Sam and Dave

Sam Moore and Dave Prater first met in Miami, in 1961, at the King of Hearts nightclub. Each had come from a background of singing in church. This was the manner in which many performers from poor families honed the skills others, who could afford it, obtained from musical lessons and trainers, who would coach their voices.

The duo was influenced by such stellar performers as Sam Cooke and Jackie Wilson. Sam and Dave’s music encouraged the pair to be animated on stage, and, as for their prowess as recording artists, they were second only to Otis Redding, at the famed Stax Studios, in Memphis.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fN4DHY_9gOs

There, the majority of their songs were written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, and their recordings were backed by the likes of the instrumental soul group, Booker T. and The M.G.’s. Although Sam and Dave recorded their first tracks at Stax, in 1965, and followed these with such numbers as “Hold On! I’m Comin'” and “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby”, the duo could not make meaningful inroads on the lucrative pop charts.

However, this trend was to end, in late 1967, when “Soul Man” not only spent seven weeks at No.1 on the rhythm and blues chart but peaked at No.2 on the pop chart. This was to mark the zenith of the duo’s career.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j2mzeyGZ8Y

The names of more tracks by Sam and Dave are listed in the suggested playlists.

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