Sam & Dave were an American soul and R&B duo, best known for their classic hits “Soul man” and “Hold on! I’m comin'”.
The original pairing of Sam Moore and Dave Prater met in Florida in 1961, and they recorded unsuccessfully for several years before being signed to Atlantic Records in 1965. Atlantic persuaded their Memphis affiliate Stax Records to produce them and in December that year the writing and production team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter delivered the crisply soulful “You don’t know like I know”.
Hayes and Porter wrote and produced various unforgettable hits including “Soul man,” “Hold on! I’m comin'” and “I thank you”.
The dissolution of the partnership between Stax and Atlantic virtually sealed the fate of Sam & Dave; there were a few more hits (and, later, a revival of interest thanks to the Blues Brothers), but the glory days were over.
Their last performance together was on December 31, 1981, at the Old Waldorf in San Francisco. On 9 April 1988, Prater died in a car crash in Sycamore, Georgia.
Sam Moore’s solo career was not easy because bookers wanted “Sam & Dave” and Moore wanted to be a solo artist.
In fact he released only one album “Overnight sensational” in 2006, produced by Randy Jackson and featuring Sting, Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Fantasia and 20 other guest stars.
