Sam Moore, one half of Sam and Dave, dead at 89
Sam Moore, one half of the iconic soul duo Sam & Dave, has died aged 89, his publicist reports.
The singer, who performed alongside his vocal partner Dave Prater on hits such as ‘Soul Man’ and ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’, passed away on January 10th due to complications from surgery he had recently undergone in a hospital in Coral Gables, Florida. He is survived by wife Joyce, daughter Michell and two grandchildren.
His work in the 1960s was hugely influential to other artists who would go on to have success both within soul, R&B and even rock music, with him and Prater having been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Prater would be a posthumous inductee at the ceremony, having died in a traffic collision in 1988.
Having begun as a church gospel singer before performing in soul and R&B clubs throughout the 1950s, he met Prater in 1961 when they began working together, before being signed in 1965.
The duo were best known for their association with the Atlantic Records subsidiary Stax, who provided their in-house backing band Booker T & the MGs to perform on all of their most recognised hits. They were also associated with Isaac Hayes and David Porter, the duo who wrote and produced the majority of Sam & Dave’s material.
While the duo separated in 1981 after two decades of working together, Moore would continue to pursue a solo career later in life, while Prater would controversially hire a replacement for Moore so he could continue touring at the New Sam & Dave – something which Moore filed multiple lawsuits against his former counterpart for.
Moore would become a vocal supporter of the Republican Party, having re-written ‘Soul Man’ with lyrics changed to fit presidential candidate Bob Dole’s campaign in 1996, and was one of only a few performers at the 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump.
Tributes are being paid to the singer, with the E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt calling him “an important righteous wonderful man,” in a post on X, while Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers wrote “RIP to a great Soul Man and a great friend, Sam Moore.”
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