Midland native Thomas “Tommy” Ray Moody left the area to pursue his musical career in the 1970s. This spring his name can be found at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. His mother Alicia Moody-Hughes (Ortiz), who still lives in Midland and formerly of St. Louis, received a replica of a memorial brick that will appear in the Hall’s courtyard, the Midland Daily News reports.
“He was very kind and he was always happy. Anywhere you went, he always had a crowd around him because he was always telling stories,” she said.
Moody, who died Dec. 21, 2015 from a blood clot, had an interest in music from a very young age. Moody-Hughes attributed her son’s talent to his late father, Richard Moody Sr. When Moody was 6 years old, his parents bought him a guitar for Christmas and signed him up for music lessons.
“The (instructor) talked to me one time and said, ‘I can’t teach him anything. He knows the guitar. He just caught on so fast,’” Moody-Hughes recalled.
Moody graduated from H. H. Dow High School in 1975 and traveled to Los Angeles where he helped form the band Virgin, which was overseen by the Bill Aucoin, manager of Kiss. He went on to perform with the bands Commando and Blue By Nature before performing on his own and branching into blues and country music.
“He was actually well-versed in everything,” said Jody Cyr, his manager.
Along the way, Moody made acquaintances with Alice Cooper, Keith Richards, Gene Simmons and Eddie Money, to name a few. He also would keep in contact with friends in the Midland area and would play in some low-key gigs when he visited.
“He had so many friends, so many people that loved him. He’s missed,” Cyr commented.
Moody’s kindness and warm heart were well known by everyone who knew him. Years before his death, he asked Cyr to look after his mother if anything happened to him. He even offered that Moody-Hughes could be a surrogate mother to her before the two women met. They now keep in close contact, even within the three years of Moody’s passing.
“She’s become my daughter and my friend,” Moody-Hughes said.