Sacramento Bee - May 2004
Whether singing for faith or a bit of fame, she has stars in her
eyes
-One day last month Charlene Moore
stood in a long, shuffling audition line in Berkeley. She was
competing for a coveted spot in "Showtime at the Apollo on Tour," a
production that travels the country looking for shining stars to be
showcased at the famous Apollo Theater in New York City's Harlem.
This is the original version of
"American Idol." Only better. And a shade more storied.
The Apollo Theater, which started its
talent searches back in the 1930s, makes "American Idol" look like a
taffy-pull of vying preschool prodigies. The Apollo's celebrated
amateur nights have featured such musical legends as Ella
Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Stevie Wonder.
Charlene Moore is not in that
stratosphere. But she has a formidable presence, a powerful
contralto that has borne testament to her burning faith. So, when it
came time for her to perform, Moore took a deep breath, and lit a
candle to her smoky rendition of "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here," an
R&B hit by Deborah Cox.
The song was just getting warm. Then
Vanessa Brown, producer of the Apollo tour, abruptly interrupted
Moore to inquire, "Do you go to Yvette Flunder's church? You sound
just like her. You have the church in your voice." Pause. Silence.
"OK, you can go."
Moore was mystified, then
disappointed. "I thought I messed up," she says of her sudden
dismissal. "So, I went back, changed my clothes and left."
Later, Moore was surprised to
discover she was selected as one of 15 finalists. That bill will
perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 8, at UC Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall.
The winner will receive $1,000 and a trip back to appear at the
Apollo Theater. Miss Marianna, a Sacramento rapper, also made the
cut.
Now, one recent evening, Charlene
Moore is sitting inside her south Florin home. Moore is 53 years
old. She's a big woman. She exudes warmth, charisma, an
incontestable faith, a bottomless soul. She has an expressive face,
a low, raspy voice, and long, curved fingernails that slice the air
like cutlery. She's draped in a floral shift.
Moore works in San Francisco. Every
morning, she rises early to board a 5:30 a.m. shuttle van. She works
a clerical job for UCSF Medical Center. Three years ago, priced out
of the Bay Area, she purchased this modest, three-bedroom home for
$132,500. And fixed it up.
"I wanted a home," cries Moore. "Now
I have a back yard. I never had a back yard before! I don't know
what to do with it. And roses! This is all news to me."
Moore grew up in San Francisco's
Western Addition. She graduated from Polytechnic High. Her father,
the Rev. Charlie Moore, pastored at Calvary Hill Baptist Church; her
mother, Darlene Moore, worked as a domestic and sang in the choir.
Moore, too, has played piano and sung gospel music all her life.
For much of her career, she worked
for her childhood pal, Martha Wash, who started a campy, near-cult
group called Two Tons O' Fun, later recast as Weather Girls. Moore
was musical director and sang backups.
Tired of the road, she returned to
San Francisco in 1993. She recorded a gospel CD called "As You Are,
I Must Be." Today, she makes weekly appearances at City of Refuge, a
shelter in San Francisco's Tenderloin, which is pastored by Yvette
Flunder, a woman renowned for both her charity and her vocal
virtuosity.
Flunder and Moore form an indomitable
duet. "I talk to the people," says Moore of her musical ministry. "I
tell them they are loved by God. They need somewhere to come where
they feel loved and wanted." Of her chances next Saturday?
Well, say a prayer.
"Yes, I still have stars in my eyes,"
she admits, still tempted by celebrity's allure. "But if I don't
win, I'll dry my eyes. I'll be back at work Monday, and singing
Wednesday nights in the Tenderloin." |