Remembering Gary Moore

Gary Moore would have been 69 yesterday. His birthday being April 4th 1952. He was simply an amazing guitarist. From Skid Row to his work with Phil Lynott in and out of Thin Lizzy, to his solo work, which ranged from blues, to rock to fusion. He just had a certain tone, and his solos, a certain intensity in his playing.

He had given Phil Lynott one of his first gigs in Skid Row, before there was a Thin Lizzy. Ah, they went back and forth no doubt. I think it is safe to say, we would have had a very different Black Rose if not for Gary Moore. And I still love his slow version of Thin Lizzy’s Don’t Believe A Word.

And then around 1990 he renounced for a period his catalog of rock recordings and work. He eventually did return to those pieces and the genre, but it is interesting. During that time he focused on the blues. And it was in that period that he had the most commercial success.

I caught him at the Ritz in NYC back in August of 1987. That was a year after Phil had passed. Neil Carter formerly of UFO was supporting him on keyboards. We were there to watch him shred that guitar. Again, it was just his expressiveness – the intensity of his playing.

He was just an incredible player and is missed. RIP.