July 7, 2025 • 45 mins
In this heartfelt and inspiring conversation, Lisane Basquiat sits down with legendary singer and actress Melba Moore. They explore Melba’s remarkable journey from schoolteacher to award-winning artist, her deep faith, her courage to pursue dreams against the odds, and her passion for growth and contribution. Melba opens up about creativity, aging, her new music—including the single No Filter—and what it means to live a life of purpose, perseverance, and freedom.Key Themes:
Learn how to set boundaries without guilt. Join Lisane's next Protect Your Peace Shaping Session today: https://shapingfreedom.com/boundaries-workshop.
- Courage and reinvention
- Listening to your inner calling
- Staying grounded through faith
- Creative longevity
- The meaning of legacy and freedom
Learn how to set boundaries without guilt. Join Lisane's next Protect Your Peace Shaping Session today: https://shapingfreedom.com/boundaries-workshop.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
But explore yourself, see what comes out, and then see
just something you can hold on to. And God create
you in his own way like he does fingerprints the
circumstances bringing you into They give you an opportunity to say, well,
I don't know if I could do this, but let
me try and see what develops into your book, what
comes out, and see if you can build up your
little repertoire of who you want.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome to the Shaping Freedom Podcast, where we dive into
conversations that inspire personal growth, transformation and clarity and challenging times.
I'm your host, Lissan Basquiato. Today I have the immense
honor of sitting with a woman whose presence, power and
voice have reverberated across generations. Melbae Moore is a living legend,
(00:52):
a Tony Award winning Broadway star, a Grammy nominated vocalist,
and a pioneer whose influence reaches far beyond the stage
or studio. From her groundbreaking roll in Hair to her
Tony winning performance in Pearly, Melba helped redefine what was
possible for black women in American theater, and when she
(01:14):
stepped off the stage and into the recording booth. She
gave us anthems that became soundtracks to our lives. Love's
Coming at You, this is It you Stepped into My life,
lean On Me and Falling, and other songs that pulsed
with joy, resilience, and emotional fire. This is a woman
who didn't just follow the trends. She set them, and
(01:37):
she did so with grace, grit, and unshakable faith. In
twenty twenty three, she received her star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame, a moment that was decades in the
making and more than deserved. And in twenty twenty two,
President Joe Biden honored her with the Lifetime Achievement Award
and the Presidential Volunteer Service Award, recognizing not just her
(02:02):
artistic brilliance, but her deep and enduring service to community
and culture. But what moves me most about Melbournmore is
her spirit, her ability to keep rising, evolving, and sharing
her gifts generously, whether through her music, mentorship or her
story of overcoming trials and reclaiming her own narrative. Melburnmore
(02:25):
has given us so much more than entertainment. She's offered
us a map of perseverance and self renewal. So today's
conversation isn't just about looking back at her remarkable legacy.
It's about celebrating the present day power of a woman
who continues to shape freedom through creativity, courage, and love.
(02:52):
Thank you so much for being here with me, Melbourn Woll.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
What an intro? Can I live up to that? I goodness,
thank you.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
That is you. That is everything that you've brought to
this world and everything that you've shared with us creatively.
And I just want you to know how much we
appreciate it. And I'm sure you know that, but I
want you to know how much we appreciate it. So
you've been called trailblazer in music and in television, and
(03:24):
I'm wondering, when you think about your own legacy, what
is it that you want people to remember the most.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I don't know how you tell somebody to have courage,
but I'll just say it that way because I don't
know what form it takes to whoever may see this message.
But is there something like that you feel like you
want to just try it? Please try it. Don't be
afraid of failing. If you are afraid, do it anyway
(03:53):
or try it. Try it. Anyway. You can't really guarantee
that anybody can do anything, but you can guarantee that
you can try. I would encourage you to try. You
just have no idea what may happen. We're talking about
me being a trailblazer. When you say it all these
decades later, it sounds like I planned it all, but
I didn't. So I would encourage people. I have no
idea what they even maybe want to do. Maybe they
(04:15):
don't have a clear desire. I'll just go out there
and try some good things, some positive things. Try to
get around some good positive people who can encourage you
and maybe go along the way with you. I never
took any of these steps alone. It was always with
other people, with someone who stood by me. I so
I have to say thank you to all the different
(04:37):
people who supported me in the different stages of my life.
You're just trying to live your life most of the
time and take one step at a time and keep breathing.
And you know, if you bathe long enough today, I thought,
will come to you maybe a desire. Oh maybe I'll
try that. I would encourage you to try.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, you know you said that something very profound, which
is that you didn't plan at all, you know. I
think that sometimes people believe that you just sit down
and like you make this, and it doesn't mean that
you don't plan something. But I really appreciate your sharing
with the audience that it really is about kind of
the journey and how you move through the journey. Were
(05:17):
there is there a defining moment for you that well,
maybe you didn't have a complete plan laid out, but
are there any defining moments that helped to bring you
from one crossroad to the next.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
I think that's a very good question because I'm credited
with continuing to reinvent myself. But I think life brings
you to certain cross roads or decisions that when you
have to try to make a decision you're going to
stay where you are, You're going to try to do
something different. If you are, what is it going to be?
How are you going to get there? Do you have
(05:54):
to go by yourself? It can be undaunting. I think
the first one that comes to mind, and maybe others,
was going from a public school music teacher in New
Jersey to try to be a performing artist. To me,
that was a drastic move and nobody in my family
supported it, maybe particularly my parents, and they were performers.
(06:14):
They were entertainers, So I should have listened to them
because it made sense that they told me not to
do it, and they were doing it. I should not
have done it. But you know how kids are. What
you said, but they look at your face and you
see your heart.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
They see right through it. They see right.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I said, uh no, Daddy just just helped me try
If if it doesn't work, I'll come back at a
chief school. That was the first one that comes to mind.
That maybe been others. Then after that, it just always
continued because especially as as an artist, maybe particularly as
a black person, and particularly during the times that I
was coming along. I'm credited for being the first to
(06:55):
do a lot of things, but I think the times
were revolutionary. It was when I came out. It was
like the sixties. We kind of look back on that
and now call it really a cultural revolution. Everywhere you
look in America, maybe across the globe, some kind of
revolutionary change was happening. I'm sure it was God. He said,
I'm changing things. Y'all saw too. They're ready. Well, sometimes
(07:18):
you can't get ready. He has to get you ready
because you don't you don't even know how you're going
to make a living or survive. You don't know how
you're going to do. Your parents, they love you, they
care about you. They want to know you're going to
be able to feed yourself. They're not just they're not
being superficial about this. They really mean it, and you
really love them and you really respect them. So it's
a very hard decision to go from something that everybody
(07:39):
thinks it's solid and secure, as as my parents call it,
a real job, to go into something where and especially
with black people, you have to have a manager and attorneys,
just an agent's just to start looking for jobs. I
mean at a certain level, in the beginning, you go
(07:59):
out and you go to the open mics and you're
going you're not looking to get paid or anything, so
you're trying to get some experience whatever. But at a
certain point you have to go from that and determine
if you're going to be committed to trying to be
a professional that that that's that's that's a deep change
and all the different things that go into it. I
won't try to go into all the details, but it's
very very difficult. Are you the professional enough? Can you
(08:22):
can you handle your business? Can you can you pay
your bills? Who do you know? How? What? What do you?
Can you even count?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Can you do you know?
Speaker 1 (08:32):
How to get a bank account? These are really basic
things that doesn't matter really what you want to do.
You have to determine these things. But in an industry
like the arts is very precarious, and everybody thinks they
have a solution and seem like they may have, but see,
nobody has a solution for you.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
You still have to find that that's right, and that's
that's the only you job.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
And then you go into this industry that never stops.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
So first of all, I'm very glad that you didn't
listen to your parents, because because I danced around to
you quite a bit, and I had the I had albums,
I had the extended singles, you know, I wrote my
name on them and all of that. You were such
(09:20):
a part of my adolescence, and I think there were
only like ten years apart in age. But I really
appreciate the fact that you were part of the story
and the chapter of my adolescence because your songs were
always have always been and continue to be very inspirational.
You know, it's just like joy, joy, you know, happiness.
(09:46):
But my question for you is, if you don't mind,
what was it So you were a teacher in Newark,
a music teacher, yes, and what was it that happened
there for you? Like, what was it that that led
you to you know, because you talked about like listening
to your parents and all that, so that that's a crossroad.
