Celebrity deaths: Sam Moore, who sang “Soul Man” in the duet Sam & Dave, dies at the age of 89 due to complications after surgery

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Sam Moore, the surviving half and higher voice of the 1960s duo Sam & Dave, known for such hits of his era as “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin”, has died. He was 89 years old.

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

Moore, whose admirers ranged from Al Green to Bruce Springsteen, was inducted along with Dave Prater into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

At Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, Moore and Prater were the label’s biggest stars, right behind Otis Redding. They transformed the “call and response” of gospel music into a wild stage show and recorded some of soul music’s most enduring hits, including “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “When Something is Wrong With My Baby” and “Thank You” .

Most of their hits were written and produced by the band Isaac Hayes and David Porter, with guest appearances from Stax House band Booker T, among others. & the MGs, whose guitarist Steve Cropper received one of the most famous cheers in music when Sam and Dave titled “Play it, Steve” halfway through “Soul Man.”

Like many 1960s soul bands, Sam and Dave faded after the 1960s. However, “Soul Man” hit the charts again in the late 1970s when “Blues Brothers” John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd recorded it with many of the same musicians. Moore had mixed feelings about associating the hit with the “Saturday Night Live” stars, remembering how young people believed it had its origins in the Blues Brothers.

The 2008 film “Soul Men” featured a pair of aging, estranged singers who bore more than a little resemblance to Sam &Dave. Moore lost the lawsuit, claiming the similarity was too great.

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

In 1993, Moore was among many artists who raised legal allegations that the music industry had defrauded them of their pension benefits. Moore and other artists sued multiple record companies and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

In 1994, Moore told The Associated Press that he joined the legal case after learning that, despite selling millions of records, his pension was just $2,285, which he could collect in a lump sum or in $73 monthly payments.

“Two thousand dollars for my life?” Moore said then. “If you want to make money off of me, give me some too. Don’t give me cornbread and tell me it’s cookies.”

Moore also became involved in politics. He wrote the song “Dole Man”, based on “Soul Man”, for Republican Bob Dole’s presidential campaign in 1996. In 2017, he was one of the few artists to perform at the inaugural ceremonies of Republican President Donald Trump. Eight years earlier, Moore objected when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign used the slogan “Hang in there, I’m coming.”

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

He and Prater performed in soul and R&B in the 1950s, but they didn’t meet until 1961 in Miami. Moore helped coach Prater on the song’s lyrics, and they quickly became a popular local duo. In 1965, after signing a contract with Atlantic Records, producer Jerry Wexler sent them to the Memphis branch of the Stax label.

Moore and Prater argued frequently, and Moore told the AP in 2006 that a drug habit he kicked in 1981 played a role in the band’s troubles and later made entertainment executives wary of giving it a fresh start. The duo broke up in 1970 and neither of them managed to record another major hit, although Moore often collaborated with Springsteen, whom Moore called one of his closest friends. They performed together on stage and sang on their albums, including: in the energetic duo “Real World”.

“RIP Sam Moore,” Springsteen sideman Steve Van Zandt posted on Page X. “One of the last great Soul Men. He and Dave Prater were the inspiration for Johnny and I to start Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. An important, righteous, wonderful man.”

In 1982, he married his wife Joyce, who helped him treat an addiction that he believed saved his life.

“I’ve performed on a lot of cruise ships, I’ve done a lot of oldies shows,” he said during those stints, adding that he once performed for a group of Elvis impersonators.

“It’s funny thinking about it now. I was in a lot of shows, and if I was in an old show, I actually had to audition,” he said. “But you know what? Keep your mouth shut, get up and sing as hard as you can and perform as hard as you can, get that little money, go about your business and try to pay those bills. I laugh about it now, but at the time, man, it was really serious.”

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

Moore is survived by his wife, Joyce; daughter Michell; and two grandchildren.