Career
Born to Mary Moore and Melvin Hendrex Snr., aka Melvin Henderson of the Mississippi Blind Boys, Dorothy was raised by her great grandmother. She began singing with The New Strangers Home Baptist Church Choir at the age of five, and, eventually, she became a soloist. While attending Jackson State University, she formed an all-female group called The Poppies with Petsye McCune and Rosemary Taylor. The group recorded for Epic Records' Date subsidiary, reaching number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1966 with "Lullaby Of Love". Abortive solo singles for the Avco, GSF and Chimneyville labels followed
Her career took off with a series of ballads for Malaco Records. "Misty Blue" (number 1 R&B, number 3 Pop) and "Funny How Time Slips Away" (the Willie Nelson penned song, number 7 R&B, number 58 Pop) scored in 1976, while "I Believe You" (number 5 R&B, number 27 Pop) charted the following year. Moore's recordings in the next few years were not nearly as successful as she succumbed increasingly to the disco trend.
Moore left the music industry for several years, but in 1986 recorded a gospel set, Givin' It Straight To You, in Nashville album cover photographed by Kenny Rogers, Tennessee for the Rejoice label. It yielded a cover of Brother Joe May's "What Is This" that became a Top 10 gospel hit. Moore returned to secular music in 1988, recording two albums for the Volt subsidiary of Fantasy Records. In 1990 she returned to her original label, Malaco, for whom she recorded several albums during the ensuing decade and into the new millennium. The same year she toured the UK, with Ben E. King and Eddie Floyd.
Her own label, Farish Street Records released her holiday album, Please Come Home for Christmas, in 2002.
Moore has four Grammy Award nominations. Her version of "Misty Blue" appeared on the 2005 compilation album, Classic Soul Ballads. She has been inducted into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame, Lifetime Achievement Award Monterey Bay Blues Festival, Jus Blues Award, Mississippi Arts Commission Achievement Award, Mississippi Blues Trail Markers.
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