(10:08):
So you could have continued to be a music teacher
and you could have had an amazing life doing that,
and you've you know, you chose to go into music
and had an amazing life. I'm sure you know all
in doing that. So what was happening in that moment
for you that led you to.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
It made it more difficult actually for me to get
the courage to get my parents to support me and
trying to leave that and come into this industry because
I'm finding out now that I have special gifts as
a teacher. What I realized somewhere along the way is
that I didn't put down teaching or being an that
(10:46):
means you're responsible for what you do. One of the
things you find out in a classroom, especially with very
young people maybe older ones in high school too, is
that they see how you dressed. They see how you act.
They see you know, I taught vocal music. So when
I would teach them, so theself my my change my
name from Smith to Moore, Miss Smith. You got a
(11:07):
beautiful voice. You know, they listened to you and you're
teaching them the little songs in the book. But you
really catch their attention if you use the songs that
they hear on the radio. So I could see that.
I mean, looking back now, I can see not so
much then that I kind of had, which might might
not be so much now. But then it's kind of
(11:28):
a revolutionary attitude about how you're going to teach music.
How are you going to bring you know, you know,
I don't talk about black kids and the cil kids
because there is a difference in our cultures. So how
are you going to bring you know, blues and the
kind of songs that we heard on the radio. And
guess that was yeah, actually that was late fifties, I
(11:51):
guess the early early sixties into the classroom. But I
remember bringing the song from the sound of music. For instance,
some of the songs that I heard as a young
person can't go into the movies, but I can't remember
the songs but I brought songs that I knew they
(12:12):
would relate to. So I began to see that this
is you got to relate and you see if it's
clicking with them. And then you transition that into how
do you read music? What are the rudiments you know,
how is that going to be relative to you? And
how do you keep the young people interested so that
(12:33):
they will get the technical things and not get bored
and drift away. But it really transfers into how do
you keep your audience interested? What's going to be your style?
My my natural vocal style was not disco. As a
matter of fact, there was no disco.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Yet y'all created it. Y'all made that.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
So I guess you learned a kind of creativity that
I'm not sure you know you have that you exercise
because you get into something that I did not want
to teach. But when I got into the classroom, I
fell in love with it because I fell in love
with the children. Then, of course I remember the songs
(13:14):
that I was taught growing up, and you fall in
love with the with the whole thing. So part of
the task for me was in I really did not
want to leave, and I was just starting I hadn't
finished practice teaching yet, so I hadn't really hadn't got
my degree yet, so my future was just really beginning
as a school teacher. So I knew that I could
have a wonderful, secure financial future if I stayed in that.
(13:38):
So it was difficult for me to it was agonizing.
It was agonizing because you know, you think to yourself, well,
who do you think you think you're gonna be a study?
You have all these you hear who's out here? Now
you go? You can't sing like them? You have all
these things telling you you don't need to take that
kind of chance. You know, you just have everything screaming
(14:01):
at you. Don't try, don't do it, don't And I
didn't feel secure in it at all, but I still
ask my father, my stepfather, to help me take me
around to some of his agents and people if he
could get me into the industry. At that time, I
played the piano and I sang. I really didn't stand
up and sing yet, except my natural voice was classical.
(14:24):
So we would do these operas and because I always
have a major role in one of the high school
operas because that was my natural talent. But then no
one one hand, no opera in the club.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Now, I see why you like the sound of music,
because that's a very operatic type of tone. I don't
know if I'm using the right terminology, but I can
see where that would resonate with you.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
You have to develop your personality, allowed to show so
who it is by trying things and experimenting with things
and takes it, you know, lots of coaching. After I
left teaching, took lots of coaching, and then after a while,
I think outgrew the coaches. First of all, I'm a
music teacher too, so I would grow probably into my
own ear. I'm just I'm assuming, but then also as
(15:11):
my voice and my whole body. And as everybody continues
to mature and change, and you're developing a technique that
since the genre that you're mainly in, which is primarily
dance music of course R and B ballast and one
of the great things about R and B culture is
(15:32):
we're creative, so you'll try things, you try to find
your style if you don't have it. So now I
didn't start out in gospel music, so that's kind of
a drawback.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
You did not start out in gospel.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Not I'm born and still am Catholic, but culturally that's very, very,
very very different. My natural voice is classical, so I've
trained myself to do everything else. But then I'm a teacher,
so I teach myself.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
It's like you've taken the gifts and talents that God
has given you, and you have those in a toolbox
and you're Oh, it seems from the outside looking in
that you're aware of the tools and talents and gifts
that God has given you, and that you draw them
out when you need them. But you're aware. It sounds
(16:35):
like you're aware of them.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Well, I think I was doing it. This is how
you This is how you are. You know you are.
You're born a certain way. You have, certain things are
your natural tendencies, and I don't think you know if
they're very obvious, sometimes you do. But if they're not,
and you keep doing it over time, you kind of see, Oh,
there's a pattern here. You know, I can't use a
(16:58):
vocal teacher anymore. She don't know how to do this.
The only thing is classical music. Let me see what
I can do. And you become more adaptive at these things,
and now I can look back and see oh, first
of all, obviously had a very adventurous nature. Yeah, it
doesn't have that. But I'm discovering and I'm encouraging not
people not necessarily do what I did, because God creates
(17:21):
you in his own way like he does fingerprints. But
explore yourself, that's guess. That's what I'm trying to say. Yeah,
see what comes out, and then see there something you
can hold on to and and try to learn it
more and get some or get somebody to choose you
in that or it just kind of explore the different areas
that circumstances bringing you into that give you an opportunity
(17:43):
to say, well, I don't know if I can do this,
but let me try and see what develops into you.
But what comes out and see if you can build
up your little repertoire of who you are. Doesn't it
doesn't have to be music.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Yeah, yeah, and you know, I love you your suggestion
that a person explore yourself, because I think that's we're
not taught to explore ourselves. We're taught to follow many people,
not everyone, but many people are thought to follow up
a particular path, whatever that path is, and to not
(18:19):
spend a lot of time thinking about yourself and exploring yourself.
And I think if there's anything so far that's come
out of this conversation that I think is so helpful,
it is that it's taking the time to explore yourself
so that you know who you are and so that
(18:41):
you know who God made you know, because God doesn't
put things into us for nothing. You know, for no reason.
You don't have the voice that you have for no reason.
You don't have the grit and the courageousness and the
adventurous spirit that you have for nothing. It's there for
a reason, and you've chosen to take that and to
(19:03):
bring it out of you into the world. So it's
almost like you've unfolded, you know, you've had a journey
of unfolding, which I think is such a beautiful thing.
What is your If you could say something, I don't
know how old you are, and I won't ask, but
at that stage of your life of being a teacher
(19:24):
and stepping into the entertainment world, if there was any
advice that you could go back to give yourself, what
would it be.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
I don't know that I would do anything differently, I
think because you don't know how you're wired, so The
best thing I can do now is take advantage of
the fact that God has given me long life. And
so people that are coming along now, I can say,
if you can't try to be a good example wherever
you are. You don't have to be older. You might
(19:57):
be younger. You might be you might find out that,
for instance, you you're smarter than a lot of people,
or you might find out, well, I'm not as smart
as some other people, or I'm different in this way,
and maybe maybe you surroundings don't support that. I would
just encourage you. I'll put a voice out here that
(20:18):
you can hear from now on that says, well, I'm
good enough. I'll be the best person I can be
because I'll influence somebody in that way, and you influence
each each other. Everybody does. Maybe we don't know that.
So now that I'm mature and I'm still here, I
have an opportunity to tell you that's going to happen
to you, and it is happening to you. You don't
(20:38):
have to go through it blindly. So you can try,
at whatever ability that you have to be the best
kind of person that you can be. You can be friendly,
you can you can be commutative. You can be encouraging
to one another. You can accept criticism. Kids, especially by
pre preteens, they're brutal with each other.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
They are I can.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Tell them, you know, your hormones will calm down in
the second. I don't know what to tell y'all. You know,
at this point, everybody you know gives you the privilege
of asking your advice. But I think sometimes you need
to look at certain areas of life too and say,
you know, I'm not sure I have the wisdom that
they need at their stage in life. But if you're
(21:26):
looking at me, I'm trying to set a good example
for you. I'm trying to be a loving person. I'm
trying to be a person who expresses their opinion. I
don't have to agree with you or where I'm getting adamant, right,
I don't know, but I'm not angry. I'm just energetic. Yeah,
(21:46):
because you've got to have differences of opinion. You've got
to because first of all, I know that there's so
much wrong going on in the world, and you can't
just be stylin about it. You can't raise the war
to a higher level. You're trying to bring peace. That's
your goal, that's everybody's goal is to bring peace. But
that don't mean you shut up and sit down.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
It means to choose how you're going to contribute, because
I think that's what happens so often is people just
I'm going to throw my voice out there. But to
be conscious of whether you're and it's a crossroad moment, right,
are you going to sell peace or are you going
to stir the pod? And you have to decide which
of those two things you're going to do, and sometimes
you have to stir the pot. But just be conscious
(22:28):
of what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I'm glad you said it that way too, because they
may not feel or know that they're at a cross
age cross rooms, but we're telling you, whether you know
it or not.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Yeah, make this.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Conscious effort in your own mind. Always try to choose peaceful,
loving way about whatever wherever you find. Make it a habit.
