Hold on, I'm comin'... RIP Sam Moore (1935–2025)
January 12, 2025 12:21 AM   Subscribe

Sam Moore of the legendary soul duo Sam & Dave passed away aged 89. Obituaries in Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, NME, New York Times, Washington Post. His partner in the duo, Dave Prater passed away in 1988.

The duo's hit singles from 1965 through 1968, included "Soul Man", "Hold On, I'm Comin'", "You Don't Know Like I Know", "I Thank You", "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby", "Wrap It Up", and many other Southern Soul classics. Except for Aretha Franklin, no soul act during Sam & Dave's Stax years (1965–1968) had more consistent R&B chart success, including 10 consecutive top-20 singles and three consecutive top-10 LPs.
While Sam & Dave were together for 21 years, they often had a fractious relationship.
Regardless of the turmoil, they left behind an impressive discography and electric live (YT link to a '66 performance) performances (YT link to Stax Review with Booker T & the MG's in '67).
After the demise of the duo, Sam Moore continued performing and recording until 2023.
posted by phigmov (21 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
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posted by trip and a half at 2:20 AM on January 12


What a great one.

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posted by kitten kaboodle at 3:19 AM on January 12


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posted by filtergik at 3:38 AM on January 12


i had no idea he was still alive
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one of the greats
posted by kokaku at 4:46 AM on January 12


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posted by Lemkin at 5:22 AM on January 12


I use to have the album "Hold On, I'm Comin'", on vinyl when it first came out. RIP
posted by DJZouke at 5:46 AM on January 12


And he was cheerfully present in the John Cusack/Tim Robbins movie "Tapeheads," too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emkef_SG0rs
posted by wenestvedt at 6:30 AM on January 12 [4 favorites]


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posted by briank at 6:48 AM on January 12


Somewhere, Belushi once again says, "We're putting the band back together."
posted by thecincinnatikid at 7:49 AM on January 12 [2 favorites]


The amount of raw emotion that comes through in those four words is almost incomprehensible in relation to their size. Real lightning in a bottle.

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posted by Sphinx at 8:46 AM on January 12 [2 favorites]


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posted by kensington314 at 8:47 AM on January 12


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posted by gentlyepigrams at 9:42 AM on January 12


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posted by suelac at 10:18 AM on January 12


Sam Moore was friendly with George H.W. Bush (and, later, performed at a Trump inaugural something-or-other).

I don't say that to damn the guy, or anyone who enjoys his music, me very much included.

Life is long, people are complicated--I just wanted to weigh in before one of y'all said that writing 'Dole Man' in 1996 was the moral equivalent of slavery or something.

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posted by box at 12:18 PM on January 12


Some of the history while researching the post (I'm by no means an expert on the artist, the duo, or Soul music) was pretty fascinating... from Wikipedia...
"In 1991, Moore recorded several songs on Red, Hot & Blues with Republican Party official and avid bluesman, Lee Atwater."
We also missed an opportunity to see them perform on SNL with the Blues Brothers (how awesome would that have been!)...
"In 1979, Sam & Dave enjoyed a significant resurgence of interest as a result of Dan Aykroyd's and John Belushi's sketch characters The Blues Brothers, and the comic actors' 1979 top-40 cover of "Soul Man". Moore stated they were offered an opportunity to perform onstage with Belushi and Aykroyd on SNL but turned it down when Belushi said Sam & Dave had to perform the intro, then the Blues Brothers would take over."
However, later...
"In April 1988, Moore joined the Elwood Blues Revue which featured Dan Aykroyd and The Blues Brothers Band."
posted by phigmov at 1:38 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]


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posted by riverlife at 4:04 PM on January 12


However, later...

"In April 1988, Moore joined the Elwood Blues Revue which featured Dan Aykroyd and The Blues Brothers Band."

Who's we? Am guessing many mefites besides me still fondly recall this utterly epic SNL open - and especially with the inimitable Garrett Morris as emcee. Belushi and and Aykroyd at their peak Blues Bros paying personal homage to one of their prime inspirations (though Aykroyd once acknowledged that while some of their act was modeled on Sam and Dave, their hats were purely inspired by John Lee Hooker).
posted by thecincinnatikid at 4:09 PM on January 12


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posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 6:59 PM on January 12


I can't remember which commercial, but there's some commercial recently that has Hold On as it's soundtrack and it really does remind you how amazing that track is.

Also, as easy as it is to bang on the idea of two white guys doing a blues and soul review - I love those two dummies for bringing so much attention to those other artists.
posted by drewbage1847 at 8:27 PM on January 12 [1 favorite]


A good time to rewatch that 4-part Stax doc again.
posted by aspersioncast at 5:50 AM on January 13



posted by Gelatin at 6:17 AM on January 13


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