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THE BAD BAD DOLEMITE
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Rudy Ray Moore, also known as Dolemite, spent the better part of the last half century making underground comedy, music and movies that broke boundaries for raunchiness and brought the grit of street toasts to record players, eight-track machines, CD systems, movie screens, VCRs, DVD players and nightclubs big and small. Over the last year or so things have been pretty dynamic for Dolemite, as the Player's Balls and Black clubs he usually performs at have been supplemented with a European tour, a Las Vegas booking, and (thanks to some recent music CDs of new material and 50s R&B reissues) hip Rock & Roll clubs. And perhaps most surprisingly he made an appearance on Roctober Production's own children's dance show, "Chic-A-Go-Go!" Gentleman John Battles caught up with the Bad bad Dolemite not long after that historic appearance"
JOHN: Your recent appearance on "Chic-A-Go-Go" was the biggest thing that ever happened on that show! Best of all, you were great with the kids. Have you thought about doing any more "G-rated" forms of entertainment on the side?
RUDY: I've thought of that. I did have one called "Jokes For Church-Going Folks." I never did put it out, but I had it in mind to do sort of nice, clean, church-going stories. You see, I go to church a lot. I went to the Baptist Convention with my mother, and I get in the pulpit, and I tell them those nice little stories, and my Mother says, "That's enough, that's enough!" (Both laugh) She don't think I'm gonna cut-a-loose, she just don't want me to do too much. My Mother is ninety years old, she still survives, and still goes to the Baptist conventions, and when I get there and do my thing, she is in her glory!
Is it a big surprise now to have your music drawing as much attention as your comedy?
No. Listen, the reason why it is, I should have had it before. I have been put on the shelf throughout the years, and there was a reason for it. The airwaves was controlled by artists like the late Bobby Darin, Pat Boone, Frankie Avalon, who were singing the same style of music I was doing. I couldn't get a record played on the air with the greatness that I had, so I feel that I should have had myself a singing act years ago, and I am pleased that I have it now. I'm not overly, overly delighted, but I am delighted that people have been able to FEEL my musical and singing performance.
When I first started listening to your comedy records, I thought,"Man! What a great R&B singing voice he has," not yet knowing that you DID sing R&B, and many other styles.
Yes, I've sung many styles, but primarily R&B, cause if I sing a Gospel song, it has an R&B feeling to it. There's a Gospel song on my new album called "We're Only Here For a Little While," and it still has that feeling of Blues stylings from years ago, like Aretha Franklin. My ballad style, like "Bring It On Home To Me," the Sam Cooke song, is extremely soulful. My brand new singing album is called "Genius Of (Rudy Ray Moore)...Soul singer for the 21st century. Man with The Cashmere Voice." I got one tune on it that sounds like it's hitbound. It's called "Feelin' Good, Feelin' Good" (Set to the tune of "Amen"). I tell people on it, "Feelin' good, when a man loves his woman, and a woman loves her man," because that's what life is all about, is feelin' good. If you can get a subject like that, that'll fit everybody. I mean, everybody wants to feel good, ain't nobody want to feel bad! This has touched the souls of people when I've done it in person, so I feel I have a hit, there.
That's fantastic. I think that's what it's all about when you do your Comedy show, too. People just come to have a good time When I've seen you perform in theatres, where you're able to go up and down the aisles and single people out, they may be embarrassed, but they still go home and tell everybody they had a good time.
When I'm in a house like that, where I can go into the crowd, and do things like "The Signifyin' Monkey," everybody knows that one, "I told my wife before you left..." and I hold the mike out to someone, and they say, "I should whooped yer ass my MOTHERFUCKIN' self!" And then I feel like I'm able to do my act in grand form.
Could you tell me a little bit about how your new film came about?
I've been away from the screen for 25 years, and I felt I had to make another one as a closer, so, my same writer, Jerry Jones, who wrote the early ones, wrote the script for me. It's hard-hitting, but not as hard-hitting as some of the earlier ones. The karate scenes are great, I've got martial arts instructors out of New York to do one of the scenes for me. I've got a lot of high comedy, where I can try to hold my audience in their seats with the movement of the film, with different highlights and scenes. I've got Reynoldo Ray, who's on BET doing Comedy, doing a special cameo for me. I've got a lot of friends coming out to help me do it with very little money, because I never had any money to finance anything, all of my movies, I've got 7 of them, I've financed myself . I've got 25 albums that I financed myself. So, Reynoldo come out, and he did a cameo for me, and I've got another artist doing a cameo, his name is Layzie Bones, he's a rapper. He is playing in the film with my nephew, my sister's son. It shows the young people that we are appealing to the young folks by putting them in the films.
You can hear the beginnings of Dolemite in those live excerpts from the Norton record. You get your point across without actually swearing, though people love to hear you do that, now.
Well, I should be doing Las Vegas soon, and I'm gonna cut back. Don Rickles has been out there doing it so long, that they'll accept him, whatever he does. Now, you take me, a raw comedian, going into the Las Vegas strip, they might not feel comfortable with me doing hard, X-rated stuff. Don Rickles, he says "Fuck" anytime he gets ready to on stage, but, if I say it, it could harm me. Redd Foxx could say it and get away with it, but, in my appearances there, I am so versatile, I can cut back. I may say "Shit" or "Ass," or something like that, but, I'm going to be sort of laid-back
(NOTE: Being "laid-back" was, of course, an impossibility whenever Rudy Ray Moore's good friend, Ms. LaWanda Page, took the stage. At the time of our interview, Rudy Ray informed me that "LaWanda still survives, but she is retired from show business....she has had a stroke and amputations of her legs." A short time later LaWanda Page passed on. I was fortunate enough to have seen Ms. Page on the same bill as Rudy Ray Moore AND Wildman Steve...all were great, but LaWanda got down in the ALLEY, brothers and sisters. Dolemite kicks ass, and there is no doubt, but when Aunt Esther puts the boot in, it don't come out! I'm sure Rudy Ray would join me, here, in dedicating this to LaWanda, and wishing her a beautiful next life.)