The Queen of St. Louis Karaoke: Margaret Moore Packs 'Em In

Margaret Moore wants to be the next female country music superstar. Make that the next black female country music superstar. Next? You may ask. Was there a first? Well, yeah there was….uh…Charley Pride? No, he was a guy and that was way back in the 70’s. In the past, the stereotype of your average country music fan has traditionally leaned toward hard drinking, pickup trucks, doing time in prison, and confederate flags. If that perception has changed, then it’s morphed into going to church, family values, and watching Larry the Cable Guy on the Blue Collar Comedy tour. There’s not a whole lot of cultural diversity within the confines of country.

But Margaret thinks that it can be done, and to a small, but dedicated, audience around town hope springs eternal. Right now, Margaret, who is tinged with a little bit of international flavor, having grown up on an Air Force base in Germany, is doing the Karaoke tour here in St. Louis. I caught up with her recently at a little bar called The River City Pub on Gravois, near Affton on the South Side.

The River City Pub is one of the last vestiges of the neighborhood bars that used to dot practically every street corner in the city. Small, crowded, and smoky, the bar serves no food, but it’s ok to order a pizza and have it delivered to your table. I made the mistake of sitting down at the bar and asking if they had a Guinness while I was waiting for Margaret to arrive. The bartender asked me what that was. I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not. Inquiring about a Sam Adams got pretty much the same response. 

She pointed towards the wall and all of the signs advertising Bud Light, Budweiser, and Busch beer. I should have been ashamed of myself; a native of south St. Louis, going into a bar and asking for anything but an Anheuser Busch product. Hell, you could practically see the brewery smokestack and smell the hops from the bar.