Sam Moore, ‘Soul Man’ Singer, Dead at 89

Sam Moore, the famed soul singer who was one half of the duo Sam & Dave, has died at the age of 89.

The news was broken by entertainment reporter Roger Friedman, who noted that “the cause of death was complications recovering from surgery.”

Born in Miami in 1935, Moore began his career as a gospel singer. A chance encounter with fellow vocalist Dave Prater led the two to form Sam & Dave in 1961.

Four years later, the duo scored their first hit single, “You Don’t Know Like I Know.” So began a string of chart successes, including hugely popular songs like “Hold On! I’m Comin'” (1966), “You Got Me Hummin’ (1966), “When Something Is Wrong with My Baby” (1967), “Soul Man” (1967) and “I Thank You” (1968).

Despite their popularity, Moore and Prater had a volatile relationship. The duo broke up in 1970 and each pursued solo careers. Moore was slated to release an LP produced by King Curtis in 1971, but the R&B legend was murdered and the project was shelved.

Moore struggled with heroin addiction throughout his career, once admitting he would be “in my apartment putting a needle into my arm” when it was time to record.

Sam & Dave’s material received renewed attention later in the ‘70s thanks to the Blues Brothers. In October 1978, the characters – played by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd – performed “Soul Man” during an episode of Saturday Night Live. The moment quickly became part of pop culture history, rocketing Sam & Dave back to the spotlight. ZZ Top covered the song “I Thank You” on their ‘79 album Degüello, furthering the resurgence.

Riding the wave of renewed interest, Sam & Dave reunited and performed together for several more years. The duo’s final performance together took place on Dec. 31, 1981. Their second – and final – split was not amicable.

“When I left him in 1981, I told him I wanted to get off [drugs] and then we could play some specials or something like that,” Moore recalled to SFGate in 2002. “But he was so hurt he went and got an impostor and called it Sam & Dave. Word got out that I was dead or had throat cancer or that I had retired. All kinds of stuff. So from that time until Dave died in 1988, I hadn’t spoke to him. That’s how the whole thing played out.”

Moore was able to get clean and enjoyed an abundance of respect from a new generation of musicians. Sam & Dave were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and that same year he contributed to Bruce Springsteen’s album Human Touch.

In 2002, the shelved album he’d worked on with King Curtis, Plenty Good Lovin, was released to rave reviews. Four years later, Moore released a star-studded album called Overnight Sensational, featuring contributions from Springsteen, Sting, Jon Bon Jovi, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton, Paul Rodgers, Steve Winwood and Billy Gibbons.