This Is It ... Marvelous & Getting Better!

Melba Moore, a Tony Award winning, 3x Grammy nominee, has starred in the Broadway musicals “Hair”, “Purlie!”, “Timbuktu!” and “Les Miserables.” Her countless hits include “You Stepped Into My Life,” “Read My Lips,” “Fallin’” and “This Is It.” She’s been a global success for over fifty years and now has a new book, which shares her strategies for longevity.

Co-authored by Kevin E. Taylor, This Is It ... Marvelous & Getting Better takes the reader on the highs and lows of Melba’s career. The entertainment veteran shares how she had to pivot time and again, especially in an industry that didn’t always know what to do with the massive voice within her petite being.

From Harlem to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in the book, Melba moves from winning the esteemed Tony Award for “Purlie!” to continually transition to discover what’s next in her career. In the roller coaster ride in life, she’s done it all and never backed down from a challenge.

I sat down with Melba and we discussed everything from her new book, how she sees herself as a performer, on through to reminiscing about some of her singles and, oh yeah, even her thoughts on penguins!

Being that your new autobiography is entitled This Is It ... Marvelous & Getting Better, how much of your illustrious, and decades long career has actually been included on these pages? - “I tried to narrow it down so, I covered quite a lot but there’s quite a lot left.”

And with that in mind, were there memories that, in reflection and preparation for this book, you still decided were not for public consumption? - “Absolutely. There are some private moments that I did not want to share. But there are also things that were not private that affect other people’s lives. You don’t want them to be drawn in in a negative way.”

Indeed, what were some of the biggest obstacles along the way to bringing this book to fruition and how did you overcome them? - “I didn’t really have any obstacles as far as writing the book. It was my daughter’s idea for me to author a new book. She went to our publicist Angelo Ellerbee and he brought in Kevin Taylor to help write the book. The only issue might have been finding the time to do it because I was so busy.”

As for the book itself, I understand that it is one culled from over 50 years of having been a global success, whilst also sharing strategies for longevity, so can you please give us one small tidbit of just that; a strategy for longevity to share with our readers - “For longevity, first of all you have to stay healthy. You can’t sit around. It’s important to exercise and do it strategically. I do Pilates. I dance as well as do a lot of exercise and physical movement.”

Indeed, a lot of words and terms will be used to describe your book, but how would you yourself sum up what people can expect to feel reading it? - “It’s inspiring, it’s real, it’s joyful. Because I am a public person it can be surprising to see how things happen as opposed to how people think they happened or the news said it had occurred.”

As for the book cover, it is a most gloriously beautiful photo of a most gloriously beautiful woman, but was it always your first choice or were there others you were considering? And why did you choose this specific one? - “It was my first choice. We had a beautiful photoshoot for it. I thought the picture was bright and you can see the whole person. I’ve taken a lot of pictures for some really great photographers and that was one of the easy things to do.”

And with that regard, was This Is It ... Marvelous & Getting Better always going to be the books name or was there another that nearly won the race come the time to take your hands off the project? - “My publicist Angelo Ellerbee and co-writer Kevin Taylor actually came up with the title. I’ve been so busy they stepped in many ways to make sure we got this done.”

Being that we’re not called Exclusive Magazine for nothing, what would you say is something about your life, about you, that you don’t usually get to talk about and would like to pay mention to here today? - “My spirituality. Because when I’m on stage I’m there to sing. When I’m in a movie I’m there to act. When I’m on television I’m there to do a project. God is first in my life. I know you hear a lot of people say that but that’s the first thing in my life. The Lord and my family.”

I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you a few music/show questions, and so with that in mind, and knowing you cut your very first track “Magic Touch” back in 1967 (although it didn’t get released until 1986), reflecting back to that exact studio moment, can you recall everything about it, how you felt and how excited you must have been? - “I don’t remember much about that recording experience. The only thing I can tell you is that during that time I was trying to break into the music industry. But so much has happened since then I really don’t remember much about recording that song. I do know that “Magic Touch” was released, thanks in part to reissue labels in Europe, who had access to the tape vaults of many record labels.”

You won a Tony Award just three years later for Best Performance as Lutiebelle in “Purlie,” so from the very off your career path shows one determined young lady ready to tackle any project given to her. But was the way you yourself also saw how things were going for you back then? - “Of course looking back now, I realize how tenacious I was. Back then, all I knew was that I wanted to sing, so I guess I was just willing to try. I don’t think it was anything that I saw but I guess I was just willing to keep trying.”

And then in 1976 came the Disco blockbuster “This Is It” which quickly went on to become a worldwide discotheque smash hit! What do you remember about that phase of your life and the media spotlight that was brightly being shone on you? - “I was newly married to my then-husband, who became my manager. He had been a musician himself but was a nightclub owner in New York City. He loved the music industry and formed Hush Productions. Then, he went out and got the top writers and producers, one of which was none other than the late Van McCoy, who after several years in the industry he finally had a number one hit, “The Hustle”. Van wrote “This is It” for me so that it suit my style and I fit in the Disco craze that was happening then. Should also note that Van wrote “Lean On Me” (not related to Bill Withers’ classic song), which I also recorded as well.”

You’ve done a lot more since then, of course, accomplished a lot and within a vast spectrum of different ventures, but looking back now which one stands out to you as being something you were so grateful to have been a part of? - “The most outstanding thing to me in my career has to be the Tony Award because I was not an accomplished actor. At the time, I did not have a long career in theater. My Broadway stage debut was in the now-legendary musical “Hair.” It was quite revolutionary for its time. I ended up playing the female lead when I replaced Diane Keaton, who left Hair to focus on movies.”

“Those were some really monumental things that happened to me. But I knew nothing about auditioning. As a matter of fact, it was another cast member in “Hair” that encouraged me to go out and start auditioning for things. When I told her I didn’t know how to audition, she told me don’t worry about getting the part.”

“Just start putting yourself out there. From there, I actually got the part in “Purlie” and ended up earning the Tony Award. Then came a successful recording and TV career. My entire life changed from being pretty much anonymous and catapulted me right into the entertainment industry. So it was a very important time and that is the most outstanding thing that’s happened to me.”

Finally, and yes, we ask everyone we interview this very same question (as we are putting together a kid’s book). We here at Exclusive Magazine love Penguins and so we were wondering if you had any love for them and/or had a story of one (soft toy, zoo, chocolate bar, relative, etc.) that you could share with us? - “I love penguins. I love all animals. I don’t have a specific story but I have fond memories of taking my daughter to the zoo in Central Park when she was a kid. We also used to frequent Florida and Disney World a lot. I remember how much she loved the parrots because of their beautiful colors.”

Interviewed by: Russell A. Trunk

Melba Moore - “Magic Touch” (Alt. Vocal) (1966)

Melba Moore - “This Is It” (1976)

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