one half of soul duo Sam & Dave was 89

Sam Moore, the Grammy-winning soul singer and one half of the duo Sam & Dave, has died.

The musician died Friday at age 89 in Coral Gables, Fla., his publicist Jeremy Westby confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. An obituary from his publicity team, 2911 Media, stated that the cause of death was complications from surgery.

Jon Bon Jovi, who collaborated with the musician on his 2006 solo album, Overnight Sensational, paid tribute to Moore on Facebook. “Sam Moore, the Soulman, one of the pioneers and greatest singers ever, has left us,” he wrote. “I’m not saddened as much as I felt incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to be in his presence. Having had the opportunity to perform and even record with Sam was humbling and an honor.”

Born in 1935 in Miami, Moore began singing at a young age in church and clubs before joining forces with Dave Prater to form Sam & Dave. The duo signed to Atlantic Records in 1964 and were moved to its Memphis subsidiary, Stax Records, the following year, becoming the label’s biggest stars after Otis Redding. 

Sam & Dave released a string of R&B hits in the mid-1960s, including “Hold On! I’m Comin’,” “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby,” “I Thank You,” and, most notably, “Soul Man,” which won the 1968 Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues Group Performance, Vocal or Instrumental.

Sam & Dave split up in 1970, and Moore recorded a solo album that wasn’t released until 2002 due to the 1971 murder of its producer, King Curtis, among other reasons. He reunited and broke up with Prater a number of times in the ensuing years, eventually taking legal action against his on-and-off partner for performing with Sam Daniels under the Sam & Dave name.

“Soul Man” resurged in popularity when John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd covered the song as the Blues Brothers on their 1978 album, Briefcase Full of Blues.

Moore battled addiction in the 1980s and later became an anti-drug advocate after overcoming his struggle with the help of his wife, Joyce Moore, whom he married in 1982. He recorded duets with Lou Reed and Don Henley later in the 1980s.

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Prater died in a car accident in 1988, and Sam & Dave were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. The following year, Moore joined a group of other musicians who took legal action against record labels and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists for allegedly cheating them out of retirement benefits. Shortly after, he rewrote “Soul Man” into a campaign song, “Dole Man,” for Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole — an effort the song’s publishers extinguished.

In 2006, Moore released the solo album Overnight Sensational, featuring collaborations with Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen, Fantasia, Sting, Jon Bon Jovi, Billy Preston, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, and many more. In 2009, he sued Bob and Harvey Weinstein for their production of the film Soul Man, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac, alleging that it was based on Sam & Dave. Moore performed at Donald Trump’s inauguration in 2017 — the sixth American president to hear the musician sing live — and received the Grammys’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.

Moore is survived by his wife, his daughter, and his two grandchildren.