Start to think that way.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Right, to actually think. I think you were talking before
about not being the smartest person in the room, but
I think and I think that it's important to learn
how to be smart about you. You can be smart
about yourself, like you can't control all the people around you.
And we encounter other people, and that's just part of
the journey of the human experience. But what we can
(23:09):
do is learn how to be smart about ourselves and
learn how to tune into the person that we are,
so that where like you just said, making a conscious
decision about how we're going to show up in these
different situations because we don't have the roadmap always. We
can have an idea of what we'd like to do
(23:31):
or where we'd like to be, but the real journey
is in those moments from one step, one decision, to
the next decision and to the next decision. And then
I think for me at least, what's been important is
to understand what my through line is, you know. And
for me and my through line has been courage for sure,
(23:51):
and love, you know, and love and wanting to sow
love and then all the other stuff kind of come.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Yeah, and if you do the opposite, that all follows too. Yeah,
you don't want that.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
It gives me the opportunity to test it out, but
to make sure that my commitment is really my commitment.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
I love the way you put it, Yes, so tell me.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
So. You received this lifetime achievement of word from President
Biden how did that feel.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
It made me feel as though, gee, my life was
not just getting older, it's apparently accumulating certain aspects of
my life and habits that people see that kind of
add up to you're a good citizen. If the President
says so, I know that's true. I feel like, excuse
noble to look at this and remember, yeah, I was
(24:47):
very happy. I don't I don't like to use the
word of pride because I feel like, especially in our industry,
because we're artists, we have to pay so much attention
to ourselves. We can get lost in the selfishness of it.
And then when somebody, someone you know, with the statue
of the President of the United States and all of
that support him gives you a Lifetime Achievement award, you
(25:12):
can just kind of look at that and just basket
and I do good good. But I will remind myself
not to get lost in that. Because life is still
here and you still have some achievements. You don't know
what challenges are going to come along that could tear
you away from your goals or your commitments. And it's
getting more difficult in society. It is so and you
(25:37):
can't you know, you don't achieve these things or anything
by staying in your own little wall OF's just mental whatever.
So you could open yourself back up. Now go to
some people or allow them to come to you, or
maybe some new people trying to get into the industry.
You're trying to take care of your job and they
try to see, can you get me a job? Be
(25:58):
open to that, and look at what their dreams are.
They don't have it all together yet, so they're not
going to be all fine and fancy and whatever. Put whatever,
use your accolades are aside for just one moment and
look at somebody from what you hope is their level
of respect and their point of view and so. And
that's going to be challenging because you're not there anymore,
(26:22):
and unless you consciously bring yourself back there. And it's
not bringing yourself down, it's learning to refresh your sense
of respect for humanity. That's important. And I think that's
a lot of times why people in the industry, even
if they haven't achieved a lot of success. I don't know,
(26:42):
we get these these arrogant, prideful attitudes. It's easy for
us in the profession that we're in because we have
to spend so much time nurturing and training ourselves. You
spend a lot of time thinking about yourself, and when
you're doing that, you're not thinking about other people. And
then when you get it all done, well, I'm ready
to go on the stage and put my best foot
(27:03):
my mama, yeah help me.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
So it's a great, great, great, great honor. But it's
also a reminder to me, Okay, you love that, put
your decide now and let's see not only what's next
for you, but what what is somebody out there that
needs your assistance again that you can get involved with.
What are you going to be to be a good volunteer,
good citizen now?
Speaker 2 (27:30):
But it is an achievement, and that's okay, Absolutely, it's okay.
You know, it's okay to feel into something that you've accomplished,
you know, because you worked so hard for it for
so long that you know the ability to actually have
a moment to get celebrated for the work that you've done.
You know, we don't we're not all in a position
(27:51):
to get a lifetime Achievement award by the President of
the United States.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
But it ain't something everybody get every day.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, yeah, But if you don't have that, I do
think it's important to stop. And I'm really talking to
myself here. You know, I'm a person where I just
keep it going and it's like, Okay, next, I've done this. Great.
You know. I have all this energy and all of
these desires for things that I want to accomplish, and
(28:18):
sometimes I really have to remind myself to stop and
just like give myself a moment. And it doesn't mean
to sit in it and you know, and be overly
egotistical about it at all, because it's just not my nature.
But it is important, I think to acknowledge yourself from
time to time.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
And also acknowledge the people that are giving you this
on because if you ignore yourself, you kind of show
them away to you don't want to do.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
That, That's right, that's right. What has been your through line? Like,
what has been the thing that has kept Melbourne Moore
(29:11):
grounded and centered and able to move forward through the
things that you've gone through in your life?
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Well, I'm wanningga in Christian and I'm still Catholic, and
Catholic group of people, it's not a denomination. It's the
first group of people that Jesus himself began. My point being,
all the physical representations of Christianity are still there for
(29:42):
you to go and study. And they tell you, we
have a calendar really of everything that's supposed to be
thought about on each particular day, like Sunday's the day
he rows up. So we study the glorious mysteries. Monday
we studied the joyful mysteries. We remember when we say
the rosaries about how Mary was approached by uh, the
(30:06):
angel Gabriel. In other words, our days are really ordered
by the by the Lord, and and so uh, now
it's become I'm going to feel in a way that
I'm almost like retired because that's my first job. And
so he tells me what I'm going to do every
every day first and get it to all of that.
(30:28):
Then it's okay, okay, well what about my little ministry?
What about my singing here? Because it's now in second
place and he's in first place. Literally, So one of
the particular maybe very strong examples I can give you
a now being grounded, we're in what I would call
(30:48):
the fourth day of Pentecost. That's uh, and that's literally
on the calendar. So there's no way I would remember
think about that I'd be going on because we took
so long, first of all, getting ready for for resurrection
for him. After we celebrated Eastern We celebrated literally the
forty days that he was with us after he rose
(31:09):
up in the dead, so that we could experience and
try to find out what is it really like to
be with somebody who rolls himself up from the den.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
And I just.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
About it. So I feel as though we're more than
grounded because this is a reality for us. And you
asked me the question, so I have the privilege of
speaking about it, But otherwise I wouldn't because my calling
is not to be a preacher or not to be
a religious leader. So I have to do it in
(31:38):
my life so that God gives me the reward of
developing my talent allowing you to have great, great, great
success that when he gets out there, hopefully people say, well,
how can she do that? And at her agent, you're
going to have to know it and had to be God.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Yeah, So that's how I stay grounded.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Do you have a favorite script?
Speaker 1 (32:00):
True? No, because I look at what he's saying each
each day. Right now, I'm trying to stay focused on
that it's still Pentecots. So I look at the scriptures
that remind me of of what happened to his disciples
after he send it, because he sent this power down
and what I see happening into my life, and I
(32:23):
follow those scriptures daily. Uh is My finances are increasing.
I have a I think I have three new records
out two of the two of them are on my
daughter's recording label. One is from my album that's three
or almost three years old now, but we're still releasing
singles from it. The album is called Imagine, and the
(32:46):
latest single is called take a Picture Down. And there's
a new new well I saw them being featured. I
don't think it's being released as a single called Free,
which is inspirational song that's on that side of the music.
But I have a new song that's going to be
a new something like Dance bangor call No Filter.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
You played it on your on your I G I
heard it.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
It's getting to be a huge, huge, huge.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
It's wonderful. It is wonderful natural. Why isn't it natural?
What's unnatural about it?
