Publicist Jeremy Westby said Moore died Friday morning of complications while recovering from surgery in Coral Gables, Florida. No additional details were immediately available.
Moore, who inspired musicians including Michael Jackson, Al Green and Bruce Springsteen, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 along with Dave Prater.
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At Memphis, Tennessee-based Stax Records, Moore and Prater were second behind Otis Reading. He transformed the “call and response” of gospel music into a rousing stage show and recorded some of soul music’s most enduring hits, including “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “When With My Baby.” Something is wrong” and “I thank you.”
Most of their hits were written and produced by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter and featured the Stax house band Booker T. & the MGs, whose guitarist Steve Cropper was one of the most iconic voices in music. Got it when Sam and Dave said “Play it.” Steve” in the middle of “Soulman”.
Like many 60s soul acts, Sam & Dave faded away after the 1960s. But “Soulman” hit the charts again in the late 1970s when the Blues Brothers, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, recorded it with many of the same musicians. Moore expressed mixed feelings about the hit being associated with the “Saturday Night Live” stars, recalling that young people believed it originated with the Blues Brothers.
In 2008, the film “Soulman” featured a pair of aging, estranged singers who more closely resembled Sam and Dave. Moore lost a lawsuit claiming the resemblance was too close.
He spent years suing Prater after hiring Prater’s replacements and touring as the New Sam & Dave. Prater died in a car accident in Georgia in 1988.
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Moore also asserted legal claims that the record industry had deprived him of retirement benefits. Moore and other artists filed a lawsuit in 1993 against several record companies and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Moore told The Associated Press in 1994 that he became involved in legal efforts after learning that despite his million-selling records, his pension was only $2,285, which he paid in a lump sum, or $73 a month. can be taken in payment.
“Two thousand dollars for the rest of my life?” Moore said again. “If you’re going to make a profit out of me, give it to me too. Don’t give me cornbread and tell it’s a biscuit.”
Moore wrote the song “Doleman” based on “Soulman” for Republican Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign. In 2017, he was among the few entertainers to perform at the inauguration of Republican President Donald Trump. Eight years ago, Moore objected when Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s campaign used the song “Hold On, I’m Coming.”
Moore was born on October 12, 1935 in Miami and began singing in church.
He and Prater performed in soul and R&B clubs in the 1950s but did not meet until 1961 in Miami. Moore helped coach Prater with the lyrics for a song and they soon became a popular local duo. In 1965, after signing with Atlantic Records, producer Jerry Wexler sent them to the label’s Stax subsidiary in Memphis.
Moore and Prater argued frequently, and Moore told the AP in 2006 that a drug habit, which he had kicked in 1981, played a role in the band’s troubles, and that entertainment executives later offered him a new start. Refused to give. The pair broke up in 1970 and neither of them had another hit.
He married his wife, Joyce, in 1982, and she helped him get treatment for his addiction, which he credits with saving his life.
“I did a lot of cruise ships, I did a lot of old shows,” during those struggles, he said, adding that he once opened for a group of Elvis impersonators.
“It’s funny to think about it now,” he said. And I’ve done a lot of shows where if I did a show with an older show, I actually had to audition. “But you know what? You keep your mouth shut and you get up there and you sing as hard as you can and perform as hard as you can, and get a little bit of money and try to get your business going.” It’s laughable now, but at the time, man, it was really serious.”
Moore continued to record and sing. He was a frequent performer at the Kennedy Center Honors and performed for presidents, including Obama.
Moore is survived by his wife, Joyce, daughter, Michelle, and two grandchildren.