Sam and Dave are perhaps the finest vocal
duo in the history of soul music. The duo was part of Stax Records’ fine roster
of soul recording artists. Sam Moore was born in Miami, Florida, in 1935, while
his partner, Dave Prater, was born in Ocilla, Georgia, in 1937. The two men
joined forces and formed Sam and Dave in 1961. At Stax records, the duo was
supported on recordings by the Stax house band, Booker T and the MG’s, and was
often provided with stellar songs by the songwriting team of Issac Hayes and
David Porter.
After the duo had recorded a series of
unsuccessful singles for Roulette Records, Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records
sent them to Memphis, Tennessee, to try their luck with Stax. Between 1965 and 1968, Sam & Dave would
establish themselves as the most exciting duo in soul music, scoring big hits
with tunes such as “Hold On! I’m Comin’,” “Soul Man,” “Soothe Me,” “You Got Me
Hummin’,” and “I Thank You.”
By the late Sixties, the duo’s waning
commercial success and increasing in-fighting led to Sam & Dave splitting
up in 1970.
Prater and Moore embarked on ill-fated solo
careers before the first of many Sam & Dave reunions. The 1980 film, “The
Blues Brothers,” which featured the Sam and Dave hits, “Soul Man” and “Soothe
Me,” regenerated interest in the duo, but continuing conflict prevented the men
from taking full advantage of their second chance at success.
During the Eighties, Prater actually hired
another singer to pose as “Sam” and together they toured the country as Sam
& Dave much to the frustration of Sam Moore. David Prater sadly died in a
car accident in Georgia, in 1988, at the age of 50.
The duo recorded several superb albums for
Atlantic/Stax including, “Hold On, I’m
Comin’” (1966), “Double Dynamite” (1966), “Soul Men” (1967), and “I
Thank You” (1968).
