Legendary Soul Man Sam Moore - Grammy Winner, Early Member of the Rock Hall of Fame - Dead at 89

Il leggendario Soul Man Sam Moore è morto questa mattina a Coral Gables, in Florida. Aveva 89 anni. La causa della morte erano le complicazioni che si sono recuperate da un intervento chirurgico.

Moore - con il suo tenore di marca che è cresciuto in modo distintivo attraverso ogni canzone che ha suonato - era la metà del duo vincitore dei Grammy Sam & Dave degli anni '60. I loro successi includevano “Soul Man”, “Hold On I’m Coming”, “I Thank You” e molti altri. Sam & Dave sono stati introdotti nel Rock and Roll of Fame nel 1992.

Samuel David Moore

12 ottobre 1935 - 10 gennaio 2025

Sam è nato nel 1935 ed è cresciuto nei quartieri di Overtown e Liberty City di Miami. Iniziò a cantare in chiesa. Sam Cooke lo ascoltò e pensò che Moore sarebbe stato un perfetto sostituto per lui come leader del gruppo evangelico The Soul Stirrers. La notte prima di partire per Chicago per vestirsi per il palco e unirsi al gruppo, eò al Nightbeat e vide Jackie Wilson suonare. Sam si è reso conto che voleva cantare pop, non evangelizzare professionalmente come Jackie e lo ha fatto da solo. È diventato il cantante MC e ospite di spettacoli di talento al King O'Hearts Club. Lì ha incontrato Dave Prater, un panettiere locale che ha provato per lo spettacolo del talento del club. La magia della fase ha portato alla formazione del duo.

Il leggendario Steve Alamo stava frequentando la scuola medica dell'Università di Miami e suonava concerti con la sua cover band come atto di apertura per Sam & Dave. Li ha portati nello studio e hanno registrato la loro prima mezza dozzina di canzoni che sono arrivate nelle mani di Henry Stone e TK Records. Il manager di Sam & Dave, Johnny LoMelo, non ha approvato il coinvolgimento di Henry Stone e ha insistito che Henry consegnasse tutti i master record a Morris Levy e alla sua società Roulette Records.

Ahmet Ertegun, Tom Dowd and Jerry Wexler from Atlantic Records, saw Sam & Dave in late 1964 at the King O’ Hearts where they had become locally famous. In 1965 they were signed to Atlantic Records and the rest is music history. Jerry Wexler loaned the duo to Atlantic’s southern production arm, Stax Records. They were introduced to Isaac Hayes and David Porter. What followed was a string of hits and international stardom. Sam & Dave were so revered that they were among the few stars who were asked to perform at Martin Luther King, Jr.’s memorial concert at Madison Square Garden in 1968. Sam was a long time supporter of Dr. King.

The duo broke up in 1970. Shortly after, Sam was re-signed to Atlantic and recorded his solo album, produced by King Curtis with Donnie Hathaway and even Aretha Franklin on piano as guest artists. King Curtis was murdered on 13 agosto 1971, the album was completed but Wexler chose to shelf the album, depriving Sam of his solo career launch. Sam reunited with Dave for a few years in the late 1970’s breaking up for good New Years Eve 1982 at Bill Graham’s Old Waldorf in San Francisco. Sam struggled with heroin addiction after being introduced to the drug by Little Willie John in the early 1960’s. Sam and his wife, Joyce, recounted his drug use later in an oral history written by Dave Marsh and in my documentary with DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus called “Only the Strong Survive.”

The 70’s, however, were not all bad news. Thanks to Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s cover of “Soul Man,” performed as The Blues Brothers on “Saturday Night Live” there was renewed interest in the duo’s music, look, and athletic dancing.

Sam married Joyce McRae in 1982, who became his manager and advocate. While the FDA and NIDA were conducting clinical trials of the anti-opiate Naltrexane which blocks the opiate receptors in the brain, Joyce was able to get Sam into the program and saved him from a death due to heroin addiction. Joyce gives full credit to what she calls a God-wink, and Sam began a celebrated solo career.

Over the years, Sam became a mainstay performer at the Kennedy Center. He performed for six presidents — Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. At Dan Aykroyd’s 50th birthday, Sam performed with Clinton, who played the saxophone to accompany him. He also performed for Barack Obama at the White House.

More than once, Bruce Springsteen loudly and proudly introduced Sam as “The greatest living soul singer on the planet!” Springsteen invited him to sing on his “Human Touch” album, and again in 2023 on his collection of R&B covers (also called “Only the Strong Survive”). When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrated its 25th birthday at Madison Square Garden, Springsteen featured Sam to much fanfare.

Moore was also a vocal advocate for the rights of performers. With his wife, he testified often in Washington for a performer’s royalty on records played on AM & FM radio. This has still not been resolved by Congress. Sam has said it would be life-changing money for himself, his peers and every American phono recording artist whose music is played on AM/FM radio and worldwide. All other countries who collect on behalf of artists including Americans, do not pay any collected broadcast performance royalties due to lack of reciprocity. (Only songwriters and publishers get paid from airplay on the radio.) Sam was passionate about the subject.

Sam’s legacy as a solo artist was cemented when he was finally able to recover and release the King Curtis album, “Plenty Good Loving,” in 2002. It was met with four star reviews. Both Ertegun and Wexler publicly regretted not having initially released it. In 2006, Sam made a triumphant return with his first album in thirty years, ‘Overnight Sensational,’ which featured Springsteen, Sting, Bon Jovi and a galaxy of other stars produced by American Idol’s Randy Jackson. He was nominated for a Grammy Award with Billy Preston on their duet of “You Are So Beautiful.” He was welcomed, as always, to the David Letterman show, the Tonight Show, and all the morning shows.

In recent years, Sam received a Special Merit Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys. He also continued to perform on a steady basis until the pandemic. His voice was heard recently on a Starbucks commercial featuring the Sam & Dave version of “Hold On I’m Coming.” He was often asked to perform at high-profile prestigious occasions. For example: Aretha Franklin asked him to sing at the funeral for her sister, singer Erma Franklin. Eddie Murphy requested Sam to perform at his Kennedy Center Mark Twain award.

Condolences to Joyce, their daughter Michelle, and grandchildren Tash, and Misha. To say Sam will be much missed is an understatement. Sam never stopped recording. He was working on a gospel album with Rudy Perez dedicated to his mother. Sam’s voice remained intact. It was an extraordinary instrument he knew was a gift from God and gifted to the finest human being.