LEGENDARY soul singer Sam Moore has died aged 89 after “surgery complications”.
Moore inspired musicians including Michael Jackson and Bruce Springston and was part of the ’60s hit duo Sam & Dave.
Publicist Jeremy Westby said Moore died Friday morning in Coral Gables, Florida, due to complications while recovering from surgery.
Moore, who gave hit songs including the Soul Man in 1960, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 with Dave Prater.
The duo recorded some of soul music’s most enduring hits, including You Dont Know Like I Know, When Something is Wrong With My Baby and I Thank You.
Moore was born October 12, 1935, in Miami and got his start singing in church.
He and Prater performed in soul and R&B clubs in the 1950s but didn’t meet until 1961 in Miami.
Moore helped coach Prater on a song’s lyrics and quickly became a popular local duo.
In 1965, after signing with Atlantic Records, producer Jerry Wexler sent them to the label Stax subsidiary in Memphis.
Like many ’60s soul acts, Sam & Dave faded after the 1960s.
But Soul Man 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.
However, Moore kept recording and singing.
He was a frequent performer at the Kennedy Center Honors and performed for presidents, including Obama.
Moore is survived by his wife, Joyce, daughter, Michell, and two grandchildren.
