CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Sam Moore, the surviving half and half voice of the 1960s duo Sam & Dave, known for such definitive hits of the era as “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin'” ,’” died. He was 89 years old.
Publicist Jeremy Westby said Moore died Friday morning in Coral Gables, Fla., from complications while recovering from surgery. No additional details were immediately available.
Moore, whose admirers ranged from Al Green to Bruce Springsteen, was inducted with Dave Prater into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
“We on E Street are heartbroken to learn of the passing of Sam Moore, one of America’s greatest soul voices,” Springsteen said Saturday on Instagram. “He was full of stories about the halcyon days of soul music, and until the end he had this side of deep authenticity in his voice that I couldn’t help but marvel at.”
At Stax Records, based in Memphis, Tennessee, Moore and Prater rank only behind Otis Redding among the label’s biggest stars. They transformed the “call and response” of gospel music into a frenetic spectacle and recorded some of soul music’s most enduring hits, including “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “When Something is Wrong With My Baby” and “Thank You.”
Most of their hits were written and produced by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter and featured Stax house band Booker T. & the MGs, whose guitarist Steve Cropper received one of the biggest shout-outs music fame when Sam and Dave called out “Play it, Steve” halfway through “Soul Man.”
Like many ’60s soul bands, Sam & Dave folded after the end of the decade. 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 being associated with the “Saturday Night Live” stars, remembering how young people thought it came from the Blues Brothers.
In 2008, the movie “Soul Men” featured two aging, estranged singers who looked a lot like Sam and Dave. Moore lost a lawsuit claiming the resemblance was too close.
He also spent years suing Prater after Prater hired a replacement and toured as New Sam & Dave. Prater died in a car accident in 1988 in Georgia.
In 1993, Moore was among several artists who filed a lawsuit claiming the recording industry had deprived them of their retirement benefits. Moore and other artists sued several record labels 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 millions of records sold, that his pension was only $2,285, that he could collect in a lump sum or in installments of $73 per month.
“Two thousand dollars for my life? Moore then said. “If you make a profit from me, give me some too. Don’t give me cornbread and tell me it’s cookies.
Moore also became involved in politics. He wrote the song “Dole Man,” modeled after “Soul Man,” for Republican Bob Dole’s presidential campaign in 1996. In 2017, he was one of the few artists to perform at Republican President Donald’s inaugural festivities. Trump. Eight years earlier, Moore had protested when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign used “Wait, I’m Coming.”
Moore was born October 12, 1935 in Miami and began singing in church.
He and Prater performed in soul and R&B clubs in the 1950s, but did not meet until 1961 in Miami. Moore helped Prater write lyrics for 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 branch in Memphis.
Moore and Prater often argued, and Moore told the AP in 2006 that a drug addiction, which he quit in 1981, played a role in the group’s problems and later prompted entertainment executives to hesitate to give him a fresh start. The duo broke up in 1970 and neither had another major hit, although Moore often worked with Springsteen, whom Moore would call one of his closest friends. They performed together on stage and sang on their respective albums, including the energetic duet “Real World.”
“RIP Sam Moore,” Springsteen sideman Steve Van Zandt posted on X. “He and Dave Prater were the inspiration for me and Johnny to create Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. A wonderful, fair and important man .
He married his wife, Joyce, in 1982, and she helped him get treatment for his addiction which he says saved his life.
“I did a lot of cruise ships, I did a lot of oldies shows,” during those struggles, he said, adding that he once opened for a group of d ‘Elvis.
“It’s funny to think about it now. And I’ve done a lot of shows where if I did a show with an old show, I had to audition,” he said. “But you know what? You keep your mouth shut and you go up there and you sing as loud and play as loud as you can, and get the little money and go about your business and try to pay those bills. I laugh about it now, but at the time, man, it was really serious.
Moore continued to record and sing. He frequently performed at the Kennedy Center Honors and sang for Obama, among other presidents.
Moore is survived by his wife, Joyce; daughter, Michell; and two grandchildren.
