Remembering Sam Moore
• The legendary “Soul Man,” Sam Moore, best known as half of the 1960’s Grammy-winning duo Sam & Dave, passed away Friday morning, Jan. 10 in Coral Gables, FL at the age of 89. The cause of death was due to complications while recovering from surgery.
As Variety‘s Chris Morris reports, “Moore took the tenor part on perennials that are familiar even to generations not yet born during the duo’s ’60s heyday, including ‘Hold On, I’m Comin” (a No. 1 R&B hit in 1966), ‘Soul Man’ (which reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 as well as topping the R&B chart in 1967) and ‘I Thank You’ (a top 10 hit on both charts in 1968).
Signed to Atlantic Records in 1965, Moore and partner Dave Prater racked seven top 10 R&B singles in 1966-67. Their bestselling work was recorded at Stax Records in Memphis, and most of it was penned by the top songwriting team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter.
Their signature song, “Soul Man” scored a 1968 Grammy Award for Best R&B Group Performance, and in 1979, the song enjoyed a second life when it was covered by the Blues Brothers, featuring Saturday Night Livealums John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.
Sam & Dave were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and received the Recording Academy’s lifetime achievement honor in 2019. In 2018 “Soul Man” was added to the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
Moore is survived by his wife, Joyce, their daughter Michelle, and grandchildren Tash and Misha. [Photo by Jeremy Westby]
