Scotty Moore

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Lore & Background

Moore's early background was in jazz and country music. A fan of guitarist Chet Atkins, he led a group called the Starlite Wranglers before Sam Phillips at Sun Records put him together with then-teenage Elvis Presley. The trio was completed with double bass player Bill Black. On the evening of July 5, 1954, a session proved unfruitful until late in the night. As they were about to give up, Presley launched into Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right". Moore recalled, "All of a sudden, Elvis just started singing this song, jumping around and acting the fool and then Bill picked up his bass and he started acting the fool too, and I started playing with them." Phillips stuck his head out and said, "What are you doing?" They said, "We don't know." "Well, back up," he said, "try to find a place to start and do it again." Phillips quickly began taping. The trio soon recorded "Blue Moon of Kentucky" with an echo effect Phillips called "slapback". Phillips steered Moore away from Chet Atkins' style, aiming for a simple, gutsy sound. By his performance at the Louisiana Hayride in October 1954, Presley, Black and Moore were called the Blue Moon Boys. For a time, Moore served as Presley's personal manager. They were later joined by drummer D.J. Fontana.

In Their Own Story

Moore played on many of Presley's most famous recordings, including "That's All Right," "Good Rockin' Tonight," "Milkcow Blues Boogie," "Baby Let's Play House" (where Elvis introduced the vocal stutter), "Heartbreak Hotel," "Mystery Train," "Blue Suede Shoes," "Hound Dog," "Too Much," "Jailhouse Rock," and "Hard Headed Woman." He called his solo on "Hound Dog" "ancient psychedelia." During the filming of Loving You in Hollywood in early 1957, Moore and Black drove boredom away by jamming with Presley between takes but they usually saw little of him. They grew hurt and resentful at the separation. By December 1956, they were experiencing financial difficulties because there had been few performances since August. When there were performances, they received $200 a week (US$2,368 in 2025 dollars), but only $100 (US$1,184 in 2025 dollars) when they were not performing. Moore and his wife were forced to move in with her three sisters and brother-in-law. Tension hit a breaking point right after the September 1957 sessions for Presley's first Christmas album. Moore and Black had been promised an opportunity to jam with Elvis after the session, on Presley's studio time. Yet when the session was over, they were told to pack up and leave. That same evening, the duo wrote a letter of resignation. Presley hired them back on a per diem basis the week after his Tupelo engagement. Moore declared there were no hard feelings.

Reader's Guide

Moore and the Blue Moon Boys performed (and had additional small walk-on and speaking roles) with Presley in four of his movies (Loving You, Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, and G.I. Blues) filmed in 1957, 1958, and 1960. In 1958, after Presley was drafted, Moore purchased part of local Memphis record label Fernwood Records and produced a hit record, "Tragedy," for Thomas Wayne Perkins. The song also featured Moore doubling on guitar, with Black playing bass. Moore also released an instrumental, "Have Guitar Will Travel", as a solo single on Fernwood, featuring Black on bass and Joe Lee on saxophone. Moore later sold his portion of Fernwood by summer 1960. In 1960, Moore resumed working with Presley in the studio and became the "production manager at Sam Phillips Recording Service, which involved supervising all aspects of studio operation." Moore played on such Presley songs as "Fame and Fortune," "Such a Night," "Frankfort Special," "Surrender," "I Feel So Bad," "Rock-A-Hula Baby", "Kiss Me Quick," "Good Luck Charm," "She's Not You", "(You're the) Devil in Disguise", and "Bossa Nova Baby." Moore remained as a guitarist for the majority of the songs recorded after Presley's work was dominated by Hollywood sessions. The Rolling Stones' guitarist Keith Richards said of Moore: "When I heard 'Heartbreak Hotel', I knew what I wanted to do in life. It was as plain as day. All I wanted to do in the world was to be able to play and sound like the way Scotty Moore did. Everyone wanted to be Elvis, I wanted to be Scotty."

Did You Know?

• Rock critic Dave Marsh credits Moore with inventing power chords, on the 1957 Elvis hit "Jailhouse Rock".
• Moore was ranked 29th in Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2011.
• Moore served in the United States Navy in China and Korea from 1948 through January 1952, even though he was underage when he enlisted.
• Moore called his guitar solo on "Hound Dog" "ancient psychedelia".
• Keith Richards said, "Everyone wanted to be Elvis, I wanted to be Scotty."