Sparkle Moore born November 6, 1936

Sparkle Moore (November 6, 1936 in Omaha, Nebraska, United States) is an American rockabilly singer who was influential as a pioneer of female rockabilly.

Sparkle Moore was born Barbara Morgan in Omaha, Nebraska. She grew up loving music and had diverse influences. She developed a particular affinity for the sound of the Hawaiian steel guitar and learned to play the instrument herself, but she also listened to country, gospel, vaudeville. She discovered rock and roll unexpectedly when she saw Bill Haley perform at a country music show in the mid 1950s. She began playing rockabilly at venues around Omaha by 1955.

Moore was discovered by a local DJ, Grahame “Crackers” Richards, who became her manager. She adopted the stage name “Sparkle Moore” because her signature stage look—a blonde pompadour—resembled the character Sparkle Plenty in the Dick Tracy comics. Her flashy jackets earned mentions in the press: teen magazine Dig declared that Moore bore “an amazing resemblance to the late James Dean…Presley’s style and Dean’s looks.” Moore recalls that she simply dressed like the male rockabilly musicians she was influenced by.

                                    

Through Richards, Moore secured an opportunity record for Cincinnati-based label Fraternity. The single the label put out for her in 1956 includes two songs she wrote: “Rock a Bop” and “Skull and Crossbones.” A second single followed the next year. Though still 19 years old she toured widely to promote the records, even opening for Gene Vincent at the peak of his fame. 

A planned appearance on radio's Grand Ol' Opry was cancelled due to a bout with laryngitis, however. She also remained active as a songwriter; by 1957, she had about forty song-writing credits to her name. The sultry yet sinister "Killer" followed in 1957, but soon after Moore learned she was pregnant and abruptly quit performing to focus on raising a family.

No subsequent recordings are known to exist, although an unreleased Fraternity ballad called "Flower of My Heart" subsequently appeared on several compilations, most notable among them 2004's Good Girls Gone Bad: Weird, Wild & Wanted, the first to assemble her complete recorded output in one disc (including a handful of alternate takes). She has kept a very low-key media profile and refused most requests for interviews since retiring from the spotlight, yet remains a strong favourite with rockabilly fans.  

In 2010, she was inducted into the Iowa Rock n Roll Hall of Fame for the inspiration she provided to rockabilly and early female rock and roll musicians. Also in 2010, she released a home-produced album called “Spark-A-Billy” that proved that the passing of 55 years hasn’t rendered her musical talents any less captivating. 

(Edited from Women In Rock Project & AllMusic)