Sam Moore, the half-voiced survivor of the 1960s duo Sam & Dave, known for such defining hits of the day as “Soul Man” and “Hold On I’m Comin'” Died. He was 89 years old.
Spokesman Jeremy Westby said Moore died Friday morning of complications while recovering from surgery in Coral Gables, Florida. Additional details were not immediately available.
Moore, who influenced musicians such as Michael Jackson, Al Green, and Bruce Springsteen, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 along with Dave Prater.
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At Memphis, Tennessee-based Stax Records, Moore and Prater were second to Otis Redding. They turned the “call and response” of gospel music into a frenzied stage show, singing songs like “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’s house band, Booker T. and the MGs, whose guitarist Steve Cropper is in the middle of “Soul Man” when Sam and Dave say, “Play, Steve.”
Like many ’60s soul acts, Sam & Dave declined after the 1960s. However, “Soul Man” returned to the charts in the late 1970s when the 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” star, and recalled that young people believed the hit came from the Blues Brothers.
The 2008 film Soul Men portrayed two aging, estranged singers who bore more than a passing resemblance to Sam and Dave. Mr. Moore lost his lawsuit because the similarities were too close.
He also spent years suing Mr. Prater even after he hired replacements and toured as the New Sam & Dave. Mr. Prater died in a car accident in Georgia in 1988.
LM Otero / AP
Moore also filed legal claims accusing the record industry of defrauding him of his severance pay. Moore and other artists sued several record companies and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in 1993.
Moore told The Associated Press in 1994 that despite his million-selling record, he became involved in legal action after learning his pension was only $2,285, which he could receive in a lump sum or in monthly payments of $73. spoke.
“Two thousand dollars for the rest of your life?” Moore said then. “If you’re making money off of me, give it to me too. Don’t give me cornbread, tell me it’s biscuits.”
Moore wrote the song “Dole Man”, modeled after “Soul Man”, in 1996 for Republican Bob Dole’s presidential campaign. In 2017, he was one of the few entertainers to perform at Republican President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Eight years ago, Moore objected to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign’s use of the song “Hold on I’m Comin’.”
Moore was born in Miami on October 12, 1935, and began singing in church.
He and Prater performed in soul and R&B clubs in the 1950s, but did not meet until 1961, when they met in Miami. Moore helped coach Prater’s song lyrics, and they quickly became a popular local duo. After signing with Atlantic Records in 1965, producer Jerry Wexler sent them to the label’s Stax subsidiary in Memphis.
Moore and Prater often argued, and Moore told The Associated Press in 2006 that his drug habit, which he quit in 1981, contributed to the band’s woes and later made entertainment executives reluctant to give him a fresh start. spoke. The duo broke up in 1970, but neither had any further big hits.
He married his wife, Joyce, in 1982, and she helped him treat his addiction, which he credits with saving his life.
“I’ve been on a lot of cruise ships and I’ve been on a lot of oldies shows,” he said during his struggles, adding that he once opened for an Elvis impersonation group.
“It’s funny when I look back on it now. And I’ve done a lot of oldies shows where if you’re going to do an oldies show, you actually have to audition,” he said. “But you know what? You shut your mouth, you stand there, you sing as hard as you can, you play as hard as you can, and then you get a little bit of money and keep doing your job and pay those bills. It’s funny now, but at the time it was really serious. ”
Moore continued to record and sing. He frequently appears on the Kennedy Center Honors and has performed for presidents including Obama.
Moore is survived by his wife Joyce, daughter Michelle, and two grandchildren.
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