Sam Moore of the duo Sam & Dave dies at 89

(Coral Gables) Sam Moore, the last survivor of the 1960s duo Sam & Dave, known for their classic hits of the era, such as Soul Man et Hold On, I’m Comin’died. He was 89 years old.

Publicist Jeremy Westby said Moore died Friday morning in Coral Gables, Fla., following complications while recovering from surgery. No additional details were immediately available.

Moore, who influenced musicians like Michael Jackson, Al Green and Bruce Springsteen, was inducted with Dave Prater into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

At Stax Records, based in Memphis, Tennessee, Moore and Prater were second to Otis Redding. They transformed the call and response of gospel music into a frenetic spectacle and recorded some of soul music’s most enduring musical hits, including You Don’t Know Like I Know, When Something is Wrong With My Baby et I Thank You.

Like many ’60s soul bands, Sam & Dave disappeared after the 1960s. But Soul Man hit again 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 this musical success being associated with the stars of Saturday Night Liveremembering that young people thought that the origin of the album came from Blues Brothers.

In 2008, the film Soul Men featured an aging, estranged singing couple who looked a lot like Sam & Dave. Moore lost a lawsuit claiming the resemblance was too great.

He also spent years pursuing Prater after the latter hired a replacement and toured as New Sam & Dave. Prater died in a car accident in 1988 in Georgia.

Moore also filed lawsuits against the recording industry, claiming he was deprived of his retirement benefits. He and other artists sued several record labels and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists in 1993.

Moore told the Associated Press (AP) in 1994 that he joined the legal effort after learning that, despite his records selling millions of copies, his pension was only $3,276. (US$2,285), which he could receive as a lump sum or monthly payments of $103.

“Two thousand dollars for my whole life? Moore said then. If you make a profit off my back, give me some too. Don’t give me cornbread and tell me it’s biscuits. »

Moore wrote the song Dole Maninspired by Soul Manfor Republican Bob Dole’s presidential campaign in 1996. In 2017, he was one of the few artists to perform at Republican President Donald Trump’s inauguration festivities. Eight years earlier, Moore objected when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign used the song Hold On, I’m Comin’.

Moore was born October 12, 1935 in Miami and began singing in church.

He and Prater performed at 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 record company’s Stax branch in Memphis.

Moore and Prater often argued, and Moore told the AP in 2006 that a drug addiction, which he kicked in 1981, played a role in the group’s problems and later made the leaders of the entertainment industry wary of giving it a fresh start. The duo broke up in 1970 and neither had any further major success.

He married his wife, Joyce, in 1982, and she helped him get treatment for his addiction, which saved his life.

“I’ve done a lot of cruises, I’ve done a lot of oldies shows,” he said, adding that he once opened for a group of Elvis impersonators.

“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 hit, I had to audition,” he said. “But you know what? You keep your mouth shut, you go on stage and you sing as loud as you can, you make some money and you continue to go about your business and try to pay those bills. I laugh about it now, but at the time it was really serious. »

Moore continued to record and sing. He frequently performed at the Kennedy Center Honors and performed for presidents, including Obama.

Moore leaves behind his wife, Joyce, his daughter, Michell, and two grandchildren.