Photo by Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images |
reach the national limelight . For a short time , Moore also managed Presley .
The key to Moore ’ s propulsive , percussive , yet melodic sound was his picking technique . He combined the use of a flatpick with his fingers to produce the rolling rhythm figures and slicing single-note juxtapositions on classic early Presley recordings like “ Mystery Train ” and “ Good Rockin ’ Tonight .” These instant radio smashes spread throughout the South , in particular , like magpies in flight , influencing a host of guitarists just a few years younger than Moore . Billy Lee Riley , Charlie Feathers , Sleepy LaBeef , and Eddie Cochran adopted and adapted Moore ’ s style and the wave they created became known as rockabilly .
Of course , Moore wasn ’ t the style ’ s only pillar . A handful of other Memphis musicians were forging their own guitarbased fusion of country , jazz , and blues , the most notable being Carl Perkins and the Johnny Burnette Trio . But it was the sound of Moore ’ s fat-bodied Gibson guitars — early on , an ES-295 — that first boomed out of radios across the U . S ., soaked in the slapback echo Phillips
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put on his studio tracks . To duplicate the sound live , Moore , again following Atkins ’ lead , used a Ray Butts EchoSonic amp , which had a built-in tape unit . This was a stunning sonic evolution in live electric guitar , which also contributed to Moore ’ s cachet among pickers .
Eventually , Gibson issued a Scotty Moore signature ES-295 , but when Moore cut “ Baby , Let ’ s Play House ,” “ Good Rockin ’ Tonight ,” “ Heartbreak Hotel ,” and a slew of other hits that helped define rock ’ n ’ roll in 1954 and ’ 55 , he was using a 1952 model he ’ d gotten in trade for a ’ 52 Telecaster at the Houck Piano Company in Memphis . In July 1955 , he traded that iconic golden-hued axe for a ’ 54 Gibson L-5 at the same instrument dealership . From 1957 to 2004 , he owned a series of Gibson Super 400s , including the 1963 model that Elvis Presley played on Elvis , his famed 1968 TV “ comeback special .”
Moore also played Gibson Chet Atkins models , a 1938 Epiphone Spartan , Fender Esquires , an ES-335 reissue , and more L-5s . He received his first Atkins signature model — a prototype made by Gibson master builder Jim
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Hutchins — from its namesake . After he nearly lost the guitar in an airline snafu , Moore asked Hutchins to build him another , and that became his main stage guitar from 2002 to 2007 .
While still with Presley , Moore cut sides with Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun , but he lost his famous gig in 1964 . Sam Phillips fired Moore after he moved to Nashville and released his debut solo album , The Guitar That Changed the World , on competing label Epic Records . Moore and Presley reunited as part of the ’ 68 TV special , and afterwards Moore toured under his own name and played on many recordings by other artists . These include albums by blueswoman Tracy Nelson , ’ 70s pop hit-maker Billy Swan , blue-eyed soul man Charlie Rich , country legend Ernest Tubb , and , in the ’ 90s and 2000s , blues guitarslinger Joe Louis Walker , Stray Cats ’ Lee Rocker , and Ron Wood . Over the decades Moore expanded into engineering and production . He reunited with his Presley bandmate , drummer D . J . Fontana , in 1997 to record All the King ’ s Men , an album that featured guest appearances by Jeff Beck , Joe Ely , the Mavericks , Steve Earle , and Presley ’ s favorite studio back-up singers , the Jordanaires . In 2000 , Moore was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the sideman category for his tenure as a Blue Moon Boy with Presley . Three years later he released his final recordings , a two-CD set called The Mighty Handful , which coincided with his last public performances . He would never play publicly again , due to worsening struggles with arthritis .
Since then , Moore lived quietly in a wooded section of Nashville with his longtime partner , Gail Pollock , who died in November 2015 . Among other honors , he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville , and the Memphis Music Hall of Fame , where Keith Richards accepted the honor on an ailing Moore ’ s behalf last year . Moore wrote two books about his experiences with Presley , partnering with co-author James Dickerson : 1997 ’ s That ’ s Alright , Elvis : The Untold Story of Elvis ’ First Guitarist and Manager , Scotty Moore and 2013 ’ s Scotty and Elvis : Aboard the Mystery Train .
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Elvis Presley admires Moore ’ s handiwork on a Gibson L-5 �u����e� ���h staple-poled P-90s in this undated photo from their early years together . |