Marvin J. Moore

Marvin Moore is not a household name among the song writers of his time but he did have his moments as a song composer.  His crowning achievement would be “Green Door” recorded in the U.S. by Jim Lowe.  Moore also made his mark with Jim Reeves’ “Four Walls” and Joe Dowell’s “Little Red Rented Rowboat”.

It is difficult to locate information on this composer.  He worked with several song writers including George Campbell, Hutch Davie, Charles Randolph Green (of “The Thing” fame), Jim Lowe and others.

Moore’s songs were readily picked up by a diverse range of recording artists from Les Paul and Mary Ford, to Colorado’s own Dean Reed, to Betty Johnson of “Little Blue Man” fame, and towards the end of his composing career to many songs recorded by country musicians.

The song was performed ad nauseum on “Your Hit Parade”.  The melody composer was Hutch Davie with Moore providing the lyrics.  Davie also played piano on the recording.

Moore alluded that he was inspired to write the lyrics when he witnessed a ‘bouncer’ type stationed outside an actual green door atop a flight of stairs leading to a honkytonk from which Moore could hear a piano being played.  There was also an old night spot in Chicago which had been around since the early 1920’s called the “Green Door Tavern”.  There are many other alleged origins of the song.

I always thought the song was more than a big mysterious and spooky!  – Especially when the Hit Parade Dancers would prance eerily around the set of the TV program with fog being emitted from a fog machine.

As Country Paul Payton pointed out recently, Jim Lowe was a talk show host on radio working at WCBS in New York and other stations in Chicago and Indianapolis before that.  Lowe was also a song writer having composed a number 6 hit for Rusty Draper – “Gambler’s Guitar” from 1953 and also “No Help Wanted” a number 10 record by Draper the same year.

The song also charted number 1 in Ireland and Denmark and made the Top 10 in about a dozen other countries.

Colorado’s own Dean Reed recorded Moore’s “Annabelle” in 1958.

Unfortunately the song also inspired a pornographic motion picture “Behind the Green Door” from 1972.

Marvin Moore Discography

45 – Eddy Howard – Mercury 5676 Deadly Weapon Number 22 Pop Charts – July, 1951

45 – Darrell Glenn – RCA Victor 5859 – We’ll Be Married (In That Church In The Wildwood) – 1954

45 – The Coquettes – RCA Victor 6439 – It’s Time To Go – February, 1956

45 – Les Paul and Mary Ford – Capitol 3329 – Nuevo Laredo Number 91 Hot 100 – February, 1956

45 – Vaughn Monroe – RCA Victor 6501 – There She Goes – April, 1956

45 – Bill Carey – Coral 61658 – Record Hop – June, 1956

45 – Jim Lowe with the High Fives – Dot 15486 – Green Door Number 1 Hot 100 for 3 Weeks – Number 5 R&B – Number 8 UK – September, 1956

45 – Jaye P. Morgan – RCA Victor 6653 – Just Love Me Number 97 Hot 100 – October, 1956

45 – Homer & Jethro – RCA Victor 6706 – Screen Door – October, 1956

45 – Frankie Vaughan (UK) – Philips – The Green Door – Number 2 UK – November, 1956

45 – Betty Johnson – Bally 1020 – I Dreamed Number 9 Hot 100 – November,1956

45 – Kitty Kallen – Decca 30144 – Saturday Blues – 1956

45 – Jim Lowe – Dot 15525 – By You, By You, By You Number 43 Hot 100 b/w I Feel the Beat Number 84 Hot 100 – January, 1957

45 – Jim Reeves – RCA Victor 6874 – Four Walls Number 12 Hot 100 – Number 1 Country – April, 1957

45 – Dorothy Collins – Coral 61828 – Four Walls – April, 1957

45 – Betty Johnson – Bally 1033 – 1492 Number 70 Hot 100 – May, 1957

45 – Jim Lowe – Dot 15569 – Four Walls Number 15 Hot 100 b/w Talkin’ To the Blues Number 15 Hot 100 – May, 1957

45 – Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys – Decca 30327 – Four Walls – May, 1957

