Sam Moore, best known as one half of the seminal duo Sam & Dave, has died. The soul singer passed away Friday morning (January 10) in Coral Gables, Florida, of complications recovering from surgery. Moore was 89 years old.
Born in Miami in 1935, Moore began singing gospel at church, performing with such gospel quarters as The Gales and The Millionaires. He met Dave Prater, who was also an experienced gospel singer, in Miami’s The King of Hearts Club in 1961, and the duo signed with Atlantic Records in 1964. Most of their hits – ‘Hold On! I’m Comin’’, ‘You Got Me Hummin’’, ‘When Something Is Wrong With My Baby’, ‘Soul Man’, and ‘I Thank You’ – were penned by Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Sam & Dave broke up in 1970, though they last performed together in 1981. Prater tragically died in a car accident in 1988.
Moore went on to pursue a solo career after the duo’s first breakup. He recorded his first solo album, Plenty Good Lovin’, in 1970, but the album did not come out until 2002. He worked with iconic musicians such as Aretha Franklin, Betty Wright, Bernard Purdie, Chuck Rainey, and more on the record. In 2006, he followed it up with Overnight Sensational, which featured Jon Bon Jovi, Fantasia, Sting, Sheila E., Mariah Carey, and Bruce Springsteen.
In 1992, Sam & Dave were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Moore was also a member of the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame.