Gary Moore
A fiery guitarist whose soulful blues phrasing and searing tone left a deep mark on rock music, from Thin Lizzy to a celebrated solo career.
1952–2011 (age 59)·Northern Irish musician·Birthday: April 4·Baby Boomers
Biography
Belfast-born Gary Moore picked up the guitar young, showing a preternatural talent that saw him join the Irish band Skid Row as a teenager. His reputation for blistering technique and deep feeling quickly spread, leading to a pivotal, if brief, stint with Phil Lynott's Thin Lizzy. While his time in the band was intermittent, his contributions, like the solo on 'Still in Love with You,' are etched in rock history. Moore's career was one of restless exploration, veering from the hard rock of his early solo work to the jazz fusion of his band Colosseum II. His true renaissance came in the 1990s when he fully embraced the blues, releasing 'Still Got the Blues,' an album that reintroduced him to a massive global audience. His playing on that record and its successors was a masterclass in emotional expression, his Fender Stratocaster weeping and wailing with a vibrato that felt directly wired to his heart. Moore's sudden death in 2011 silenced one of the most distinctive and passionate voices the guitar has ever known.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Gary was born in 1952, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Gary Was Born
The biggest hits of 1952
#1 Movie
The Greatest Show on Earth
Best Picture
The Greatest Show on Earth
#1 TV Show
I Love Lucy
Gary's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1952Born
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1957Started school
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1965Became a teenager
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Could drive
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1970Could vote
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1973Turned 21
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1982Turned 30
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1992Turned 40
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
2002Turned 50
Euro currency enters circulation
Gas: $1.36/galHome: $137,800Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"How You Remind Me" — NickelbackBest Picture: Chicago
2011Died at 59
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
Key Achievements
- Released the multi-platinum album 'Still Got the Blues' in 1990, revitalizing blues rock for a new generation.
- His guitar solo on Thin Lizzy's 'Parisienne Walkways' is consistently ranked among the greatest of all time.
- Recorded the anti-violence protest song 'Out in the Fields,' a number 5 UK hit with Phil Lynott.
- Won a Grammy in 2011 for his performance on the track 'Let's Get It Up' from the tribute album 'The Songs of ZZ Hill.'
Did You Know?
He was left-handed but learned to play guitar right-handed.
Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac was a major early influence, and Moore later owned Green's famous 1959 Les Paul guitar.
His song 'The Loner' was used as the theme music for the UK TV show 'The Tube.'
He turned down an invitation to join the band Journey in the early 1980s.
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