Perhaps no act epitomized soul music as the secularization of gospel more than Sam & Dave. The original pairing of Sam Moore and Dave Prater met in Florida in 1961, and they recorded unsuccessfully for several years before being signed to Atlantic Records in 1965. Atlantic persuaded their Memphis affiliate Stax Records to produce them, and in December that year the writing and production team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter delivered the crisply soulful "You Don't Know Like I Know." Hayes and Porter became the "eminences grises" behind Sam & Dave, much as Holland-Dozier-Holland pulled the strings behind the Supremes. They wrote, they produced -- and the result was a string of hits, including "Soul Man," "Hold on I'm Coming" and "I Thank You," songs that survive as the very epitome of Southern soul. Certainly, Sam & Dave's hits are among the most soulful ever to crack the Hot 100. Their albums often bore the hallmarks of hasty execution, though. The dissolution of the partnership between Stax and Atlantic virtually sealed the fate of Sam & Dave; there were a few more hits (and, later, a revival of interest thanks to the Blues Brothers), but the glory days were over.
Samuel Moore and David Prater were both raised in the South, where they sang in church as children. During the '50s, they performed in soul and R&B clubs before meeting each other in at the King of Hearts club in Miami in 1961. Moore was hosting an amateur-night contest where Prater was singing. Once Dave forgot the lyrics to Jackie Wilson's "Doggin' Around," Sam coached him through the song. Following that night, the singers became a duo and soon became a popular local Miami act and signed with Roulette Records, releasing a handful of singles. In 1965, they signed with Atlantic Records, but producer Jerry Wexler moved the band to the label's Stax subsidiary.
Working with Stax's house band and songwriters/producers Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Sam & Dave created a body of sweaty, gritty soul that ranks among the finest and most popular produced in the late '60s. The duo's 1966 debut, "You Don't' Know Like I Know," kicked off a series of Top Ten R&B hits that included "Hold On! I'm Comin'" (1966), "You Got Me Hummin' (1966), "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" (1967), "Soul Man" (1967), and "I Thank You" (1968). However, the duo's career began to unravel in 1968, when Stax's distribution deal with Atlantic ended. Since Sam & Dave were signed with Atlantic, not Stax, they no longer had access to the production team of Hayes and Porter or the house band of Booker T. & the MG's, and their recorded work took a slight dip in quality. Though the switch of labels was unfortuante, what really caused the duo's demise was their volatile relationship. While the duo had enormous creative energy, they frequently fought off-stage. Nicknamed "Double Dynamite," Sam & Dave became famous for their energetic, infectious live performances during the late '60s, which complimented the overall high-quality of their studio work. They may have communicated on-stage, but behind the scenes, it was reported that the duo could hardly stand each other's presence. The tension caused Sam & Dave to part ways in 1970, just a few years after their heyday.
During the '70s, Sam & Dave reunited several times to little attention. At the end of the decade, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's Blues Brothers routine -- which borrowed heavily from Sam & Dave -- sparked a resurgence of interest in the duo, and the pair performed a number of concerts during 1980. However, their personal animosity had not faded, and they separated after a performance on New Year's Eve 1981. For the next few years, Dave Prater toured as Sam & Dave with vocalist Sam Daniels. During the mid-'80s, Sam Moore revealed the sources of the duo's tensions in a series of interviews. Moore disclosed that he had been addicted to drugs during the '70s. Prater was arrested in 1987 for selling crack to an undercover policeman. A year later, he died in a car accident. Moore continued to perform sporadically, most notably on Bruce Springsteen's 1992 album Human Touch album. Sam & Dave were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that same year. -- Colin Escott & Stephen Thomas Erlewine
01. It Feels So Nice 02. I Got a Thing Going On 03. My Love Belongs to You 04. Listening for My Name 05. No More Pain 06. I Found Out |
07. It Was So Nice While It Lasted 08. You Ain't No Big Thing Baby 09. I Need You 10. She's Alright 11. Keep a 'Walkin' 12. If She'll Still Have Me |
