From Australia comes sad news for bluegrass radio listeners down under.
Smokin’ Joe Moore, whose regular radio programs on 4DDD and 102.7FM in Toowoomba, the Darling Downs and the Lockyer Valley, passed away on February 17. He was 79 years of age.
Joe’s programs were known for broadcasting the best bluegrass and old time music in the country. Over the years he had developed friendships with many bluegrass artists and radio programmers in the US, and he made a number of pilgrimages to the States during his life. His friendship with Judith Burnett, formerly of WBRF in Galax, VA, was an enduring one for both of them.
He attended the 83rd Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, as well as Bill Monroe’s 100th Year Celebration in Owensboro, KY, where he had the privilege of seeing many of his heroes perform, including Earl Scruggs, Ralph Stanley, and many others. Joe traveled to Rosine, KY, paying his respects at the place where Bill Monroe was born and buried. A more recent trip took him to the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, VA with his wife, Sadie, a day that he described as the best of their lives.
Joe’s daughter, Vikki, tells us, “Dad loved music, but he believed bluegrass had no peer. Nothing captivated him quite like it, and his thirst for more only ever gained pace. Every day, Dad would lose himself deeper in the Appalachians.”
A great loss for the Australian bluegrass community.
R.I.P., Joe Moore.
