Sam Moore, one half of the soul duo Sam & Dave, whose hits set the standard for soul music in the 1960s, died Friday. He was 89.
Moore died in Coral Gables, Fla., due to complications from an unspecified surgery, according to his publicist, Jeremy Westby.
“We are heartbroken to hear of the death of Sam Moore, one of America’s greatest soul voices,” friend and collaborator Bruce Springsteen wrote on Instagram. “He was filled with stories of the halcyon days of soul music and had that edge of deep authenticity in his voice I could only wonder at.”
The singing duo Sam and Dave, Sam Moore (left) and Dave Prater Jr., are pictured in the 1960s. (Photo by John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Moore and Dave Prater shot to fame together in the 1960s as Sam & Dave, and their hits “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’” remain standards six decades later. In 2022, “Soul Man” was even added to the Library of Congress for its historical importance.
The duo worked at Memphis’ famous Stax Records, with many of their songs being written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter and recorded with Booker T. & the MGs. Other major hits included “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “Said I Wasn’t Gonna Tell Nobody” and “When Something is Wrong With My Baby.”
“Here [I am] a man who comes from… never had no education as far as musical education; I come from the church,” Moore told the Library of Congress in 2022. “I never in my life thought about Grammys or all that stuff and we’ve had other hits, but [“Soul Man”] has become the song of a lifetime. And I’m going to brag about that!”
Born Oct. 12, 1935, in Miami, Moore began singing in church at a young age and got his start as a gospel singer before pivoting to soul. A chance meeting with Prater in 1961 inside a Miami nightclub sparked a genre-defining duo.
Moore and Prater were renowned performers at the height of their fame in the 1960s, known for their electrifying chemistry on stage.
However, the good times didn’t last. Moore and Prater’s relationship hit the rocks by 1970, and though they continued performing together, Moore said in 2002 that he only did it for the money.
Moore battled drug addiction for more than a decade, and he later said “all the money that I had was going into my arms.” But in the early 1980s he met the woman who would become his wife, Joyce McRae, and got clean with her help.
Moore and Prater also went their separate ways around that time, and Moore never forgave Prater for finding a different Sam (Sam Daniels) and touring again as “Sam & Dave.” When Prater died in a car crash in 1988, they hadn’t spoken in years.
“I never mourned the man — I still haven’t,” he told SFGate in 2002. “I didn’t cry. I’ve cried about a lot of things, but I never cried for Dave. I don’t know whether that’s a good or a bad thing. But I used to miss him a lot.”
Sam Moore (L) performs “Soul Man” for President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the White House in 2013. (Photo by Martin H. Simon-Pool/Getty Images)
After getting clean, Moore performed at numerous smaller venues throughout the 1980s and 1990s with the help of his wife, Joyce, who worked as his manager. He also collaborated with many artists, including Springsteen, and released an album in 2006 that included appearances from Jon Bon Jovi, Wynonna Judd, Mariah Carey, Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton and Diane Warren.
Moore is survived by his daughter, Michell, and his wife, Joyce.