Cora Martin-Moore was an American contralto singer, pianist and choir director. Born in Chicago on Nov. 4, 1927, Martin-Moore was the oldest child of Lucius and Annie Moore. She took the surname Martin after being adopted at a young age by pioneering gospel artist, Sallie Martin.
She began singing as a child at Chicago’s Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. As a teenager, she joined her mother’s singing group, the Sallie Martin Singers, and toured with them across America. Martin-Moore was noted for her tone, breath control and restraint on a recording of “Eyes Hath Not Seen,” and also demonstrated her versatility by singing Prof. Alex Bradford‘s part on the song, “He’ll Wash You Whiter Than Snow.”
Reviewer Jude Orakwe noted, “In ‘Didn’t It Rain,’ one hears Cora sustaining notes as she weaves wordless melodic motifs while the choir supports her with hypnotic, encouraging chants.
Martin-Moore settled in Los Angeles in 1947 and became affiliated with St. Paul Baptist Church. She gained a bachelor’s degree from California State University at Dominquez Hills. She served as director of music at St. Paul, and directed the Echoes of Eden Choir and the John L. Branham Youth Choir. She also owned a recording studio and a record shop, and worked as a DJ of religious music.
Cora Martin-Moore died in Los Angeles on July 10, 2005.