Blues artist Arnold "Gatemouth" Moore, May 19

( AP/Rogelio Solis, file / May 19, 2004 )

Blues artist Arnold "Gatemouth" Moore, the first blues singer to sing at Carnegie Hall, died Wednesday, May 19, 2004, in Yazoo City, Miss., after a long illness. He was 90. He earned the nickname "Gatemouth" because of his loud singing and speaking voice. At 16, Moore was singing with bands in Kansas City. He was one of the few survivors of a devastating 1940 fire at the Rhythm Club in Natchez, in which over 150 died. Other members of his band were killed. In 1941 he made his first record. He also wrote songs, including Did You Ever Love A Woman?, which was recorded by B.B. King and Rufus Thomas. He turned to gospel music in 1949 and was ordained at the First Church of Deliverance in Chicago. He was the first religious disc jockey at a Memphis radio station. He recorded his last blues album in Chicago in 1977, Beale Street Ain't Beale Street No More. He and the song were featured on PBS's blues series.