Sam And Dave

One of the biggest live acts of the '60s, Sam and Dave are mostly identified with the Memphis rhythm and blues scene and Stax/Volt Records with whom they made their biggest hits. The duo consisted of  tenor Samuel David Moore and baritone David Prater. Moore (real surname Hicks) was from Winchester,Georgia and Prater was from Ocilla,Georgia. They performed together from 1961 to 1981.

Their biggest hit-making years were 1965 to 1968 with 10 consecutive top 10 singles and three consecutive top 10 albums. Hits included I Thank You, You Don't Know like I Know, Hold On I'm Coming and their signature tune,Soul Man. During that period no soul act had more consistent success outside of Aretha Franklin.




Sam And Dave had great crossover appeal, and "Soul Man" was one of the first top 10 songs to mention the word "soul"  helping to pave the way for wider acceptance by white audiences. Another huge hit was their only ballad single, When Something Is Wrong With My Baby. Their earlier songs were collaborations with Stax session guitarist Steve Cropper, then later the young writing duo Isaac Hayes and David Porter were hired and proceeded to write nearly all of their big hits.



The duo broke up in 1970, both to pursue solo careers. Neither was a success, and they reunited the following year. They split for good in 1981.




Sam And Dave are members of The Rock And Roll and Grammy Halls Of Fame, as well as multiple Grammy Award winners. The song , Hold On I'm Coming was used in Barack Obama's presidenial campaign until Sam Moore requested that they stop.  Eleven months later Moore performed the song at one of Obama's inaugural parties with Sting and Elvis Costello.