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Well? I don't want to mention any names. When you
look at any other people in my age category, or
they're not going to have a brand new hit dance
single now. They don't know what to listen for a
lot of them don't really have their voices anymore. I
can't carry it. It doesn't so much matter what you
(33:42):
look like. But if you can look like you're supposed
to and everything you have, the more complete the success
of it.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Yeah, it's a great song. I'm telling your voice it's
Melbourne Moore's voice doing the thing. And uh yeah, I
heard it on your I went to your instaut page.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
But also the team, the team of people that put
it together. It takes it's a whole new way of
doing things now. So if you if you're not led
by God, you're just not going to be in the
right place to have it happen for you.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Yeah, And I'm still freaking speaking a little bit prematurely
in the sense because you asked me the question and
I have the privilege of talking about it. Yeah, it's
just out, so we'll see if I'm right, like in
two or three months. It's a great song, and to
see what it does to my life and my career,
but what it does to the whole industry in the world,
(34:38):
because I think it's going to be it's going to
be huge. I think it is.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
We need great music, We need great music, we need fun.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
God wants us to have great music.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
That's right, that's right, but.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
For his purposes, you know. And part of it is
to show well, it's never too late for you if
you follow my rules. And not to say that other
artists and other categories are doing other great, great things.
But this is a little bit kind of unusual to
have a fresh dance set at this stage. Yeah, it's
a little bit unusual.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
Is there a song that you've recorded that still gives
you chills?
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Give me chills?
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Like, was there a song that you recorded where you
were just like, oh, okay, yeah I was.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
I was tickled because you said give me chills. Mar
Veloys don't give me chills no more.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
But well back then whenever, like, over the course of
this amazing career that you have, is there a song
that you that that you recorded where you felt excited
like really like wow, this is this is it?
Speaker 1 (35:42):
There is one song and it's called Leono Muh was
written by Ben McCoy for Miss Ruth Franklin and I
heard her sing it first, and because I might be
older than she is on that she's passed away, and
she came into the industry very very early before I did,
so I heard her sing it first, and I've developed
(36:03):
it into it helped me develop my singing style. But
the song has such charisma that no matter where I
sing it or who I sing it to, it moves
them so unbelievably, And if they've heard of a zillion
times or if they've never heard it before, they'd be
act the same way. So I'm always in awe at
(36:26):
just well the song period. I don't know why it
does that, but it does. I'm enamored by it. I'm
glad that it was a song where I first did
some of these long high notes and stuff, so I
was really developing my style. So I can see you
on record now. Before that song, I didn't do that.
I didn't do it that way. It hadn't presented itself yet.
(36:48):
So that song is like really kind of amazing to
me as an ability for me to look back at
myself and see what I was and see what I
am now. And I'm still singing the song to see
and to compare. I think it's just a whole amazing
set of things that I'm able to observe in that
one song. It doesn't give me chills anymore though.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
But at the time, at the time, well.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
At the time, I was really amazed. And I think
once again because in some cases it was the first
time that I was able to hit those notes. They
weren't there before.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
It's like you learned yourself, you learned another part of
yourself in that song. Is there an artist that you
wish that you could have shared the stage with?
Speaker 1 (37:31):
M That's a good question.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
And it doesn't matter where the artist like, it doesn't matter.
It could be a more recent artist, or it could be,
you know, an older artist.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Yes, you know what, I never thought about that like that.
But you know who I would have liked to have
done a duet with is roverta Flack. She has such
an amenable oh wow, and maybe one of the songs
that she's written, Yeah, she was such such a complete
yeah musician, and she did a lot of things with
(38:04):
other artists. Maybe maybe, you know, back in the day,
it might have been nice to have had that experience.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Wow, that would be beautiful, you know. And I just
thought about randomly. I thought about when Natalie Cole recorded
that album with her dad, with Natkin Call after he
had passed and she recorded that album of duets with him,
(38:34):
and that was so beautiful And I don't just a
random thought that just well.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
No, I can I can see why it would come
to you.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
Yeah, yeah, what not.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Was and meant? And to have her come and have
her own way of expressing that the next generation to
see it together is just it's it's a kind of
a holy moment.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
It was like, I'm I'm remembering it. I have the
CD somewhere and I'm remembering that album and how I
felt and imagining how she must have felt, may have felt,
you know, having that beautiful privilege to be able to
record something with her dad.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
That's what I think, you say, But that's what I think.
Huh Yeah, I mean why it would come to you
as a kind of like iconic example of what it
might be too. Two great artists singing, yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Period, and to have the ability to create that, you know,
with technology.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Even if the one had passed away.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
I would also love to hear you sing with Ella Fitzgerald. No,
I think that would be such a beautiful thing. Well
to give you chills, Yeah, that would give you, That
would give me chills.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
You know what I do a tribute to her? Did
you ever hear her do Aramel special? No ghost but didn't?
Did it but didn't? Did it but did but didn't?
Did it but didn't?
Speaker 3 (40:08):
If I did that with her as a duet, just scatting, Wow,
just scatting, that would be amazing. Yeah, then you could
like put the melbow more flair on it and kind of.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
Like make it into a dance. Would We would love that.
We would love that.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
Never have thought of that.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
We would love that.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
That would be incredible.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Oh man, okay, all right.
Speaker 1 (40:32):
That's that's hilarious. Mm mm hmmmm. You're doing to do
it with miss.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Ellen, right and scatting though.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
No one would They would be surprised at that.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Yeah, but that we need to be surprised. We want
to be surprised. We need and want to be surprised.
We need some new energy. We need to understand that
passion and creative d is not about any particular point
that you're at in your life. It's about what's in
your heart and it's about your ability to tap into
(41:09):
your creativity and express it. That is, That is what
it is. And I think there's so many I don't
know the music industry that I haven't been in that
industry very much at all, actually, but I would imagine
that having some new ideas and new creative thoughts and
you know, bringing those to the forefront. That has nothing
(41:30):
to do with age, nothing but.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Your mind is so creative. Wow, I would never think
of anything like that.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Well, hopefully, hopefully.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
I mean, I'm sure I'm creative, but not like that.
You have your gifts from the Lord of how how
how it's creative.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
I have a gift of putting things together. I have
a gift of looking seeing patterns and things and then
putting them, putting two things together, that is, That is
part of the gift that God has given me that
I enjoy very much. It's a little, you know, unique,
but I do enjoy it. So what does freedom mean
(42:09):
to you today?
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Freedom immediately because I see what's going. It would mean peace, clarity,
mean for everybody, you know, not just for me. Yeah,
a little coming down of all the chaos. It seems
to be.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Consciously created, intentionally and consciously created for sure. As we
come short on time here, how can we support you?
You have done and I know there's so much more
for you so much more to come. What I take
(42:53):
out of this conversation that we're having is I feel
so honored to be able to sit with your incredible spirit,
you know, and I could see the love and the
creativity and the generosity, and that you are a woman
of faith and also a woman who has walked through
(43:15):
her own challenges and you appear to be a person
who stands in them. You know, you stand up. You
know you're living life standing up, and you have the
courage to get out there and just do a thing,
(43:36):
and not everyone does that, and it's such a model
for people, and it's such a model for younger women,
women of all ages actually, who find it very easy
to talk themselves out of doing just what you have
done and are doing with your life, you know, to
(43:56):
just talk themselves out of it, like I can't do that,
I'm too old, or I can't do that because I'm
a teacher. Why would I go off and do this thing?
And it seems like you have lived a life of
standing up and showing up for yourself and for God's
calling on your life. And I want to just thank
you for that. Like that is we need more of that,
(44:19):
We need as much of that as we can possibly get,
so thank you for that. Thank you. Yeah, how can
we support you?
Speaker 1 (44:27):
Well, just let everybody know about my new single no
Filter and take a picture down.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
Support your music, We support Melville Moore's music. Yes, yeah,
thank you. Yeah, this has been amazing. Thank you so much.
I appreciate, I appreciate this morning. This feels good. I
was a little feeling all hectic this morning. And yeah,
and I and this has been an amazing conversation and
(44:57):
such a great such a start to my day. Thank you,
thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (45:03):
Well, I'll hope you know that I've enjoyed this too,
and I hope you'll invite me back.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
I will invite you back.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
As chit chats.
Speaker 2 (45:10):
It's so funny. That has been my word lately, melboy,
I've been saying chitty chat for like four days all week.
I'm like, I'm just having a little chitty chat and this,
you know, yeah, very very this has been a great
chit chat, a really wonderful chit chat. Thank you, thank you,
But explore yourself, see what comes out, and then see
just something you can hold on to. And God create
you in his own way like he does fingerprints the
circumstances bringing you into They give you an opportunity to say, well,
I don't know if I could do this, but let
me try and see what develops into your book, what
comes out, and see if you can build up your
little repertoire of who you want.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Welcome to the Shaping Freedom Podcast, where we dive into
conversations that inspire personal growth, transformation and clarity and challenging times.
