Lee Moore came out of the era that I call “The Golden Age of Radio.” He sang the old songs of the 20’s and 30’s, and ballads from decades before that.  Lee usually sang with just a guitar, which he picked a little between verses.  Seldom did he have a band, but on occasion, he recorded with one.  His biggest “hit” was “The Cat Came Back.”

Lee married Juanita, also a singer, and sang duets on “The Old Farm Hour” on Radio WCHS in Charleston, West Virginia.  They had one son, Roger.  Unfortunately, Lee and Juanita divorced in the early Nineties.

The Moore family moved to Wheeling, West Virginia probably in the late Forties or early Fifties, and Lee became a popular DJ on WWVA.  He was known as the “Coffee Drinkin’ Nighthawk” on his all-night show called “The Jamboree Party,” which aired Sunday through Fridays, at 2:00 am to 5:30 am.  His show consisted of “pickin’ and singin’” and playing other artists records, including mine.

Lee and Juanita also did the WWVA World’s Original Jamboree show every Saturday night.  I met the Moores when I joined the Jamboree cast in the summer of 1953, and we became good friends.

Lee made many personal appearances all over the Northeastern states, which was predominantly the territory covered by WWVA.  Lee was a very unpretentious man, and people loved him for his homespun, down-to-earth humor.

Lee Moore passed away August 17, 1997.  Probably while singing, “The Cat Came Back”!

Dusty Owens

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