Sam Moore has died aged 89. As a duo with Dave Prater, Moore enjoyed hits including “Hold On! I’m Comin’” and “Soul Man”.
Bruce Springsteen described Moore as “one of America’s greatest soul voices.”
Born in Miami, Moore performed in gospel quartets before meeting Prater in 1961. The pair signed to Atlantic Records in 1965, before moving to Stax Records under the auspices of songwriting/production team Isaac Hayes and David Porter.
At Stax, Sam & Dave’s run of hits included “You Don’t Know Like I Know”, “Hold On! I’m Comin’”, “You Got Me Hummin’”, “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby”, “Soul Man” and “I Thank You”.
When Sam & Dave broke up in 1970, Moore continued as a solo artist, occasionally reuniting with his former duo partner – notably on the back of the The Blues Brothers’ cover of “Soul Man” in 1979.
Prater died in 1988 and Moore’s career continued. He toured with fellow Stax labelmates Booker T & the M.G.’s, Carla Thomas and Eddie Floyd in 1990 and in 1992, he recorded several songs with Springsteen for the Human Touch album. Springsteen contributed to Moore’s 2006 solo album Overnight Sensational, while Moore also joined the musician for covers of “I Forgot to Be Your Lover” and “Soul Days” on Springsteen’s album Only The Strong Survive.
Paying tribute to Moore, Springsteen wrote, “There simply isn’t another sound like Sam’s soulful tenor in American music. Having had the honour to work with Sam on several occasions, he was a sweet and funny man. He was filled with stories of the halcyon days of soul music, and to the end had that edge of deep authenticity in his voice I could only wonder at.
“We offer our prayers to his wife Joyce and thanks for the immortal recordings Sam left us. God bless.”