Sam Moore, Half of Legendary ‘Soul Man’ Group Sam & Dave, Dies at 89

January 10, 2025 @ 7:38 PM

Sam Moore, the legendary soul singer best known for his iconic song “Soul Man” as one half of the duo Sam & Dave, died Friday while recovering from recent surgery. He was 89.

As part of Sam and Dave, Moore helped create a string of classics, including “Hold On I’m Coming” and “I Thank You,” songs that have influenced generations of performers since.

Born in Miami on Oct. 12, 1935, Moore learned to sing in Church and became an accomplished gospel singer. He got his start as a professional singer on the gospel circuit where he first met Dave Prater in the late 1950s. In 1961, they became reacquainted while performing at the King of Hearts club in Miami and began performing together as a duo.

The duo gradually developed their sound from gospel influenced to pop and soul, and after signing with Atlantic Records in 1964 began recording with Stax, which at the time was distributed by Atlantic.

It was from 1965 to 1968 when they recorded their signature songs including their biggest hit, “Soul Man,” which hit #1 on the R&B charts and #2 on the pop charts in 1967. Their live acts, which led to their nickname “Double Dynamite,” was particularly well regarded.

But Sam and Dave had a difficult personal relationship and split up briefly in 1970. Difficulty establishing solo careers and high demand for the group led to a reunion the next year and over the 1970s they toured extensively, even as their presence on the pop charts declined, leading to being dropped by Atlantic after 1972.

They remained hugely influential however and received a boost of interest in the late 70s, thanks to the popularity of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s “Blues Brothers,” who often performed “Soul Man” among other classics of the genre. They toured with The Clash in 1979 and later with Paul Simon, but the partnership ended on New Year’s Eve, 1981, the date of their final show, after which they never spoke again. Prater died in an auto accident in 1988.

Moore went solo again, but by this time struggled with an addiction to heroin, which he was able to beat after meeting his wife, Joyce McRae in 1982. She became his manager and helped him to participate in trials for anti-opiate treatments. He went public with his battle the next year and became a lifelong anti-drug advocate and volunteered to help other people struggling with addiction.

From this point on he embarked on a successful solo career, touring regularly and recording with an array of artists who admired him, including Bruce Springsteen, who usually announced him as “the greatest living soul singer on the planet.”

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Sam & Dave in 1992.

He’s survived by his wife, Joyce, their daughter Michelle, and grandchildren Tash, and Misha.