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It's almost as if Keith D. Moore was born with a song on his lips and the spirit of praise in his heart. The youngest of five children born into the musical family of Robert and Eula Moore in Waynesboro, Mississippi, his mother recognized the special gift God had placed in her baby boy when he was just 3-years old and she has been his greatest supporter throughout his musical career.
After hearing Keith sing the songs he heard at church and on the radio during quiet times at home when he thought no one was listening, Mrs. Moore helped him get over his shyness by having him sing for other family members and for friends who would visit their home. By the time he was 8-years old, she had him singing in the church choir at Pineville Missionary Baptist Church in Waynesboro.
When he started banging out tunes on a piano passed on to the family by Keith's paternal grandmother, the late Annie Mae Moore, his mother promised to pay him $50 if he learned to play within 6 months. He says he learned to play piano by ear (with assistance from his maternal great aunt, the late Estelle Carson) within 4 months, but his mother has never given him the promised $50. Instead, she put him to work.
By the age of 10, Mm. Moore was the chief musician for the Friendship Baptist Church in Buccutuna, Mississippi, earning $30 a month to play for thechoir on Second Sundays. Within a few years, he also was playing for Mt. Moriah Baptist Church in State Line, Mississippi and for New Light Baptist Church in Waynesboro. Through it all, his mother was right by his side, making sure he got paid and even sitting next to him on the piano bench to calm his nerves the first time he was called on to play for a funeral.
Mm. Moore has fond memories of harmonizing with his older sister, Marilyn, while his brother, Erick, played guitar. The family's early repertoire consisted of tunes such as Sign Me Up for the Christian Jubilee and Everywhere You Go, There is Trouble. Such diverse gospel artists as the Clark Sisters, Bill Moss and the Celestials, Rev. James Moore, The Jackson Southernaires, The Christianaires and The Truthettes have influenced the music we hear from Mm. Moore today.
"I admired the Truthettes first and foremost because they were a young group and their messages really ministered to me," Mm. Moore says. "At a young age, I would often listen to their music when I was discouraged, troubled, happy or sad.
"While his mother took the lead in encouraging the musical talent in her son, a host of family members and friends joined her in nurturing the spiritual growth of the young Mm. Moore. They include the pastors of his church back in Waynesboro, the Rev. M.K. Duncan and the Rev. Sam McDonald; his current pastor at New Mercies Christian Church in Lilburn, Jesse Curney III; the Rev.Charles P. Gibson of Byron, Georgia; and the Rev. Willie E. Rankins, a cousin Moore describes as a 'singin' preacha" who drove the teenaged Moore to church to play for Third Sunday services. But, perhaps his greatest influence in this area of his life was his paternal grandfather, the late Rev. Lewis Moore."
My grandfather was very serious about his ministry and he had the same expectation for us," Mm. Moore said. "I would often go with him and play at the churches where he ministered. I would play and sing for the revivals and they would take up a 'love offering' for me. I'd get $60 or so and that was exciting for me as a child. Little did I know that this was to be my ministry?"
Mm. Moore says he can still hear the sound of his grandfather's strong, demanding voice as he preached the Gospel with boldness. "My grandfather was a strong-willed and focused man of God and his legacy lives on through me," he said.
Milestones in the life of this young talent who is destined to dazzle the Gospel Music Industry and bless the hearts of men and women around the world include earning a bachelor's degree in sociology from Clark Atlanta University where he also studied voice under John Patton and sang in the Philharmonic Society Choir under the direction of Glenn Halsey. He is member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He also cherishes the memory of the event that signaled the start of the next phase of his life, his debut professional concert on Sunday, September 15, 2002, at Light of Life Ministries, Inc. in College Park, Georgia. But he says that through it all, he's learned to trust in God and that his life's mission is to introduce others to Jesus so that their lives can be changed through Salvation.
Contact Information:
E-mail:
keith1911@hotmail.com
Phone:
202 255-0277
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