Rita Moss

Queen Moss 1951-1959 Rita Moss

Although Rita Moss (1918-2015) took piano lessons as a child, she was mostly a self-taught multi-instrumentalist who could play piano, organ and drums. She later became a singer too, endowed with a unique sound. In June 1952, Jet magazine said: "Yma Sumac has a rival in cute Rita Moss, who has a sensational four-octave range voice. She is due for a bigtime treatment." Her voice was a finely tuned instrument, played with the passionate fever of an artist in search for perfection. This, paired with her captivating act as a live performer, earned her the appreciation of fans, and eventually the nickname "Queen Moss" for her zealous, almost cult-like following. After her first album, a writer at Billboard mentioned she had a "breezy, whimsical style that does not obscure the solidity of her jazz conceptions," qualities that would remain constant throughout her career.