Our Tribute to Sam Moore (1935-2025)
Between 1966 and 1968, no other male voice embodied soul quite like Sam Moore’s. And although he would never again reach the same heights, his mark in music is immense.
Originally from Miami, Samuel David Moore soon attracted attention on the local music scene. As early as the mid-1960s, he made his first recordings—doo-wop inspired—within the group The Majestics, which released a single on the local Marlin label. He also worked with various gospel groups, including The Gales and The Mellonaires. A regular performer in clubs, where he appeared solo, he one night crossed paths with a certain Dave Prater at the King of Hearts—a fellow figure on the local scene. They formed a duo based on the gospel technique of call and response. Under the name Sam & Dave, they performed locally and were soon discovered by producer Steve Alaimo, who worked for music entrepreneur Henry Stone. Stone released two singles under their name on his Marlin label, then landed them a deal with the New York–based Roulette label, which put out six 45-rpm singles in their name.
Although the duo achieved a degree of success in California, it remained geographically limited, and after a final single on another Stone label, Alston, Henry Stone put the duo in contact with Jerry Wexler. Wexler signed them to Atlantic but sent them to record at Stax in Memphis. Musically, the magic happened right away, and success arrived as early as 1965 when they were entrusted to the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter. At the time still relatively new to the industry, the two songwriter-producers created the musical formula that would make the duo’s success, notably by giving the lion’s share of lead vocals to Sam Moore, while Dave Prater generally provided backing vocals and occasional callouts. The commercial results were striking: from late 1965 (You Don’t Know Like I Know) through early 1968 (I Thank You), the duo placed seven singles in the Top 10 on the R&B chart, two of which also cracked the Top 10 pop chart. Soul Man, their biggest hit, reached No. 2 on the Hot 100. Their on-stage reputation—fueled by dynamic live shows—spread all the way to Europe, and they nearly stole the spotlight from Otis Redding during the famed Stax tour that made a notable stop at the Olympia in Paris in 1967.
The end of the distribution deal between Stax and Atlantic in 1968 brought an end to this golden age, which also saw the release of three successful albums. No longer having access to their original mentors, the duo got shuffled around by Atlantic between various producers and studios—Tom Dowd in New York, Brad Shapiro in Muscle Shoals, Dave Crawford in Miami—without ever recapturing the magic or success of their previous records. They did, however, remain a strong live act, notably touring Europe in 1968 under the banner “Soul Together Tour” with Arthur Conley, Clarence Carter, and Joe Tex.
In the summer of 1970, the duo split for the first time. Sam Moore began recording, under Atlantic’s auspices, what was meant to be his first solo album, helmed by King Curtis with contributions from top New York–based musicians—including Aretha Franklin, in her only appearance as a backing musician on someone else’s record. Unfortunately, despite a few singles released in 1970 and 1971 without much success, the sessions never came to fruition, largely due to King Curtis’s murder and Moore’s addiction issues. Over thirty years would pass before the material emerged under the title Plenty Good Lovin’ – The Lost Solo Album.
By August 1971, the duo had reformed, yet Atlantic declined to renew their contract when it expired in 1972. Several comeback attempts throughout the 1970s—an album produced by Steve Cropper for United Artists in 1975 (Back At ‘Cha), a handful of singles for Contempo—ended in commercial failure. By then, the pair was well integrated into the oldies circuit, intermittently reuniting and parting ways, often re-recording past hits for budget record labels. After a final concert in San Francisco on New Year’s Day 1981, the duo split for good. A legal battle ensued when Dave Prater used the name Sam & Dave while touring with a certain Sam Daniels; the two original partners never spoke again before Prater’s death in 1988.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Sam Moore, still struggling to overcome his addiction issues, made various attempts to revive his career with support from his wife Joyce, who had become his manager. He worked with Lou Reed—on a new version of “Soul Man” for the film of the same name—Junior Walker, Bruce Springsteen, and the Blues Brothers Band, yet remained largely confined to an “oldies” status. In 1996, angering Isaac Hayes and David Porter, he recorded yet another version of “Soul Man,” renamed “Dole Man,” in support of Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole. In 1997, he contributed to the book Sam and Dave: An Oral History, authored by journalist Dave Marsh, and made a cameo appearance (as a pastor) in the disastrous Blues Brothers 2000. He performed a few times in France in the early 2000s—at the Méridien in late 2002 and, in a surprising gospel program, at Saint-Sulpice Church in 2004.
After his long-shelved Atlantic album finally came out in 2002—and excluding two low-profile Christmas records in 1998—Moore released his first proper solo record in 2006, Overnight Sensational. However, the project, overstuffed with guest appearances of varying suitability, struggled to make an impact, made worse by Moore’s tarnished reputation—his manager’s fondness for questionable lawsuits included an attempt to ban Barack Obama’s campaign from using “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and a legal action against the producers of the film Soul Men.
In 2009, Moore was one of the guests at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame anniversary concert, where he was backed by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. After his album’s release, his recording output remained minimal. In 2014, he released a single honoring Martin Luther King, “They Killed a King.” Around the same time, he appeared on various artists’ albums—David Sanborn, Tower of Power, Pat Boone, Reese Wynans, Beverly Knight, and Sting—often reworking Sam & Dave classics. His likely last documented appearance was on Bruce Springsteen’s album Only The Strong Survive (Covers Vol. 1).
A long-standing Republican, Moore was one of the few African American artists to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration concert, where he sang “America the Beautiful.” He attempted to stir controversy by releasing what would be his final solo album, An American Patriot, soon after, though it went largely unnoticed. Nearly retired thereafter and in poor health, he limited his performances to occasional special events, such as a 2023 tribute to George Jones.
Although he arguably never had a career commensurate with his talent, Sam Moore remains an essential figure in the history of soul music—and his famous “Play it, Steve!” shouted at Steve Cropper in the middle of “Soul Man” epitomizes the power of his performances.