♫ R.I.P. Sam Moore (Of Sam & Dave Fame) ♫

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, music, music history, Tributes

It’s probably been a long time since you’ve heard Sam & Dave and their fine music, but back in the ‘60s they were a hot item!  Sadly, on Friday, Sam Moore died … the other half of Sam & Dave, Dave Prater, died in 1988.

According to the story in the New York Times, Sam & Dave both …

… started out singing in church, and they developed a stirring, gospel-tinged call-and-response style that became their trademark. They signed with a local record label, Marlin, and then moved on to Roulette Records in New York. But their early records failed to chart, and they retreated to the King of Hearts.

Sam Moore, left, with Dave Prater.Credit…Redferns, via Getty Images

One night in 1964, Ahmet Ertegun, Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd of Atlantic Records came to see them perform. Impressed, they offered the duo a contract. The company put the Memphis soul label Stax Records in charge of the production of their records, which would then be released and distributed by Atlantic.

In his autobiography, “Rhythm and the Blues,” Mr. Wexler wrote, “I put Sam in the sweet tradition of Sam Cooke or Solomon Burke, while Dave had the ominous Four Tops’ Levi Stubbs-sounding voice, the preacher promising hellfire.”

Lending them to Stax proved to be an inspired move. In Memphis, Sam & Dave became part of a remarkable musical family that was a grittier counterpoint to Berry Gordy’s humming hit factory at Motown.

Working with the producers and songwriters Isaac Hayes and David Porter, the house band Booker T. & the M.G.’s and the crisp horns of the Mar-Keys, Sam & Dave were soon enjoying the benefits of stardom, including their own tour bus and plane, plus an entourage of women and hangers-on. They also both became addicted to heroin.

Their personal lives were … shall we say difficult and while they made great music together, they did not get along well, ending their friendship some time before they ended their duo.  I shan’t go into the details, but there is a really fascinating article in The Guardian if you’re interested.   For tonight, though, I will just play a few of their biggest hits in a brief tribute to Sam Moore.

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19 thoughts on “♫ R.I.P. Sam Moore (Of Sam & Dave Fame) ♫”

  2. Jill, Sam and Dave were a fantastic duo. Two powerful voices. There is a great documentary series on Staxx Records where they were featured. Atlantic took advantage of Staxx naive owner and pilfered the big acts. Staxx made do with their inventory of music and discovered a new star in their midst – Isaac Hayes. Keith

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    • I will definitely check out that documentary series! I had no idea of their personal histories until last night when I was researching them for this post. Ah yes, Isaac Hayes … another great one!

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  5. I remember them but didn’t know any of the background. I’m not a big fan of their kind of music — it just ain’t country enough.

    Oh yeah, I’m sitting here with my supper on my lap while answering this. It;s a HOT BBQ beef sandwich. Not bad so I will stop now and eat while it’s hot. YUMMMY

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  8. Pingback: ♫ R.I.P. Sam Moore (Of Sam & Dave Fame) ♫ | Filosofa’s Word | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

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