Sam Moore, best known as one-half of the legendary music duo Sam & Dave with Dave Prater, died on January 10 2025 at the age of 89. He had been recovering from surgery.
Sam Moore was born Samuel Hicks in Miami on October 12 1935. His parents eventually divorced and he took the surname of his stepfather, "Moore." He grew up singing gospel music and even sang with such gospel groups as The Gales and The Millionaires. When Sam Cooke left The Soul Stirrers he was offered a place in the group, but turned them down. He met Dave Prater in 1961 at The King of Hearts Club in Miami.
Sam & Dave were discovered by local Miami producer Henry Stone, who signed to Roulette Records. While they saw some regional success with their singles released on Roulette, none of their songs became hits on a national level. It was in 1964 that they were singed by Jerry Wexler to Atlantic Records. While they would remain Atlantic Records artists, Sam & Dave were loaned out to Stax Records in 1964.
Sam & Dave and Stax Records proved to be a potent combination. Their first two Stax singles, "A Place Nobody Can Find" and "I Take What I Want," failed to chart but the third single, ""You Don't Know Like I Know," proved to be a hit. It went to no. 7 on the Billboard R&B chart. Their next single on Stax was not only one of Sam & Dave's bigger hits, but became one of their signature songs. "Hold On I'm Comin'" went to no. 21 on the Billboard singles chart and no. 1 on the Billboard R&B chart. They would have several more hits, their two biggest being "Soul Man" and "I Thank You." "Soul Man" went to no. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 1 on the Billboard R&B. "I Thank You" went to no. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no. 4 on the R&B chart. Sam & Dave would have a few more minor hits after "I Thank You." Sam & Dave released three albums on Stax, Hold On I'm Comin' (1966), Double Dynamite (1966), and Soul Men (1967). They released two more albums, I Thank You on Atlantic in 1968 and Back at 'Cha in 1975.
San Moore and Dave Prater did not always get along, and in 1970 they split up. Sam Moore formed an act he called Sam's Soul Together 1970 Review. They released three singles on Atlantic in 1970 and 1971. Sam & Dave would eventually reunite, and toured Turkey in 1972 and England in 1973. They also appeared on American television on shows such as Saturday Night Live. In 1974 and 1975 they recorded new songs. their album Back at 'Cha was released on United Artists in 1975. Sam Morre and Dave Prater split up permanently in 1981. According to Sam Moore, he last spoke to Dave Prater when they walked off stage after their final performance, which was at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco.
Sam Moore spent part of the latter part of his life touring. He performed on the song "You're Not Drinking Enough" on Don Henley's album Building the Perfect Beast. In 1986 he re-recorded "Soul Man" with Lou Reed for the movie of the same name. He recorded songs with Bruce Springsteen for Bruce Springsteen's 1992 album Human Touch. His album , Overnight Sensational was released in 2006.
Later in his career Sam Moore appeared as an actor in such movies as Tapeheads (1988), Blues Brothers 2000 (1998), and Night at the Golden Eagle (2001), and an episode of the TV show Tales of the City.
Sam Moore had a strong, yet smooth tenor voice and there can be not doubt that, along with Dave Prater's voice, it was responsible for much of Sam & Dave's success. At Stax they achieved an energetic, beat-driven style that was heavily influenced by gospel; The would prove to be influential and their songs would be performed by many different artists, most notably The Blues Brothers, but also Elvis Costello, Aretha Franklin, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, ZZ Topp, and many others. While Sam & Dave's success was short-lived, their music has lasted.
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