Photo Credit: Sam Moore by Gage Skidmore / CC by 2.0
Sam Moore, one half of the ‘greatest of all soul duos,’ Sam & Dave, has died at age 89.
Sam Moore, best known with partner Dave Prater as the soul music duo Sam & Dave, has passed away due to complications recovering from surgery. He died Friday morning in Coral Gables, Florida, according to his rep, Jeremy Westby. He was 89.
Dubbed “the greatest of all soul duos” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when the pair was inducted in 1992, Sam & Dave also worked with the songwriting and production team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter. It was this partnership, along with Booker T & The MG’s and the Memphis Horns as their backing band, that led to the duo releasing an array of hits between 1965 and 1968. These included such classics as “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “Hold On, I’m Coming,” “You Got Me Hummin’,” “Soul Man,” and “I Thank You.”
Born on October 12, 1935, in Miami, Samuel David Moore learned to sing in the church choir and performed with gospel acts The Gales and The Millionaires. He crossed paths with fellow gospel singer Dave Prater in 1961 at Miami’s The King of Hearts Club. It was there that producer Henry Stone discovered them and signed them to Roulette Records.
The duo only found minor success at Roulette, but after they signed with Atlantic Records by Jerry Wexler in 1964, things changed. From Atlantic, the pair was “loaned” to Stax Records, who produced, recorded, and released their records. Their 1965 single, “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” began a series of Top 20 Billboard R&B hits: “Hold On, I’m Coming” (1966), “You Got Me Hummin’” (1966), “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby” (1967), “Soul Man” (1967), and “I Thank You” (1968). Most of these songs were penned by Hayes and Porter.
Despite their success, the pair were often at odds, and Sam & Dave parted ways in 1970. They performed together on and off until 1981, sparked in part by a resurgence in popularity owed to The Blues Brothers’ cover of “Soul Man.” The Blues Brothers were actually created by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as an homage to Sam & Dave. Dave Prater died in a car crash on April 9, 1988.
Moore enjoyed a solo career launched after the initial breakup of Sam & Dave in 1970. He also toured with other soul artists like Wilson Pickett. In 1983, just a year after he married his wife, Joyce McRae, Moore went public with his drug addiction, which Joyce was helping him overcome. He became a strong anti-drug advocate and worked as a volunteer for anti-drug programs. His wife also remained his business manager until his death, and worked with him to advocate for artists’ rights, royalties, and pension payouts.
Sam Moore continued to tour throughout the 1990s and had a few film cameos. He appeared in the 1998 sequel to the first Blues Brothers film, “Blues Brothers 2000,” as a preacher. His previously unreleased 1971 solo album, Plenty Good Lovin’, finally came out in 2002, featuring Aretha Franklin on piano. In 2006, he released his album Overnight Sensational, which featured work from Sting, Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, and Fantasia, among others.
“Sam Moore was so much more than a brilliant artist and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee,” said The musicFIRST Coalition in a statement. “He was the original ‘Soul Man,’ a pioneer who fought fiercely for the rights of artists to be paid for their work, and an inspiration to all artists over his more than six-decade career.”
“As the Sam part of the ‘Sam & Dave’ duo, he recorded ten straight Top Twenty Billboard R&B hits. His enormous talent led well-known artists to gravitate to him, leading to partnerships with an eclectic group that included Conway Twitty, Elton John, Mariah Carey, Vince Gill, and Bruce Springsteen.”
“musicFIRST was honored by his willingness, right to the end of his life, to visit Capitol Hill to champion the American Music Fairness Act to get music creators paid when their songs are played on AM/FM radio. Sam was the epitome of a legend and will be missed by the entire music industry.”