Moore grew up in New Orleans'
8th Ward. He plays guitar and is the brother of the
Creole scholar
Sybil Kein. He is a cradle
Catholic. His daughter is the publisher
Lisa C. Moore. He was active on the New Orleans
R&B scene since his teens, and became a session man on many hit recordings of the late 1950s and the 1960s, including those by
Allen Toussaint,
Irma Thomas,
Lee Dorsey,
Ernie K-Doe, and others. His band
The Ivories at New Orleans'
Dew Drop Inn attracted an enthusiastic following, sometimes upstaging visiting national acts Moore was hired to open for. While highly regarded locally and by his fellow musicians, lack of hit records under his own name kept him from the national fame achieved by a number of his peers. In 2000 Moore was inducted into the Louisiana Blues Hall of Fame. He is featured in the documentary segment
Going Back to New Orleans: The Deacon John Film and the concert CD, ''Deacon John's Jump Blues'' (2003). he remains a local favorite on the New Orleans music scene. On July 25, 2006 Moore became president of the local branch of the
American Federation of Musicians. On April 10, 2007, Moore's son Keith was shot and killed at the age of 42, in New Orleans. Keith was locally famous in New Orleans as
ambient noise artist, Jambox Pyramid, and member of the punk band Manchild. In addition, Keith co-founded the experimental music event Noizefest in 2005 with local producer Sir Stephen, as an alternative, modern addition to the
Jazzfest festivities. In January 2008, Deacon John was selected to close the Inauguration of Louisiana Governor
Bobby Jindal by performing "
God Bless America" with the
156th Army Band and a Navy fly-over of jets, and later headline the Governor's Inaugural Ball. In 2008, in ceremonies and performance at the
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Deacon John was inducted into The
Louisiana Music Hall of Fame.
Acting career Moore had his first taste of acting 1987 by appearing in the horror film
Angel Heart. Moore did not appear on the big screen again until 2013 when he had a cameo in another horror film,
The Last Exorcism Part II. Moore also guest starred in a few episodes of
Treme during 2010. ==Discography==