I'm your host, Lissan Basquiato. Today I have the immense
honor of sitting with a woman whose presence, power and
voice have reverberated across generations. Melbae Moore is a living legend,
(00:52):
a Tony Award winning Broadway star, a Grammy nominated vocalist,
and a pioneer whose influence reaches far beyond the stage
or studio. From her groundbreaking roll in Hair to her
Tony winning performance in Pearly, Melba helped redefine what was
possible for black women in American theater, and when she
(01:14):
stepped off the stage and into the recording booth. She
gave us anthems that became soundtracks to our lives. Love's
Coming at You, this is It you Stepped into My life,
lean On Me and Falling, and other songs that pulsed
with joy, resilience, and emotional fire. This is a woman
who didn't just follow the trends. She set them, and
(01:37):
she did so with grace, grit, and unshakable faith. In
twenty twenty three, she received her star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame, a moment that was decades in the
making and more than deserved. And in twenty twenty two,
President Joe Biden honored her with the Lifetime Achievement Award
and the Presidential Volunteer Service Award, recognizing not just her
(02:02):
artistic brilliance, but her deep and enduring service to community
and culture. But what moves me most about Melbournmore is
her spirit, her ability to keep rising, evolving, and sharing
her gifts generously, whether through her music, mentorship or her
story of overcoming trials and reclaiming her own narrative. Melburnmore
(02:25):
has given us so much more than entertainment. She's offered
us a map of perseverance and self renewal. So today's
conversation isn't just about looking back at her remarkable legacy.
It's about celebrating the present day power of a woman
who continues to shape freedom through creativity, courage, and love.
(02:52):
Thank you so much for being here with me, Melbourn Woll.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
What an intro? Can I live up to that? I goodness,
thank you.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
That is you. That is everything that you've brought to
this world and everything that you've shared with us creatively.
And I just want you to know how much we
appreciate it. And I'm sure you know that, but I
want you to know how much we appreciate it. So
you've been called trailblazer in music and in television, and
(03:24):
I'm wondering, when you think about your own legacy, what
is it that you want people to remember the most.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
I don't know how you tell somebody to have courage,
but I'll just say it that way because I don't
know what form it takes to whoever may see this message.
But is there something like that you feel like you
want to just try it? Please try it. Don't be
afraid of failing. If you are afraid, do it anyway
(03:53):
or try it. Try it. Anyway. You can't really guarantee
that anybody can do anything, but you can guarantee that
you can try. I would encourage you to try. You
just have no idea what may happen. We're talking about
me being a trailblazer. When you say it all these
decades later, it sounds like I planned it all, but
I didn't. So I would encourage people. I have no
idea what they even maybe want to do. Maybe they
(04:15):
don't have a clear desire. I'll just go out there
and try some good things, some positive things. Try to
get around some good positive people who can encourage you
and maybe go along the way with you. I never
took any of these steps alone. It was always with
other people, with someone who stood by me. I so
I have to say thank you to all the different
(04:37):
people who supported me in the different stages of my life.
You're just trying to live your life most of the
time and take one step at a time and keep breathing.
And you know, if you bathe long enough today, I thought,
will come to you maybe a desire. Oh maybe I'll
try that. I would encourage you to try.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah, you know you said that something very profound, which
is that you didn't plan at all, you know. I
think that sometimes people believe that you just sit down
and like you make this, and it doesn't mean that
you don't plan something. But I really appreciate your sharing
with the audience that it really is about kind of
the journey and how you move through the journey. Were
(05:17):
there is there a defining moment for you that well,
maybe you didn't have a complete plan laid out, but
are there any defining moments that helped to bring you
from one crossroad to the next.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
I think that's a very good question because I'm credited
with continuing to reinvent myself. But I think life brings
you to certain cross roads or decisions that when you
have to try to make a decision you're going to
stay where you are, You're going to try to do
something different. If you are, what is it going to be?
How are you going to get there? Do you have
(05:54):
to go by yourself? It can be undaunting. I think
the first one that comes to mind, and maybe others,
was going from a public school music teacher in New
Jersey to try to be a performing artist. To me,
that was a drastic move and nobody in my family
supported it, maybe particularly my parents, and they were performers.
(06:14):
They were entertainers, So I should have listened to them
because it made sense that they told me not to
do it, and they were doing it. I should not
have done it. But you know how kids are. What
you said, but they look at your face and you
see your heart.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
They see right through it. They see right.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I said, uh no, Daddy just just helped me try
If if it doesn't work, I'll come back at a
chief school. That was the first one that comes to mind.
That maybe been others. Then after that, it just always
continued because especially as as an artist, maybe particularly as
a black person, and particularly during the times that I
was coming along. I'm credited for being the first to
(06:55):
do a lot of things, but I think the times
were revolutionary. It was when I came out. It was
like the sixties. We kind of look back on that
and now call it really a cultural revolution. Everywhere you
look in America, maybe across the globe, some kind of
revolutionary change was happening. I'm sure it was God. He said,
I'm changing things. Y'all saw too. They're ready. Well, sometimes
(07:18):
you can't get ready. He has to get you ready
because you don't you don't even know how you're going
to make a living or survive. You don't know how
you're going to do. Your parents, they love you, they
care about you. They want to know you're going to
be able to feed yourself. They're not just they're not
being superficial about this. They really mean it, and you
really love them and you really respect them. So it's
a very hard decision to go from something that everybody
(07:39):
thinks it's solid and secure, as as my parents call it,
a real job, to go into something where and especially
with black people, you have to have a manager and attorneys,
just an agent's just to start looking for jobs. I
mean at a certain level, in the beginning, you go
(07:59):
out and you go to the open mics and you're
going you're not looking to get paid or anything, so
you're trying to get some experience whatever. But at a
certain point you have to go from that and determine
if you're going to be committed to trying to be
a professional that that that's that's that's a deep change
and all the different things that go into it. I
won't try to go into all the details, but it's
very very difficult. Are you the professional enough? Can you
(08:22):
can you handle your business? Can you can you pay
your bills? Who do you know? How? What? What do you?
Can you even count?
Speaker 2 (08:30):
Can you do you know?
Speaker 1 (08:32):
How to get a bank account? These are really basic
things that doesn't matter really what you want to do.
You have to determine these things. But in an industry
like the arts is very precarious, and everybody thinks they
have a solution and seem like they may have, but see,
nobody has a solution for you.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
You still have to find that that's right, and that's
that's the only you job.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
And then you go into this industry that never stops.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
So first of all, I'm very glad that you didn't
listen to your parents, because because I danced around to
you quite a bit, and I had the I had albums,
I had the extended singles, you know, I wrote my
name on them and all of that. You were such
(09:20):
a part of my adolescence, and I think there were
only like ten years apart in age. But I really
appreciate the fact that you were part of the story
and the chapter of my adolescence because your songs were
always have always been and continue to be very inspirational.
You know, it's just like joy, joy, you know, happiness.
(09:46):
But my question for you is, if you don't mind,
what was it So you were a teacher in Newark,
a music teacher, yes, and what was it that happened
there for you? Like, what was it that that led
you to you know, because you talked about like listening
to your parents and all that, so that that's a crossroad.
(10:08):
So you could have continued to be a music teacher
and you could have had an amazing life doing that,
and you've you know, you chose to go into music
and had an amazing life. I'm sure you know all
in doing that. So what was happening in that moment
for you that led you to.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
It made it more difficult actually for me to get
the courage to get my parents to support me and
trying to leave that and come into this industry because
I'm finding out now that I have special gifts as
a teacher. What I realized somewhere along the way is
that I didn't put down teaching or being an that
(10:46):
means you're responsible for what you do. One of the
things you find out in a classroom, especially with very
young people maybe older ones in high school too, is
that they see how you dressed. They see how you act.
They see you know, I taught vocal music. So when
I would teach them, so theself my my change my
name from Smith to Moore, Miss Smith. You got a
(11:07):
beautiful voice. You know, they listened to you and you're
teaching them the little songs in the book. But you
really catch their attention if you use the songs that
they hear on the radio. So I could see that.
I mean, looking back now, I can see not so
much then that I kind of had, which might might
not be so much now. But then it's kind of
(11:28):
a revolutionary attitude about how you're going to teach music.
