life
are just getting ready to happen.
Keep up with the journey on Instagram at www.instagram.com/melba1moore/
Photos provided by Double Xxposure Media Relations
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