01. Hold on! I'm Comin' 02. If You Got the Loving 03. I Take What I Want 04. Ease Me 05. I Got Everything I Need 06. Don't Make It So Hard on Me |
07. It's a Wonder 08. Don't Help Me Out 09. Just Me 10. You Got It Made 11. You Don't Know Like I Know 12. Blame Me (Don't Blame My Heart) |
01. You Got Me Hummin' 02. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody 03. That's the Way It's Gotta Be 04. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby 05. Soothe Me 06. Just Can't Get Enough |
07. Sweet Pains 08. I'm Your Puppet 09. Sleep Good Tonight 10. I Don't Need Nobody (To Tell Me 'Bout My Baby) 11. Home at Last 12. Use Me |
01. Soul Man 02. May I Baby 03. Broke Down Piece of A Man 04. Let It Be Me 05. Hold It Baby 06. I'm With You |
07. Don't Knock It 08. Just Keep Holding On 09. The Good Runs the Bad Away 10. Rich Kind of Poverty 11. I've Seen What Loneliness Can Do |
01. I Thank You 02. Everybody Got to Believe in Somebody 03. These Arms of Mine 04. Wrap It Up 05. If I Didn't Have a Girl Like You 06. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me |
07. Don't Turn Your Heater On 08. Talk to the Man 09. Love Is After Me 10. Ain't That a Lot of Love 11. Don't Waste That Love 12. That Lucky Old Sun |
01. A Place Nobody Can Find 02. Goodnight Baby 03. I Take What I Want 04. Sweet Home 05. You Don't Know Like I Know 06. Hold on! I'm Comin' 07. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody 08. You Got Me Hummin' 09. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby 10. Small Portion of Your Love 11. Soothe Me 12. Soul Man |
13. May I Baby 14. I Thank You 15. Wrap It Up 16. Still Is the Night 17. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me 18. This Is Your World 19. Can't You Find Another Way (Of Doing It) 20. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 21. Come on In |
01. Don't Pull Your Love 02. Hold on! I'm Comin' 03. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody 04. I Thank You 05. You Don't Know Like I Know 06. You Got Me Hummin' |
07. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby 08. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 09. Can't You Find Another Way (Of Doing It) 10. Soul Man 11. Soothe Me 12. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me |
01. Come into My Life 02. When My Love Hand Comes Down 03. Little Bit of Good 04. Party in My Heart 05. Under the Boardwalk |
06. Shoorah! Shoorah! 07. Queen of the Ghetto 08. Blinded by Love 09. Give It What You Can 10. Don't Close the Curtain |
01. You Don't Know Like I Know 02. Hold on! I'm Comin' 03. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody 04. You Got Me Hummin' 05. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby |
06. Soothe Me 07. A Place Nobody Can Find 08. Goodnight Baby 09. Blame Me (Don't Blame My Heart) 10. Don't Make It So Hard on Me |
01. I Thank You 02. Wrap It Up 03. Broke Down Piece of A Man 04. Hold It Baby 05. Come on In 06. This Is Your World 07. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me 08. Everybody Got to Believe in Somebody 09. Can't You Find Another Way (Of Doing It) 10. Ain't That a Lot of Love 11. Don't Turn Your Heater On 12. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 13. Born Again |
14. You Left the Water Running 15. Holdin' On 16. I'm Not an Indian Giver 17. One Part Love-Two Parts Pain 18. Baby-Baby Don't Stop Now 19. Standing in the Safety Zone 20. Knock It Out the Park 21. Don't Pull Your Love 22. Jody Ryder Got Killed 23. Starting All over Again 24. Stop 25. Shop Around |
01. Soul Man 02. I Thank You 03. (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay 04. Cupid 05. Soothe Me 06. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar |
07. You Don't Know Like I Know 08. Hold on! I'm Comin' 09. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby 10. Don't Pull Your Love 11. Gimme Some Lovin' 12. Summertime |
01. Hold on! I'm Comin' 02. You Don't Know Like I Know 03. I Take What I Want 04. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody 05. You Got Me Hummin' 06. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby 07. Small Portion of Your Love 08. Soothe Me [live] |
09. I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down 10. Soul Man 11. I Thank You 12. Wrap It Up 13. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me 14. Can't You Find Another Way (Of Doing It) 15. Everybody Got to Believe in Somebody 16. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar |
