Johnny Moore (musician)

Johnny Moore (14 December 1934 – 30 December 1998) was an American rhythm and blues singer with The Drifters.

Moore began as lead of the Cleveland based group, The Hornets, before being discovered by The Drifters. He joined the group as lead vocalist, in New York in 1955, at age 21. He was drafted and forced to leave the group; upon returning, he recorded as a soloist under the name "Johnny Darrow". He rejoined the Drifters, now comprised of four new members, and became the lead singer in 1964 when current lead Rudy Lewis was found dead. The group was due to record "Under the Boardwalk", and Moore took over the lead vocals. Subsequently, he became permanent lead.

Moore had a string of hits with the group in the sixties, most notably "Saturday Night At The Movies", "Up on the Roof", "Come On Over To My Place", "At The Club" and "Up In The Streets Of Harlem". He remained with the group when it moved to the United Kingdom in the 1970s, and remains the group's longest serving member- he was in the group until his death in 1998. Moore is also the Father of several children including Dawn Raynor of the UK and D'Tonya Dean of North-Carolina.

Moore was given a posthumous Pioneer Award in 1999 by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.