Florida’s Coral Gables — Sam Moore has away. He was the surviving half and lead singer of the 1960s duet Sam & Dave, who was well-known for singles including “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin.” He was eighty-nine.
Moore passed away in Coral Gables, Florida, on Friday morning as a result of complications following surgery. No more information was immediately available.
Al Green and Bruce Springsteen were among Moore’s admirers. In 1992, Moore and Dave Prater were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“Over on E Street, we are heartbroken to hear of the death of Sam Moore, one of America’s greatest soul voices,” Springsteen said Saturday on Instagram. “He was filled with stories of the halcyon days of soul music, and to the end had that edge of deep authenticity in his voice I could only wonder at.”
At the Memphis, Tennessee-based Stax Records, Moore and Prater ranked only behind Otis Redding as the label’s biggest stars. They transformed the “call and response” of gospel music into a frenzied stage show and recorded some of soul music’s most enduring hits, which also included “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “When Something is Wrong With My Baby” and “I Thank You.”
Most of their hits were written and produced by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter and featured the Stax house band Booker T. & the MGs, whose guitarist Steve Cropper received one of music’s most famous shoutouts when Sam & Dave called “Play it, Steve” midway through “Soul Man.”
Like many ’60s soul acts, Sam & Dave faded after the decade ended. But “Soul Man” hit the charts again in the late 1970s when “Blues Brothers” John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd recorded it with many of the same musicians. Moore had mixed feelings about the hit becoming associated with the “Saturday Night Live” stars, remembering how young people believed it originated with the Blues Brothers.
In 2008, the movie “Soul Men” depicted a pair of aging, estranged singers who bore more than a little resemblance to Sam & Dave. Moore lost a lawsuit claiming the resemblance was too close.
He also spent years suing Prater after Prater hired a substitute and toured as the New Sam & Dave. Prater died in a 1988 car crash in Georgia.
In 1993, Moore was among numerous artists who pressed legal claims that the record industry had cheated them out of retirement benefits. Moore and other artists sued multiple record companies and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Moore told The Associated Press in 1994 that he joined the legal effort after learning, despite his million-selling records, his pension amounted to just $2,285, which he could take as a lump sum or in payments of $73 monthly.
“Two thousand dollars for my lifetime?” Moore said then. “If you’re making a profit off of me, give me some too. Don’t give me cornbread and tell me it’s biscuits.”
Moore also became involved in politics. He wrote the song “Dole Man,” modeled on “Soul Man,” for Republican Bob Dole’s presidential campaign in 1996. In 2017, he was among the few entertainers who performed for Republican President Donald Trump’s inaugural festivities. Eight years earlier, Moore had objected when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign used “Hold On, I’m Comin’.”
Moore was born Oct. 12, 1935, in Miami and got his start singing in church.
He and Prater performed in soul and R&B clubs in the 1950s, but didn’t meet until 1961 in Miami. Moore helped coach Prater on the lyrics of a song and they quickly became a popular local duo. In 1965, after signing with Atlantic Records, producer Jerry Wexler sent them to the label’s Stax subsidiary in Memphis.
Moore and Prater had frequent arguments, and in 2006, Moore told the AP that his drug use, which he had stopped in 1981, contributed to the band’s problems and later made entertainment professionals reluctant to give him a new beginning. Although Moore frequently collaborated with Springsteen, whom he would refer to as one of his closest friends, the two did not have another big hit after their 1970 breakup. They sang on each other’s albums and performed together on stage, including the upbeat duet “Real World.”
Springsteen sideman Steve Van Zandt wrote on X, “RIP, Sam Moore.” “I started Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes with Johnny because of him and Dave Prater. An significant, wonderful, and righteous man.
In 1982, he married Joyce, who he credits with saving his life by helping him obtain treatment for his addiction.
He stated, “During those struggles, I did a lot of cruise ships, I did a lot of oldies shows,” and he once served as the opening act for a group of Elvis impersonators.
It’s amusing to reflect about that now. And I did a number of things where I had to actually audition if I was doing an oldie show,” he remarked. “But what do you know? You keep your mouth quiet, go up there, and sing and perform as hard as you can. After you earn the little money, you continue running your business and make an effort to pay your expenses. Man, it was extremely serious at the time, but now I’m laughing about it.
Moore continued to sing and record. He frequently performed at the Kennedy Center Honors, where he sang for presidents like Obama.
Moore’s wife, Joyce, daughter, Michell, and two grandchildren survive him.
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