October 29, 1945 Beatrice Melba Smith (Melba Moore), R&B singer and actress, was born in New York City. Moore earned a bachelor’s degree in musical education from Montclair State Teacher’s College and taught music for a year in the Newark Public School System. She began her performing career in 1967 in the cast of “Hair.”
Archive | October 29, 2011
October 29th in African American History – George Murphy “Pops” Foster
October 29, 1969 George Murphy “Pops” Foster, jazz string bassist, died. Foster was born May 19, 1892 in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. By 1907, Foster was playing professionally, working in bands such as King Oliver’s and Kid Ory’s. In 1929, he moved to New York City where he played with various bands, including Louis Armstrong’s.