Sam Moore, the surviving half and higher voice of the 1960s duo Sam & Dave that was known for such definitive hits of the era as “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin,’” has died. He was 89.
Publicist Jeremy Westby said Moore died Friday morning in Coral Gables, Florida, due to complications while recovering from surgery. No additional details were immediately available.
Moore, whose admirers ranged from Al Green to Bruce Springsteen, was inducted with Dave Prater into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
“Over on E Street, we are heartbroken to hear of the death of Sam Moore, one of America’s greatest soul voices,” Springsteen said Saturday on Instagram. “He was filled with stories of the halcyon days of soul music, and to the end had that edge of deep authenticity in his voice I could only wonder at.”
At the Memphis, Tennessee-based Stax Records, Moore and Prater ranked only behind Otis Redding as the label’s biggest stars. They transformed the “call and response” of gospel music into a frenzied stage show and recorded some of soul music’s most enduring hits, which also included “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “When Something is Wrong With My Baby” and “I Thank You.”