Soul icon Sam Moore, half of the Grammy-winning duo Sam and Dave, died Friday at age 89.
Moore — who with his late partner Dave Prater cut some of the best-known records of the genre with hits like “Soul Man” and “Hold On! I’m Comin’” — died in his Florida home after an unspecified surgery earlier in the week, though his cause of death has yet to be determined, his wife told Rolling Stone.
His former partner Prater, with whom he shared a sometimes contentious relationship, died in a car accident in 1988.
The trailblazing black artists were known for their high-energy live performances and became in the 1960s one of the top acts on the legendary Memphis-based Stax Records, alongside stars like Otis Redding and collaborators Isaac Hayes and David Porter.
Their enduring signature tune, 1967’s “Soul Man” won a Grammy as the duo gained crossover appeal that saw the song not only top the R&B charts but rocket to No. 2 on the pop charts, according to the New York Times.
The song, off their third record, was reportedly inspired by the civil rights riots in Detroit and climbed the charts at a time of massive racial tensions in the country.
It was later famously covered by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the Blues Brothers.
Moore was born in Miami on Oct. 12, 1935, and like his eventual partner grew up singing in church, cutting their teeth separately on the southern gospel circuit before they joined forces in 1961 at an amateur night at the Miami’s King of Hearts Club, according to a Stax spotlight on their careers.
Prater supposedly forgot the lyrics to the song “Doggin’ Around” when Moore joined him and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame partnership was forged.
The harmonizing, hard-dancing pair had already gained a name for themselves and signed with Atlantic Records but they quickly were moved to subsidiary Stax, where they recorded with “house band” Booker T and the MG’s and started a run of 10 consecutive top 20 R&B hits with “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” the bio said.
In 1968, Atlantic’s distro deal with Stax was axed and the duo were left working with the larger company as whatever personal relationship they had deteriorated.
“Nicknamed “Double Dynamite,” Sam & Dave became famous for their energetic, infectious live performances during the late ’60s, which complemented the overall high quality of their studio work,” a Stax profile stated.
“They may have communicated on-stage, but behind the scenes, it was reported that the duo could hardly stand each other’s presence.”
They parted ways in 1970 but reunited several times before Prater’s untimely death.