45 – Tex Williams – Decca 30328 – Talkin’ To the Blues – May, 1957

45 – Janis Martin – RCA Victor 7104 – Billy Boy, Billy Boy – November, 1957

45 – Dorothy Olsen – RCA Victor Bluebird Children’s Records 72 – Say Goodnight – 1957

45 – The Four Aces – Decca 30575 – Rock and Roll Rhapsody Number 66 Hot 100 – March, 1958

45 – Ted Newman – RCA Victor 7197 – Why Did You Break My Heart? – March, 1958

45 – Eddy Arnold – RCA Victor 7340 – I’m A Good Boy – September, 1958

45 – Dean Reed – Capitol 4121 – Annebelle – December, 1958

45 – Betty Johnson – Atlantic 2009 – You Can’t Get To Heaven On Roller Skates Number 99 Hot 100 – January, 1959

45 – Jack Jones – Capitol 4161 – When I Love I’ll Love Forever – March, 1959

45 – Tommy Leonetti – RCA Victor 7514 – Single Is Better That Wrong b/w The Year Of Our Love – April, 1959

45 – The School Belles – Hanover 4526 – The Count-Down Game – May, 1959

45 – The Valiants With Sandy Vale – Suntan Tattoo – July, 1959

45 – Eddy Arnold – RCA Victor 7542 – What’s The Good (Of All This Love) – June, 1959

45 – The Hawks – Mala 401 – Lupp! b/w Cupcake – July, 1959

Not the same group as Ronnie Hawkins’ Hawks

45 – Smitty and the Afterbeats – RCA Victor 7653 – A Perfect Day – December, 1959

45 – Charlie Applewhite – Design 823 – Highway – 1959

45 – Johnny Restivo – RCA Victor 7758 – That’s Good, That’s Bad – June, 1960

Gene McDaniels – Liberty 55265 – Green Door – August, 1960

45 – Skip and Flip – Brent 7017 – Green Door – September, 1960

45 – Yolanda White – Decca 31340 – What I Want For Christmas (Is Six More Years) – 1961

7-inch 33 1/3 – Leon McAuliff – ABC-Paramount 394 – Green Door – 1961

45 – Billy Frazier – Liberty 55417 – Give Us Back The Twist – February, 1962

45 – Eskew Reeder – Minit 648 – Green Door – May, 1962

45 – Joe Dowell – Smash 1759 – Little Red Rented Rowboat Number 23 Hot 100 – June, 1962

45 – Lennie Miles – Groove 1 – Stay With Me – June, 1962

45 – Kay Starr – Capitol 4835 – Four Walls Number 92 Hot 100 – October, 1962

45 – Robin Ward – Songs Unlimited 31 – Longing For Your Love – 1962

45 – The Rover Boys – Decca 31485 – I Hear Havana – April, 1963

45 – The Andrew Sisters – Dot 16497 – My Midnight Prison – May, 1963

45 – Jack Bond – Country & Western Hits – Four Walls – March, 1963

45 – The Browns – RCA Victor 8198 – The Twelfth Rose – June, 1963

45 – Johnny Cymbal – Kapp 539 – Dum Dum Dee Dum Number 77 Hot – August, 1963

45 – The Willis Sisters – ABC-Paramount 10497 – Where Were You When I Needed You – October, 1963

45 – Tommy Love – Bagdad 113 – Green Door – 1963

45 – Bill Haley & The Comets – Decca 31650 – The Green Door – July, 1964

45 – Ray Sharpe – Monument 874 – It’s Too Cold – February, 1965

45 – Jerry Vale – Columbia 43337 – Where Were You When I Needed You Number 99 Hot 100 – Number 19 Adult Contemporary – August, 1965

45 – Dora Hall – Calamo 1902 – The Green Door – 1965

45 – Wynder K. Frog – United Artists 50156 – Green Door – May, 1967

45 – The Jerms – Honor Brigade 1 – Green Door – April, 1969

45 – Mayf Nutter – Capitol 3734 – Green Door Number 78 Country – October, 1973

45 – Debi Hawkins Warner Bros. 8104 – What I Keep Sayin’ Is A Lie Number 78 Country – July, 1975

45 – Joe Stampley – Epic 50224 – Was It Worth It Number 43 Country – May, 1976

45 – Shakin’ Stevens – Green Door Number 1 UK – July, 1981