How are you going to bring you know, you know,
I don't talk about black kids and the cil kids
because there is a difference in our cultures. So how
are you going to bring you know, blues and the
kind of songs that we heard on the radio. And
guess that was yeah, actually that was late fifties, I
(11:51):
guess the early early sixties into the classroom. But I
remember bringing the song from the sound of music. For instance,
some of the songs that I heard as a young
person can't go into the movies, but I can't remember
the songs but I brought songs that I knew they
(12:12):
would relate to. So I began to see that this
is you got to relate and you see if it's
clicking with them. And then you transition that into how
do you read music? What are the rudiments you know,
how is that going to be relative to you? And
how do you keep the young people interested so that
(12:33):
they will get the technical things and not get bored
and drift away. But it really transfers into how do
you keep your audience interested? What's going to be your style?
My my natural vocal style was not disco. As a
matter of fact, there was no disco.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Yet y'all created it. Y'all made that.
Speaker 1 (12:53):
So I guess you learned a kind of creativity that
I'm not sure you know you have that you exercise
because you get into something that I did not want
to teach. But when I got into the classroom, I
fell in love with it because I fell in love
with the children. Then, of course I remember the songs
(13:14):
that I was taught growing up, and you fall in
love with the with the whole thing. So part of
the task for me was in I really did not
want to leave, and I was just starting I hadn't
finished practice teaching yet, so I hadn't really hadn't got
my degree yet, so my future was just really beginning
as a school teacher. So I knew that I could
have a wonderful, secure financial future if I stayed in that.
(13:38):
So it was difficult for me to it was agonizing.
It was agonizing because you know, you think to yourself, well,
who do you think you think you're gonna be a study?
You have all these you hear who's out here? Now
you go? You can't sing like them? You have all
these things telling you you don't need to take that
kind of chance. You know, you just have everything screaming
(14:01):
at you. Don't try, don't do it, don't And I
didn't feel secure in it at all, but I still
ask my father, my stepfather, to help me take me
around to some of his agents and people if he
could get me into the industry. At that time, I
played the piano and I sang. I really didn't stand
up and sing yet, except my natural voice was classical.
(14:24):
So we would do these operas and because I always
have a major role in one of the high school
operas because that was my natural talent. But then no
one one hand, no opera in the club.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Now, I see why you like the sound of music,
because that's a very operatic type of tone. I don't
know if I'm using the right terminology, but I can
see where that would resonate with you.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
You have to develop your personality, allowed to show so
who it is by trying things and experimenting with things
and takes it, you know, lots of coaching. After I
left teaching, took lots of coaching, and then after a while,
I think outgrew the coaches. First of all, I'm a
music teacher too, so I would grow probably into my
own ear. I'm just I'm assuming, but then also as
(15:11):
my voice and my whole body. And as everybody continues
to mature and change, and you're developing a technique that
since the genre that you're mainly in, which is primarily
dance music of course R and B ballast and one
of the great things about R and B culture is
(15:32):
we're creative, so you'll try things, you try to find
your style if you don't have it. So now I
didn't start out in gospel music, so that's kind of
a drawback.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
You did not start out in gospel.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Not I'm born and still am Catholic, but culturally that's very, very,
very very different. My natural voice is classical, so I've
trained myself to do everything else. But then I'm a teacher,
so I teach myself.
Speaker 2 (16:12):
It's like you've taken the gifts and talents that God
has given you, and you have those in a toolbox
and you're Oh, it seems from the outside looking in
that you're aware of the tools and talents and gifts
that God has given you, and that you draw them
out when you need them. But you're aware. It sounds
(16:35):
like you're aware of them.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Well, I think I was doing it. This is how
you This is how you are. You know you are.
You're born a certain way. You have, certain things are
your natural tendencies, and I don't think you know if
they're very obvious, sometimes you do. But if they're not,
and you keep doing it over time, you kind of see, Oh,
there's a pattern here. You know, I can't use a
(16:58):
vocal teacher anymore. She don't know how to do this.
The only thing is classical music. Let me see what
I can do. And you become more adaptive at these things,
and now I can look back and see oh, first
of all, obviously had a very adventurous nature. Yeah, it
doesn't have that. But I'm discovering and I'm encouraging not
people not necessarily do what I did, because God creates
(17:21):
you in his own way like he does fingerprints. But
explore yourself, that's guess. That's what I'm trying to say. Yeah,
see what comes out, and then see there something you
can hold on to and and try to learn it
more and get some or get somebody to choose you
in that or it just kind of explore the different areas
that circumstances bringing you into that give you an opportunity
(17:43):
to say, well, I don't know if I can do this,
but let me try and see what develops into you.
But what comes out and see if you can build
up your little repertoire of who you are. Doesn't it
doesn't have to be music.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Yeah, yeah, and you know, I love you your suggestion
that a person explore yourself, because I think that's we're
not taught to explore ourselves. We're taught to follow many people,
not everyone, but many people are thought to follow up
a particular path, whatever that path is, and to not
(18:19):
spend a lot of time thinking about yourself and exploring yourself.
And I think if there's anything so far that's come
out of this conversation that I think is so helpful,
it is that it's taking the time to explore yourself
so that you know who you are and so that
(18:41):
you know who God made you know, because God doesn't
put things into us for nothing. You know, for no reason.
You don't have the voice that you have for no reason.
You don't have the grit and the courageousness and the
adventurous spirit that you have for nothing. It's there for
a reason, and you've chosen to take that and to
(19:03):
bring it out of you into the world. So it's
almost like you've unfolded, you know, you've had a journey
of unfolding, which I think is such a beautiful thing.
What is your If you could say something, I don't
know how old you are, and I won't ask, but
at that stage of your life of being a teacher
(19:24):
and stepping into the entertainment world, if there was any
advice that you could go back to give yourself, what
would it be.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
I don't know that I would do anything differently, I
think because you don't know how you're wired, so The
best thing I can do now is take advantage of
the fact that God has given me long life. And
so people that are coming along now, I can say,
if you can't try to be a good example wherever
you are. You don't have to be older. You might
(19:57):
be younger. You might be you might find out that,
for instance, you you're smarter than a lot of people,
or you might find out, well, I'm not as smart
as some other people, or I'm different in this way,
and maybe maybe you surroundings don't support that. I would
just encourage you. I'll put a voice out here that
(20:18):
you can hear from now on that says, well, I'm
good enough. I'll be the best person I can be
because I'll influence somebody in that way, and you influence
each each other. Everybody does. Maybe we don't know that.
So now that I'm mature and I'm still here, I
have an opportunity to tell you that's going to happen
to you, and it is happening to you. You don't
(20:38):
have to go through it blindly. So you can try,
at whatever ability that you have to be the best
kind of person that you can be. You can be friendly,
you can you can be commutative. You can be encouraging
to one another. You can accept criticism. Kids, especially by
pre preteens, they're brutal with each other.
Speaker 2 (21:01):
They are I can.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Tell them, you know, your hormones will calm down in
the second. I don't know what to tell y'all. You know,
at this point, everybody you know gives you the privilege
of asking your advice. But I think sometimes you need
to look at certain areas of life too and say,
you know, I'm not sure I have the wisdom that
they need at their stage in life. But if you're
(21:26):
looking at me, I'm trying to set a good example
for you. I'm trying to be a loving person. I'm
trying to be a person who expresses their opinion. I
don't have to agree with you or where I'm getting adamant, right,
I don't know, but I'm not angry. I'm just energetic. Yeah,
(21:46):
because you've got to have differences of opinion. You've got
to because first of all, I know that there's so
much wrong going on in the world, and you can't
just be stylin about it. You can't raise the war
to a higher level. You're trying to bring peace. That's
your goal, that's everybody's goal is to bring peace. But
that don't mean you shut up and sit down.
Speaker 2 (22:05):
It means to choose how you're going to contribute, because
I think that's what happens so often is people just
I'm going to throw my voice out there. But to
be conscious of whether you're and it's a crossroad moment, right,
are you going to sell peace or are you going
to stir the pod? And you have to decide which
of those two things you're going to do, and sometimes
you have to stir the pot. But just be conscious
(22:28):
of what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (22:30):
I'm glad you said it that way too, because they
may not feel or know that they're at a cross
age cross rooms, but we're telling you, whether you know
it or not.
Speaker 2 (22:36):
Yeah, make this.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Conscious effort in your own mind. Always try to choose peaceful,
loving way about whatever wherever you find. Make it a habit.
