Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 56

COLUMN Fretprints

JOHNNY MOORE
Cool Blues TrailBlazer
By Wolf Marshall

A

s blues began its ascent from America's
indigenous folk music to a worldwide
popular force, it morphed into two incarnations. One remained true to its rural roots,
acoustic timbre, and the notion of an itinerate
singer/storyteller at the center. The other addressed the urban environment and growing
trends of small combos and big bands, jump
blues, and boogie-woogie. Between Robert
Johnson and B.B. King were innovators who
set the stage for the electric-blues explosion of
the 1950s. Among the most influential were the
Three Blazers, led by guitarist Johnny Moore.
John Dudley Moore was born in Austin on
October 20, 1906. He was raised in Texas and
Phoenix, Arizona, and began playing guitar in
string bands with his younger brother, Oscar.

In the '30s, they relocated to Los Angeles,
where Oscar - inspired by Charlie Christian
- turned to jazz and became a key member
of Nat "King" Cole's trio.
Johnny gravitated to the blues and played
with several local combos before forming
Three Blazers with two fellow Texans, bassist
Eddie Williams and pianist/vocalist Charles
Brown. In that lineup, both Moore and Brown
became highly influential - Brown to Amos
Milburn and Ray Charles, Moore to B.B. King
and Chuck Berry. In a seeming contradiction
of terms, Moore's Three Blazers summed up
cool blues, trading on the smoother urbane
sound of the West Coast while adhering to the
blues form and mood. They personified the
incipient R&B scene; modeling themselves

VINTAGE GUITAR

56

February 2018

after the jazz-inflected sound of Nat Cole's
trio but tempered by a decidedly bluesy edge
that bypassed pop standards, cocktail jazz,
and easy listening.
After Nat Cole's trio moved to Capitol in
1943, Oscar helped Johnny Moore's Three
Blazers secure a recording contract with
Atlas Records. One condition was that Oscar
would appear as a regular guest with the
trio, and their records were to be released as
"Oscar Moore with the Three Blazers." This
arrangement prevailed until the Blazers broke
through with a string of successes on various
labels (Johnny Moore avoided exclusive contracts throughout his career) and by backing
such artists as Ivory Joe Turner, whose "Blues
at Sunrise" became their first hit in 1945.
Thereafter, they enjoyed a run of hits on the
R&B charts from late '45 to '49, including
"Drifting Blues" (#2 in '46), "Sunny Road"
('46), "New Orleans Blues" ('47) and "Merry
Christmas Baby" ('47, '48, and '49), which
remains one of the most popular yuletide
songs of the modern era.
Brown left the Blazers in '48 to embark on
a successful solo career. The trio persevered

Johnny Moore's Three Blazers: Michael Ochs Archive.

Johnny Moore (middle) with
Blazers bassist Eddie Williams and
pianist/singer Charles Brown.



Vintage Guitar - February 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vintage Guitar - February 2018

Contents
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - Cover
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - IFC
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 3
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 4
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 5
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 6
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 7
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 8
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 9
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - Contents
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 11
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 12
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 13
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 14
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 15
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 16
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 17
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 18
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 19
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 20
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 21
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 22
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 23
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 24
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 25
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 26
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 27
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 28
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 29
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 30
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 31
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 32
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 33
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 34
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 35
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 36
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 37
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 38
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 39
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 40
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 41
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 42
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 43
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 44
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 45
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 46
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 47
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 48
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 49
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 50
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 51
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 52
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 53
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 54
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 55
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 56
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 57
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 58
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 59
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 60
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 61
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 62
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 63
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 64
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 65
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 66
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 67
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 68
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 69
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 70
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 71
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 72
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 73
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 74
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 75
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 76
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 77
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 78
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 79
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 80
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 81
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 82
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 83
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 84
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 85
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 86
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 87
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 88
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 89
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 90
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 91
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 92
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 93
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 94
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 95
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 96
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 97
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 98
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 99
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 100
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 101
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 102
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 103
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 104
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 105
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 106
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 107
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 108
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 109
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 110
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 111
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 112
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 113
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 114
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 115
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 116
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 117
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 118
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 119
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 120
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 121
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 122
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 123
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 124
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 125
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 126
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 127
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 128
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 129
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - 130
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - IBC
Vintage Guitar - February 2018 - BC
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201903
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201902
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201901
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201811
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201810
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201809
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201808
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201807
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201805
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201804
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201803
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201802
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201801
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201712
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201711
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201710
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201706
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201705
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201704
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201703
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201702
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201701
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201612
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201610_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201609
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201608_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201608
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201607
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201606
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201605
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201602
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201601
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201512
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201511
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201510
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201509
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201508
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201507
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201505
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201504
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201503
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201502
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201501
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201412
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201411
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201410
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201409
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201407
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201406
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201405
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201404
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201403
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201402
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201312
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201309
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/vintageguitar/201308
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com