Last of the Soul Men

Remembering Sam Moore, half of one of the most dynamic duos of all time, and a powerful force on his own.

In the introduction to Have A Little Faith: The John Hiatt Story, I talked briefly about Sam & Dave.

My dad was a die-hard soul fan. I grew up marveling at the jackets of his Atlantic soul compilations: Joe Tex, Solomon Burke, Wilson Pickett, Don Covay—titans of soul. It was raw. They would scream, shout, croon; Sam Moore of Sam & Dave would have tiny bouts of involuntary laugh spasms in the middle of a line. Even when these artists were pouring their hearts out on a soul-wrenching ballad, they sounded like they were having the time of their lives.

Sam & Dave were one of those cornerstone acts for me. They were electrifying, powerful, loud, celebratory, soulful. Fueled by the songwriting of Isaac Hayes and David Porter, backed by Booker T & the MGs and the Memphis Horns, Sam & Dave’s uptempo numbers, “Soul Man,” “I Thank You,” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’” brought you along, sharing in their joy. Then, on “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby,” you could feel the empathy, the affirmation of love, while with “Soothe Me,” the lure of seduction was undeniable. That’s the power of soul.

I was lucky that I didn’t need the likes of Bruce Springsteen to guide me toward these musical heroes. I found them through my parents’ 45s and Atlantic comps before I ever heard of the Boss. But when I did hear how he championed the giants of soul and early rock’n’roll, it was an assurance that I was on the right track, following him and his E Street crew into their own interpretation of this powerful music.

After he split from David Prater in 1970, Sam carried on as an ambassador of rhythm and blues for decades. There were dark times, too, including addiction and having to wrestle with his former partner hiring another Sam (Daniels) to perform for at-times unwitting fans. By the mid-80s, however, Moore was seen rightfully as an originator and a go-to duet partner; whenever a rock or country star needed to inject a little soul cred into their songs, like Don Henley did on a standout track from 1984’s Building the Perfect Beast.

Some of these collabs worked, some were just…well…

His connection with the Blues Brothers began with their use of “Soul Man” during their performances on Saturday Night Live in the late ‘70s and in their 1980 movie. He joined the cast in the 1998 sequel, The Blues Brothers 2000, performing “John the Revelator.”

He released Overnight Sensational, a solo album packed with guest stars, as was the norm, in 2006. But for my money, hearing him duet with fellow longtime journeyman, Conway Twitty, on Tony Joe White’s “Rainy Night in Georgia” from the Rhythm, Country & Blues various artists project in 1994, was a late career highlight. It was Conway’s last recording to hit the airwaves and at the end, you hear Sam calling out to Conway, as if trying to lure him back from the great beyond. Now, it sounds like Sam’s telling him to hold on, he’s finally comin’ to join him.

For more on Sam’s remarkable career, be sure to check out these wonderful rememberances…

The Variety obit by Chris Morris

The New York Times obit by Bill Morris

The Rolling Stone obit by David Browne

But most importantly, listen to the music…

Listen to the Mixtape on Apple Music here.