Start to think that way.
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Right, to actually think. I think you were talking before
about not being the smartest person in the room, but
I think and I think that it's important to learn
how to be smart about you. You can be smart
about yourself, like you can't control all the people around you.
And we encounter other people, and that's just part of
the journey of the human experience. But what we can
(23:09):
do is learn how to be smart about ourselves and
learn how to tune into the person that we are,
so that where like you just said, making a conscious
decision about how we're going to show up in these
different situations because we don't have the roadmap always. We
can have an idea of what we'd like to do
(23:31):
or where we'd like to be, but the real journey
is in those moments from one step, one decision, to
the next decision and to the next decision. And then
I think for me at least, what's been important is
to understand what my through line is, you know. And
for me and my through line has been courage for sure,
(23:51):
and love, you know, and love and wanting to sow
love and then all the other stuff kind of come.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
Yeah, and if you do the opposite, that all follows too. Yeah,
you don't want that.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
It gives me the opportunity to test it out, but
to make sure that my commitment is really my commitment.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
I love the way you put it, Yes, so tell me.
Speaker 2 (24:16):
So. You received this lifetime achievement of word from President
Biden how did that feel.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
It made me feel as though, gee, my life was
not just getting older, it's apparently accumulating certain aspects of
my life and habits that people see that kind of
add up to you're a good citizen. If the President
says so, I know that's true. I feel like, excuse
noble to look at this and remember, yeah, I was
(24:47):
very happy. I don't I don't like to use the
word of pride because I feel like, especially in our industry,
because we're artists, we have to pay so much attention
to ourselves. We can get lost in the selfishness of it.
And then when somebody, someone you know, with the statue
of the President of the United States and all of
that support him gives you a Lifetime Achievement award, you
(25:12):
can just kind of look at that and just basket
and I do good good. But I will remind myself
not to get lost in that. Because life is still
here and you still have some achievements. You don't know
what challenges are going to come along that could tear
you away from your goals or your commitments. And it's
getting more difficult in society. It is so and you
(25:37):
can't you know, you don't achieve these things or anything
by staying in your own little wall OF's just mental whatever.
So you could open yourself back up. Now go to
some people or allow them to come to you, or
maybe some new people trying to get into the industry.
You're trying to take care of your job and they
try to see, can you get me a job? Be
(25:58):
open to that, and look at what their dreams are.
They don't have it all together yet, so they're not
going to be all fine and fancy and whatever. Put whatever,
use your accolades are aside for just one moment and
look at somebody from what you hope is their level
of respect and their point of view and so. And
that's going to be challenging because you're not there anymore,
(26:22):
and unless you consciously bring yourself back there. And it's
not bringing yourself down, it's learning to refresh your sense
of respect for humanity. That's important. And I think that's
a lot of times why people in the industry, even
if they haven't achieved a lot of success. I don't know,
(26:42):
we get these these arrogant, prideful attitudes. It's easy for
us in the profession that we're in because we have
to spend so much time nurturing and training ourselves. You
spend a lot of time thinking about yourself, and when
you're doing that, you're not thinking about other people. And
then when you get it all done, well, I'm ready
to go on the stage and put my best foot
(27:03):
my mama, yeah help me.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
So it's a great, great, great, great honor. But it's
also a reminder to me, Okay, you love that, put
your decide now and let's see not only what's next
for you, but what what is somebody out there that
needs your assistance again that you can get involved with.
What are you going to be to be a good volunteer,
good citizen now?
Speaker 2 (27:30):
But it is an achievement, and that's okay, Absolutely, it's okay.
You know, it's okay to feel into something that you've accomplished,
you know, because you worked so hard for it for
so long that you know the ability to actually have
a moment to get celebrated for the work that you've done.
You know, we don't we're not all in a position
(27:51):
to get a lifetime Achievement award by the President of
the United States.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
But it ain't something everybody get every day.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, yeah, But if you don't have that, I do
think it's important to stop. And I'm really talking to
myself here. You know, I'm a person where I just
keep it going and it's like, Okay, next, I've done this. Great.
You know. I have all this energy and all of
these desires for things that I want to accomplish, and
(28:18):
sometimes I really have to remind myself to stop and
just like give myself a moment. And it doesn't mean
to sit in it and you know, and be overly
egotistical about it at all, because it's just not my nature.
But it is important, I think to acknowledge yourself from
time to time.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
And also acknowledge the people that are giving you this
on because if you ignore yourself, you kind of show
them away to you don't want to do.
Speaker 2 (28:45):
That, That's right, that's right. What has been your through line? Like,
what has been the thing that has kept Melbourne Moore
(29:11):
grounded and centered and able to move forward through the
things that you've gone through in your life?
Speaker 1 (29:19):
Well, I'm wanningga in Christian and I'm still Catholic, and
Catholic group of people, it's not a denomination. It's the
first group of people that Jesus himself began. My point being,
all the physical representations of Christianity are still there for
(29:42):
you to go and study. And they tell you, we
have a calendar really of everything that's supposed to be
thought about on each particular day, like Sunday's the day
he rows up. So we study the glorious mysteries. Monday
we studied the joyful mysteries. We remember when we say
the rosaries about how Mary was approached by uh, the
(30:06):
angel Gabriel. In other words, our days are really ordered
by the by the Lord, and and so uh, now
it's become I'm going to feel in a way that
I'm almost like retired because that's my first job. And
so he tells me what I'm going to do every
every day first and get it to all of that.
(30:28):
Then it's okay, okay, well what about my little ministry?
What about my singing here? Because it's now in second
place and he's in first place. Literally, So one of
the particular maybe very strong examples I can give you
a now being grounded, we're in what I would call
(30:48):
the fourth day of Pentecost. That's uh, and that's literally
on the calendar. So there's no way I would remember
think about that I'd be going on because we took
so long, first of all, getting ready for for resurrection
for him. After we celebrated Eastern We celebrated literally the
forty days that he was with us after he rose
(31:09):
up in the dead, so that we could experience and
try to find out what is it really like to
be with somebody who rolls himself up from the den.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
And I just.
Speaker 1 (31:18):
About it. So I feel as though we're more than
grounded because this is a reality for us. And you
asked me the question, so I have the privilege of
speaking about it, But otherwise I wouldn't because my calling
is not to be a preacher or not to be
a religious leader. So I have to do it in
(31:38):
my life so that God gives me the reward of
developing my talent allowing you to have great, great, great
success that when he gets out there, hopefully people say, well,
how can she do that? And at her agent, you're
going to have to know it and had to be God.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Yeah, So that's how I stay grounded.
Speaker 2 (31:58):
Do you have a favorite script?
Speaker 1 (32:00):
True? No, because I look at what he's saying each
each day. Right now, I'm trying to stay focused on
that it's still Pentecots. So I look at the scriptures
that remind me of of what happened to his disciples
after he send it, because he sent this power down
and what I see happening into my life, and I
(32:23):
follow those scriptures daily. Uh is My finances are increasing.
I have a I think I have three new records
out two of the two of them are on my
daughter's recording label. One is from my album that's three
or almost three years old now, but we're still releasing
singles from it. The album is called Imagine, and the
(32:46):
latest single is called take a Picture Down. And there's
a new new well I saw them being featured. I
don't think it's being released as a single called Free,
which is inspirational song that's on that side of the music.
But I have a new song that's going to be
a new something like Dance bangor call No Filter.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
You played it on your on your I G I
heard it.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
It's getting to be a huge, huge, huge.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
It's wonderful. It is wonderful natural. Why isn't it natural?
What's unnatural about it?
Speaker 1 (33:21):
Well? I don't want to mention any names. When you
look at any other people in my age category, or
they're not going to have a brand new hit dance
single now. They don't know what to listen for a
lot of them don't really have their voices anymore. I
can't carry it. It doesn't so much matter what you
(33:42):
look like. But if you can look like you're supposed
to and everything you have, the more complete the success
of it.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
Yeah, it's a great song. I'm telling your voice it's
Melbourne Moore's voice doing the thing. And uh yeah, I
heard it on your I went to your instaut page.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
But also the team, the team of people that put
it together. It takes it's a whole new way of
doing things now. So if you if you're not led
by God, you're just not going to be in the
right place to have it happen for you.
Speaker 2 (34:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Yeah, And I'm still freaking speaking a little bit prematurely
in the sense because you asked me the question and
I have the privilege of talking about it. Yeah, it's
just out, so we'll see if I'm right, like in
two or three months. It's a great song, and to
see what it does to my life and my career,
but what it does to the whole industry in the world,
(34:38):
because I think it's going to be it's going to
be huge. I think it is.
Speaker 2 (34:41):
We need great music, We need great music, we need fun.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
God wants us to have great music.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
That's right, that's right, but.
Speaker 1 (34:49):
For his purposes, you know. And part of it is
to show well, it's never too late for you if
you follow my rules. And not to say that other
artists and other categories are doing other great, great things.
But this is a little bit kind of unusual to
have a fresh dance set at this stage. Yeah, it's
a little bit unusual.
Speaker 2 (35:10):
Is there a song that you've recorded that still gives
you chills?
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Give me chills?
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Like, was there a song that you recorded where you
were just like, oh, okay, yeah I was.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
I was tickled because you said give me chills. Mar
Veloys don't give me chills no more.
Speaker 2 (35:28):
But well back then whenever, like, over the course of
this amazing career that you have, is there a song
that you that that you recorded where you felt excited
like really like wow, this is this is it?
Speaker 1 (35:42):
There is one song and it's called Leono Muh was
written by Ben McCoy for Miss Ruth Franklin and I
heard her sing it first, and because I might be
older than she is on that she's passed away, and
she came into the industry very very early before I did,
so I heard her sing it first, and I've developed
(36:03):
it into it helped me develop my singing style. But
the song has such charisma that no matter where I
sing it or who I sing it to, it moves
them so unbelievably, And if they've heard of a zillion
times or if they've never heard it before, they'd be
act the same way. So I'm always in awe at
(36:26):
just well the song period. I don't know why it
does that, but it does. I'm enamored by it. I'm
glad that it was a song where I first did
some of these long high notes and stuff, so I
was really developing my style. So I can see you
on record now. Before that song, I didn't do that.
I didn't do it that way. It hadn't presented itself yet.
(36:48):
So that song is like really kind of amazing to
me as an ability for me to look back at
myself and see what I was and see what I
am now. And I'm still singing the song to see
and to compare. I think it's just a whole amazing
set of things that I'm able to observe in that
one song. It doesn't give me chills anymore though.
Speaker 2 (37:07):
But at the time, at the time, well.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
At the time, I was really amazed. And I think
once again because in some cases it was the first
time that I was able to hit those notes. They
weren't there before.
Speaker 2 (37:20):
It's like you learned yourself, you learned another part of
yourself in that song. Is there an artist that you
wish that you could have shared the stage with?
Speaker 1 (37:31):
M That's a good question.
Speaker 2 (37:32):
And it doesn't matter where the artist like, it doesn't matter.
It could be a more recent artist, or it could be,
you know, an older artist.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Yes, you know what, I never thought about that like that.
But you know who I would have liked to have
done a duet with is roverta Flack. She has such
an amenable oh wow, and maybe one of the songs
that she's written, Yeah, she was such such a complete
yeah musician, and she did a lot of things with
(38:04):
other artists. Maybe maybe, you know, back in the day,
it might have been nice to have had that experience.
Speaker 2 (38:12):
Wow, that would be beautiful, you know. And I just
thought about randomly. I thought about when Natalie Cole recorded
that album with her dad, with Natkin Call after he
had passed and she recorded that album of duets with him,
(38:34):
and that was so beautiful And I don't just a
random thought that just well.
Speaker 1 (38:37):
No, I can I can see why it would come
to you.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
Yeah, yeah, what not.
Speaker 1 (38:43):
Was and meant? And to have her come and have
her own way of expressing that the next generation to
see it together is just it's it's a kind of
a holy moment.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
It was like, I'm I'm remembering it. I have the
CD somewhere and I'm remembering that album and how I
felt and imagining how she must have felt, may have felt,
you know, having that beautiful privilege to be able to
record something with her dad.
Speaker 1 (39:17):
That's what I think, you say, But that's what I think.
Huh Yeah, I mean why it would come to you
as a kind of like iconic example of what it
might be too. Two great artists singing, yeah.
Speaker 2 (39:32):
Period, and to have the ability to create that, you know,
with technology.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Even if the one had passed away.
Speaker 2 (39:39):
I would also love to hear you sing with Ella Fitzgerald. No,
I think that would be such a beautiful thing. Well
to give you chills, Yeah, that would give you, That
would give me chills.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
You know what I do a tribute to her? Did
you ever hear her do Aramel special? No ghost but didn't?
Did it but didn't? Did it but did but didn't?
Did it but didn't?
Speaker 3 (40:08):
If I did that with her as a duet, just scatting, Wow,
just scatting, that would be amazing. Yeah, then you could
like put the melbow more flair on it and kind of.
Speaker 2 (40:19):
Like make it into a dance. Would We would love that.
We would love that.
Speaker 1 (40:24):
Never have thought of that.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
We would love that.
Speaker 1 (40:28):
That would be incredible.
Speaker 2 (40:29):
Oh man, okay, all right.
Speaker 1 (40:32):
That's that's hilarious. Mm mm hmmmm. You're doing to do
it with miss.
Speaker 2 (40:38):
Ellen, right and scatting though.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
No one would They would be surprised at that.
Speaker 2 (40:46):
Yeah, but that we need to be surprised. We want
to be surprised. We need and want to be surprised.
We need some new energy. We need to understand that
passion and creative d is not about any particular point
that you're at in your life. It's about what's in
your heart and it's about your ability to tap into
(41:09):
your creativity and express it. That is, That is what
it is. And I think there's so many I don't
know the music industry that I haven't been in that
industry very much at all, actually, but I would imagine
that having some new ideas and new creative thoughts and
you know, bringing those to the forefront. That has nothing
(41:30):
to do with age, nothing but.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
Your mind is so creative. Wow, I would never think
of anything like that.
Speaker 2 (41:38):
Well, hopefully, hopefully.
Speaker 1 (41:40):
I mean, I'm sure I'm creative, but not like that.
You have your gifts from the Lord of how how
how it's creative.
Speaker 2 (41:48):
I have a gift of putting things together. I have
a gift of looking seeing patterns and things and then
putting them, putting two things together, that is, That is
part of the gift that God has given me that
I enjoy very much. It's a little, you know, unique,
but I do enjoy it. So what does freedom mean
(42:09):
to you today?
Speaker 1 (42:11):
Freedom immediately because I see what's going. It would mean peace, clarity,
mean for everybody, you know, not just for me. Yeah,
a little coming down of all the chaos. It seems
to be.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
Consciously created, intentionally and consciously created for sure. As we
come short on time here, how can we support you?
You have done and I know there's so much more
for you so much more to come. What I take
(42:53):
out of this conversation that we're having is I feel
so honored to be able to sit with your incredible spirit,
you know, and I could see the love and the
creativity and the generosity, and that you are a woman
of faith and also a woman who has walked through
(43:15):
her own challenges and you appear to be a person
who stands in them. You know, you stand up. You
know you're living life standing up, and you have the
courage to get out there and just do a thing,
(43:36):
and not everyone does that, and it's such a model
for people, and it's such a model for younger women,
women of all ages actually, who find it very easy
to talk themselves out of doing just what you have
done and are doing with your life, you know, to
(43:56):
just talk themselves out of it, like I can't do that,
I'm too old, or I can't do that because I'm
a teacher. Why would I go off and do this thing?
And it seems like you have lived a life of
standing up and showing up for yourself and for God's
calling on your life. And I want to just thank
you for that. Like that is we need more of that,
(44:19):
We need as much of that as we can possibly get,
so thank you for that. Thank you. Yeah, how can
we support you?
Speaker 1 (44:27):
Well, just let everybody know about my new single no
Filter and take a picture down.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
Support your music, We support Melville Moore's music. Yes, yeah,
thank you. Yeah, this has been amazing. Thank you so much.
I appreciate, I appreciate this morning. This feels good. I
was a little feeling all hectic this morning. And yeah,
and I and this has been an amazing conversation and
(44:57):
such a great such a start to my day. Thank you,
thank you, thank you.
Speaker 1 (45:03):
Well, I'll hope you know that I've enjoyed this too,
and I hope you'll invite me back.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
I will invite you back.
Speaker 1 (45:07):
As chit chats.
Speaker 2 (45:10):
It's so funny. That has been my word lately, melboy,
I've been saying chitty chat for like four days all week.
I'm like, I'm just having a little chitty chat and this,
you know, yeah, very very this has been a great
chit chat, a really wonderful chit chat. Thank you, thank you,
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