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Sam & Dave

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Sam & Dave was an American soul duo of Sam Moore and Dave Prater. Both grew up with gospel at home and in church. In 1961 they met at the King of Hearts nightclub in Miami, where Moore was hosting an amateur night. When Prater lost the words of a Jackie Wilson song, Moore jumped in. From that evening they sang together. Their first singles, on small labels and on Roulette in New York, did not yet break through.

Music and breakthrough

In 1964 Jerry Wexler signed the duo to Atlantic. He lent them out to Stax in Memphis, because he wanted to capture on record the southern gospel sound of their live shows. There Isaac Hayes and David Porter wrote and produced the great hits: You Don't Know Like I Know and Hold On, I'm Comin' (1966), the ballad When Something Is Wrong with My Baby (1967), Soul Man (1967) and I Thank You (1968). Booker T. & the M.G.'s and the horns of The Mar-Keys played on them. When the deal between Atlantic and Stax ran out in 1968, the duo lost its writers and musicians, and the hits dried up.

Influence

The strength of Sam & Dave was the call-and-response singing of the Black church: Moore sang the high voice, Prater the lower one, and they answered each other like preacher and congregation. On stage they were so energetic that they earned the nickname Double Dynamite. Soul Man helped establish the word soul as the name of a genre. In the late 1970s the cover by The Blues Brothers brought the duo renewed attention.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Soul Man and notice how Sam and Dave alternate and complement each other, with the horns adding short bursts in between. Hear how the Stax house band gives the singers room.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: ArtistsStax and Memphis soul