Talk:Oscar Moore

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Jazz Mid‑importance

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Year of birth

Is there a reliable source for his birth date being 1916 ? Some sources do indeed state 1916 (though how many got the information from here ?), but others state, very specifically, 25 December 1912 in Austin, Texas. Brother Johnny Moore was born in Austin in 1906, and it could be that a 6-year age gap might be more plausible than a 10-year gap .. ?? Ghmyrtle 10:16, 8 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Replying to my own comment of ten years ago.... The most reliable and well-researched secondary source for the birth and death dates of blues and blues-related performers is Eagle and LeBlanc, Blues: A Regional Experience. This gives his birth date as December 25, 1915. A footnote (on p.489) states that this information comes from the 1920 census (when his age was given as 4) and his Social Security Death Index record. It also states: "The reported birth years 1912 and 1916 are incorrect." If other reliable sources give a date of 1912, and editors think that date should also be included, I'm open to the option of mentioning both dates in the text, or in a footnote, so that readers know that there is some uncertainty. Ghmyrtle (talk) 11:51, 6 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know how to resolve it. In Yanow's book The Great Guitarists, he says, "Oscar Moore has been listed as having been born in both 1912 and 1916, always on Christmas." Yanow uses 1912 but doesn't say why. I assume he had his reasons. Jazz guitarist, not blues.
–Vmavanti (talk) 23:39, 6 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

There are many blues, jazz, pop, etc., musicians whose birth dates are disputed. In some cases, alternative dates are set out in the main text and the infobox, with an explanation of the discrepancy given either in a footnote or in the main text if the discrepancy has been widely discussed. For different ways in which this is treated, I suggest you look at the articles on John Lee Hooker, Lil Green, Sonny Boy Williamson II, Laura Branigan, Lynsey de Paul, etc. etc. In this case, I'd suggest a footnote, as explaining the discrepancy in the main text would give the issue undue weight - the article itself is relatively short and much more weight should be given to his musical career and accomplishments. Ghmyrtle (talk) 10:25, 7 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

AllMusic state December 25, 1912 here. The article should at least make the discrepancy in birth dates clear, allowing for the knowledgeable comments regarding 'styling' made directly above (over six years ago). - Derek R Bullamore (talk) 21:05, 2 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]