Gilbert Moorer of the Esquires, Dead at 67
tr...@iwvisp.com
By AMY RABIDEAU SILVERS
asilv...@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 31, 2008
Back in 1967, Gilbert Moorer Jr. wrote a song that launched his group
from
local gigs to the national charts.
The group was The Esquires. The song was an R&B tune called "Get On
Up" that
stayed on the charts for months.
Not bad for a mostly family group that started playing 10 years
earlier
while at North Division High School.
The Esquires followed up their big hit with another one - "And Get
Away" -
that kept them on the road for months at a time. They kept playing
and
recording for years, never again making it quite so big, but getting
another
half a dozen songs on the charts.
Moorer died Thursday (August 28), three years after he was diagnosed
with
throat cancer. He was 67. Moorer was born in Birmingham, Ala., and
moved to
Milwaukee when he was about 4.
The group first performed as Betty Moorer and the Esquires. When
their
sister and lead singer struck out on her own, the group shortened its
name
to The Esquires. Gilbert Moorer became lead singer.
Contrary to one story, the name did not come from a box of shoe
polish
bottles. Another sister, now Kitty Reed Stephens, was inspired by the
name
of Esquire magazine and thought that sounded classy.
"We played the Apollo in New York, Uptown in Philly," said brother-in-
law
and singer Sammie Pace. "We opened for Neil Diamond and Glen Campbell.
We
did a lot of things in Canada and Jamaica."
And while the group recorded in Chicago, New York, Detroit and
California,
they remained Milwaukeeans. "We always were here," Pace said. "All of
our
families are here."
Moorer married the former Nancy Watts in 1960, and they became the
parents
of five sons. He rewrote a song by his wife, originally called "Stick
Shift," and it became "And Get Away."
"He was a workhorse," Pace said. "He thought music, music, music.
That's
what he was all about."
"He sounded more like Curtis Mayfield," said Moorer's son, Johnny. "He
had a
very distinctive high voice - a falsetto - and you knew who he was. He
could
sing. Oh, boy, he could sing real good."
Moorer's wife died in 1999. His brother, Perry Moorer, who played alto
sax
with the group, died in 1996.
Survivors include sons Johnny, Kirk, Gilbert III, Mark and Kelly;
sisters
Betty Jackson, Patricia Pace, Kitty Reed Stephens and Romona Moorer;
brothers Charles and Alvis; and grandchildren.
Ray Arthur
Uni
> Esquires' Gilbert Moorer, 67, dies after battle with throat cancer
> By AMY RABIDEAU SILVERS
> asilv...@journalsentinel.com
> Posted: Aug. 31, 2008
> Back in 1967, Gilbert Moorer Jr. wrote a song that launched his group
> from
> local gigs to the national charts.
>
> The group was The Esquires. The song was an R&B tune called "Get On
> Up" that
> stayed on the charts for months.
http://www.angelfire.com/empire/abpsp/images/getonup.mp3
You are welcome!!!
Uni :-)