Editing Scotty Moore (section)

==Style and influence==
Moore's playing on his Gibson with his unique [[finger-picking]] style using a thumbpick, as on the Sun and early RCA Victor recordings, represented a move of the [[Chet Atkins]] style into a more [[rockabilly]] mode.

Of Presley's first single "[[That's All Right]]," the critic [[Dave Marsh]] wrote that "Moore's guitar—especially the solo—toughens the song up and forces it to rock."<ref>Marsh, Dave (1989). ''The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.'' London: Penguin Books. p. 213. {{ISBN|0140121080}}</ref> Though Marsh credits Presley with introducing "the vocal stutter" on "[[Baby Let's Play House]]," Marsh states, "Other than that, it's guitarist Scotty Moore's show and he sets a few precedents of his own."<ref>Marsh (1989), p. 317.</ref> Of the other Sun recordings, Marsh cited the "urgent Scotty Moore guitar lick" as a standout element of "[[Mystery Train]],"<ref>Marsh (1989), p. 16.</ref> while "[[Good Rockin' Tonight]]" displays his "stinging guitar."<ref>Marsh (1989), p. 46.</ref> 

In Marsh's description, the teamwork of Moore and other musicians turned the 1957 single and movie title song "Jailhouse Rock" into an "enduring smash for at least three reasons: the great walking bass, Scotty Moore's invention of power chording, and D.J. Fontana's drumming, which is halfway between strip joint rhumba and the perfect New Orleans shuffle."<ref>Marsh (1989), p. 540.</ref>

On the 1961, post-Army Presley single "Little Sister," "Scotty Moore comes up with his greatest post-Sun guitar lick and not only converts a comparatively humdrum Pomus-Shuman teen love triangle number into the best of Elvis's early sixties hits but (together with D.J. Fontana's heavy-footed thunderation) gives more than a few pointers toward the metallic rock to come."<ref>Marsh (1989), p. 288.</ref> According to Presley discographer Ernst Jorgensen, however, Hank Garland was the lead guitarist on the song, while Moore played acoustic guitar.<ref>Jorgensen (1998), p. 159.</ref>

Moore is given credit as a pioneer rock 'n' roll lead guitarist, though he characteristically downplayed his own innovative role in the development of the style. "It had been there for quite a while," recalled Moore. "Carl Perkins was doing basically the same sort of thing up around Jackson and I know for a fact Jerry Lee Lewis had been playing that kind of music ever since he was ten years old."<ref>Cited in Peter Guralnick (1989), ''Lost Highway: Journeys & Arrivals of American Musicians'', p. 104.</ref> Paul Friedlander describes the defining elements of rockabilly, which he similarly characterizes as "essentially... an Elvis Presley construction:" "the raw, emotive, and slurred vocal style and emphasis on rhythmic feeling [of] the blues with the string band and strummed rhythm guitar [of] country."<ref>Friedlander, Paul (1996). ''Rock and Roll: A Social History''. Westview p. 45. {{ISBN|0813327253}}</ref> In "That's All Right," the Presley trio's first record, Moore's guitar solo, "a combination of [[Merle Travis]]–style country finger-picking, double-stop slides from acoustic boogie and blues-based bent-note, single-string work, is a microcosm of this fusion."<ref>Friedlander (1996), p. 45.</ref>

Although some lead guitarists and vocalists, such as [[Chuck Berry]] and the blues legend [[B. B. King]], had gained popularity by the 1950s, Presley rarely played his own lead while performing, instead providing rhythm guitar and leaving the lead duties to Moore. As a guitarist, Moore was a noticeable presence in Presley's performances despite his introverted demeanor. He became an inspiration to many subsequent popular guitarists, including [[George Harrison]], [[Jeff Beck]], and [[Keith Richards]] of [[the Rolling Stones]].<ref name="nytobit"/> While Moore was working on his memoir with co-author James L. Dickerson, Richards told Dickerson, "Everyone else wanted to be Elvis—I wanted to be Scotty."<ref name="dickerson2005" />{{rp|xiii}} Richards has stated many times (in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine and in his autobiography, ''Life'') that he could never figure out how to play the "stop time" break and figure that Moore played on "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" (Sun) and that he hopes it will remain a mystery.{{Citation needed|date=June 2014}}

