Sam Moore, 89, Was Once Called the “Greatest Living Soul Singer.”
(January 11, 2025). Sam Moore, the high tenor powerhouse of the iconic Miami-based soul duo Sam & Dave, passed away yesterday (January 10) in his home state of Florida after complications from a surgery, leaving behind a legacy that reshaped a popular Black music genre and helped elevate its emotional heights at a time when it was developing into the most exciting form of music on the American pop scene.
Signed to Stax Records — then distributed by R&B titan Atlantic Records — and backed by the legendary house band Booker T. & the M.G.’s plus the immense songwriting talents of Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Sam & Dave certainly had the kind of support that any fledgling singers could only dream about. But their own talents — particularly that gospel-honed, soulful shout-singing by Moore, complemented by Prater’s more subdued, low tenor harmonizing — ensured that they’d be someday topping the charts. It ultimately gained them entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in 1992).
While many remember the appropriately titled “Soul Man” as the quintessential Sam & Dave anthem, their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Soul Singles chart was the blazing 1966 classic “Hold On, I’m Comin’.” The song’s origins are as legendary as its enduring presence: co-writer Isaac Hayes reportedly shouted at Porter, urging his writing partner to hurry out of the bathroom. Porter’s response inspired the song’s title. The phrase stuck, birthing a track that not only climbed the charts but also turned into a vocal showcase for Moore, whose soaring voice opens the song and delivers its most electrifying moments.
Released as a single in April 1966, “Hold On, I’m Comin’” took a couple months to make its impact complete. It was a year that had begun with King Records and James Brown — Godfather of Soul — dominating soul music discussions. That was also the year that Motown made its biggest soul foray to-date by topping the R&B chart an astounding 30 of the year’s 52 weeks (thanks to multiple hits by the Temptations, the Supremes, Stevie Wonder and Four Tops). With monster label Atlantic Records picking up most of the slack with iconic No. 1 hits by Wilson Pickett and Percy Sledge, there seemed to be little room for Sam & Dave’s song on the still-growing Stax label with bathroom origins and bedroom undertones (yeah, I’ll get to that below) to push through the fray. But it did, eventually reaching the pinnacle of the soul chart and crossing over to pop (No. 21) as well.
For me, the connection to “Hold On, I’m Comin’” is more personal. The song topped the Soul Singles chart the day I was born in June 1966, eventually becoming Billboard’s Top Soul Chart hit of the year. Its energy, urgency, and unforgettable groove have thus been a part of my life’s soundtrack, long before I understood the playful controversy it stirred. Radio stations once balked at its “suggestive” title, hinting at something far more salacious than a rushed bathroom command. The brewing controversy caused Stax to issue some pressings of the single as “Hold On, I’m a Comin’,” as if the addition of an article before the offending word totally eliminated any misinterpretation.
Six decades later, in 2024, the song’s 21st-century relevance was solidified when the late Isaac Hayes’ estate sent a legal cease-and-desist to stop Donald Trump from using the song at campaign rallies. The move might have been as much about sparing the world from witnessing any more of the former and future president’s ill-conceived boxing shuffles as it was preserving the song’s dignity.
Sam Moore’s voice was the soul of “Hold On.” He and his partner, Dave Prater, alternated lines, but it was Moore’s high tenor that made the song soar. Without him, the track might have been a funk footnote instead of a defining moment in the Stax Records canon. Beyond this hit, the duo churned out timeless classics like “You Don’t Know Like I Know,” “I Thank You” and the Grammy-winning “Soul Man,” the latter immortalized by the Blues Brothers long after it had already become a ‘60s anthem. Sam & Dave’s partnership was tumultuous, marked by breakups and discord, but their music spoke with one voice—an undeniable testament to the power of soul.
Even after soul music’s most important vocal duo dissolved in 1970, Moore continued to build his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame reputation as “The Greatest Living Soul Singer,” a title bestowed by critic Dave Marsh in 2002. He lent his remarkable voice to collaborations with Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Lou Reed, and even country legend Conway Twitty, proving that soul knows no boundaries. His loss reminds us of how much soul music has given us—and how much we’ve lost as its greatest voices have passed on.
As Arthur Conley once sang in his 1967 hit “Sweet Soul Music”: “Spotlight on Sam & Dave, y’all, ah don’t they look great, y’all, singin’ ‘Hold On, I’m Comin’?” Yesterday, the spotlight dimmed on Sam Moore. But his voice, his legacy, and the timeless urgency of “Hold On” will resonate forever.
Oh yeah, oh-oh yeah!
DJRob
DJRob (he/him) is a freelance music blogger from the East Coast who covers R&B, hip-hop, disco, pop, rock and country genres – plus lots of music news and current stuff! You can follow him on Bluesky at @djrobblog.bsky.social, X (formerly Twitter) at @djrobblog, on Facebook or on Meta’s Threads.
You can also register for free (select the menu bars above) to receive notifications of future articles.