01. Soul Man 02. I Thank You 03. Hold on! I'm Comin' 04. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 05. Sweet Soul Music |
06. Mustang Sally 07. Land of 1000 Dances 08. Funky Broadway 09. 634-5789 (Soulsville, U.S.A.) 10. Funky Street |
01. You Don't Know Like I Know 02. Hold on! I'm Comin' 03. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody 04. You Got Me Hummin' 05. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby 06. Soothe Me 07. Soul Man 08. I Thank You 09. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me 10. Can't You Find Another Way (Of Doing It) |
11. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 12. Don't Pull Your Love 13. Gimme Some Lovin' 14. Cupid 15. Another Saturday Night 16. You Send Me 17. Summertime 18. Wonderful World 19. Bring It on Home to Me 20. (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay |
01. Hold on! I'm Comin' 02. Gimme Some Lovin' 03. Soul Man 04. Cupid 05. I Thank You 06. Wonderful World 07. Summertime 08. (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay 09. Bring It on Home to Me |
10. Don't Pull Your Love 11. You Got Me Hummin' 12. Another Saturday Night 13. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 14. Soothe Me 15. You Send Me 16. You Don't Know Like I Know 17. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me 18. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby |
01. Hold on! I'm Comin' 02. Gimme Some Lovin' 03. Soul Man 04. Cupid 05. I Thank You 06. Wonderful World 07. Summertime 08. (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay 09. Bring It on Home to Me |
10. Don't Pull Your Love 11. You Got Me Hummin' 12. Another Saturday Night 13. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 14. Soothe Me 15. You Send Me 16. You Don't Know Like I Know 17. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me 18. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby |
01. Hold on! I'm Comin' 02. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me 03. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody 04. Can't You Find Another Way (Of Doing It) 05. Gimme Some Lovin' 06. I Thank You 07. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 08. You Got Me Hummin' |
09. Don't Pull Your Love 10. Soothe Me 11. Bring It on Home to Me 12. Another Saturday Night 13. Cupid 14. Soul Man 15. Wonderful World 16. You Send Me |
01. Hold on! I'm Comin' 02. Gimme Some Lovin' 03. Soul Man 04. Cupid 05. I Thank You 06. Wonderful World 07. Summertime 08. (Sittin' on the) Dock of The Bay 09. Bring It on Home to Me 10. Don't Pull Your Love 11. You Got Me Hummin' 12. Another Saturday Night 13. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar |
14. Soothe Me 15. You Send Me 16. You Don't Know Like I Know 17. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me 18. When Somethings Is Wrong With My Baby 19. Respect 20. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) 21. Wonderful World 22. (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay 23. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody 24. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction 25. Sweet Soul Music |
01. Hold on! I'm Comin' 02. I Thank You 03. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 04. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby 05. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me |
06. When a Man Loves a Woman(Percy Sledge) 07. Take Time to Know Her(Percy Sledge) 08. It Tears Me Up(Percy Sledge) 09. Warm and Tender Love(Percy Sledge) 10. Cover Me(Percy Sledge) |
01. Can't You Find Another Way (Of Doing It) 02. Don't Pull Your Love 03. Hold on! I'm Comin' 04. Said I Wasn't Gonna Tell Nobody 05. I Thank You 06. Soothe Me |
07. Soul Man 08. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 09. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby 10. You Don't Know Like I Know 11. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me 12. You Got Me Hummin' |
01. Soul Man 02. Hold on! I'm Comin' 03. I Thank You 04. Soul Sister Brown Sugar 05. Dock of the Bay 06. Gimme Some Lovin' 07. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby |
08. Bring It on Home 09. You Send Me 10. Summertime 11. Wonderful World 12. You Don't Know What You Mean to Me 13. Can't You Find Another Way of Doing It 14. You Don't Know Like I Know |
01. Hold on! I'm Comin' 02. Gimme Some Lovin' 03. Soul Man 04. I Thank You 05. Soul Sister, Brown Sugar 06. (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay |
07. You Got Me Hummin' 08. Soothe Me 09. Wonderful World 10. You Don't Know Like I Know 11. Exclusive Millennium Remix: Soul Man |