===Equipment===
Earlier on, Scotty used a '52 [[Telecaster]], which he traded at the Houck Piano Company in Memphis for the now-iconic gold-colored [[Gibson ES-295]]<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|date=June 29, 2016|title=Scotty Moore: 1931–2016|url=https://www.premierguitar.com/artists/scotty-moore-1931-2016|access-date=2021-05-09|website=Premier Guitar|language=en}}</ref> (nicknamed "The Guitar That Changed the World").<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marcus |first1=Greil |author-link1=Greil Marcus |last2=Guralnick |first2=Peter |author-link2=Peter Guralnick |last3=Sante |first3=Lucy |author-link3=Lucy Sante |last4=Gordon |first4=Robert |author-link4=Robert Gordon (musician) |title=Rockabilly: The Twang Heard 'Round the World: The Illustrated History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=06VWZ69WBAEC&pg=PA40 |year=2011 |publisher=[[Voyageur Press]] |isbn=978-0-7603-4062-2 |page=40}}</ref> He made some modifications to the guitar, mainly he was unhappy with the Les Paul style bridge, which he replaced with a Melita-Synchro Sonic model with adjustable saddles, which enabled fine-tuning of each string; but this bridge further required a different tailpiece--Scotty opted for a Kluson trapeze model as utilized by Gibson on the ES-125.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gibson Legacy Products – Users|url=http://legacy.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Gibson-Guitar-Greats-Scotty-Moore.aspx|website=Legacy.gibson.com}}</ref> This is the guitar heard on all but the later Sun sessions with Elvis. In July 1955, Scotty traded this guitar for a blonde-finish 1954 Gibson L-5 CESN, with which he recorded the last Sun sessions (including "Mystery Train"), as well as several RCA cuts,<ref name="auto"/> and in 1957 he switched to a [[Gibson Super 400]].<ref name="hunter">{{cite book |last=Hunter|first=Dave|title=Guitar Rigs: Classic Guitar and Amp Combinations |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p1-kULtG9tgC&pg=PA50 |year=2005 |publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation|Hal Leonard]] |isbn=978-0-87930-851-3|pages=40, 54}}</ref> This Super 400 was the guitar heard on the ''Jailhouse Rock'' and ''King Creole'' soundtracks, as well as the earlier post-army sessions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gibson Guitar Greats: Scotty Moore|url=http://legacy.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Gibson-Guitar-Greats-Scotty-Moore.aspx|website=Legacy.gibson.com}}</ref>

One of the key pieces of equipment in Moore's sound on many of the recordings with Presley, besides his guitars, was the [[Ray Butts EchoSonic]], first used by Chet Atkins, a guitar amplifier with a [[tape echo]] built in, which allowed him to take his trademark [[Delay (audio effect)|slapback echo]] on the road.<ref name="hunter" /><ref name"=2008_Gibson_article">{{cite web |last1=Hunter |first1=Dave |title=Get That Tone: Scotty Moore with Elvis Presley |url=https://www.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/getthattonescottymoorewi.aspx |website=Gibson.com |publisher=Gibson |access-date=January 19, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223212128/https://www.gibson.com/news-lifestyle/features/en-us/getthattonescottymoorewi.aspx |archive-date=December 23, 2017 |date=May 9, 2008}}</ref> It is important to note, however, that this amplifier was not used until 1955--which means that the earlier Sun sessions (including ''That's All Right Mama'') were not recorded with this amplifier.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Scotty Moore 54 L5 CES|url=http://www.scottymoore.net/54L5CES.html|access-date=2021-05-09|website=scottymoore.net}}</ref>

===Last years and death===
Moore had to give up playing guitar a few years before his death because of arthritis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/interview-scotty-moore-2013.shtml|title=Arthritis silences notes, but Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley's first guitarist as sharp as ever – Elvis Interviews|website=Elvis.com.au|access-date=October 6, 2018}}</ref> Quite likely his last appearance on a recording came as a guest on the 2011 album ''61 & 49'' by the Mike Eldred Trio.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zohomusic.com/cds/eldred_61&49.html|title=ZohoMusic.com – Latin Jazz with a New York Vibe|website=Zohomusic.com|access-date=September 30, 2021}}</ref> That group's leader, guitarist [[Mike Eldred (guitarist)|Mike Eldred]], had been a friend of Moore's since the early 1990s. As a member of [[Lee Rocker]]'s Big Blue, Eldred also helped bring Moore (then semi-retired) aboard as a guest on that group's first album.<ref name=boehm>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-12-22-ca-11988-story.html |author=Boehm, Mike |title=Ex-Stray Cat Tints His New Band Blue |work=Los Angeles Times |date=December 22, 1994 |access-date=2020-01-22}}</ref>

Moore died on June 28, 2016, in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 84.<ref name="nytobit">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/28/arts/music/scotty-moore-hard-driving-guitarist-who-backed-elvis-presley-dies-at-84.html |title=Scotty Moore, Hard-Driving Guitarist Who Backed Elvis Presley, Dies at 84 |first=William |last=Grimes |author-link=William Grimes (journalist) |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=A23 |date=June 28, 2006}}</ref>