Soul singer Sam Moore of Sam and Dave fame, dies aged 89 after complications following surgery in Florida

Soul music legend Sam Moore, one half of the 1960s duo Sam and Dave, has died at the age of 89. The group was known for hits like "Soul Man" and "Hold On, I'm Comin'." His publicist, Jeremy Westby, announced that Moore passed away on Friday morning in Coral Gables, Florida, due to complications following surgery.

Sam Moore had a profound influence on numerous musicians, including Michael Jackson, Al Green, and Bruce Springsteen. In 1992, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Dave Prater. Most of Sam and Dave's hits were written and produced by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, and backed by Stax Records' house band, Booker T & the MGs.

The band's guitarist, Steve Cropper, is credited with one of music's most famous shouts during the middle of "Soul Man," when Sam and Dave yell, "Play it, Steve." Like many early soul groups, Sam and Dave faded from prominence after the 1960s. However, "Soul Man" re-entered the charts in the late 1970s when the Blues Brothers, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, recorded the song with many of the same musicians.

Moore, the higher voice of the duo, had a complex relationship with the hit song's association with the "Saturday Night Live" stars. He recalled that young people believed the song was originally written by the Blues Brothers. In 2008, the movie "Soul Men" depicted a pair of aging, estranged singers with some similarities to Sam and Dave. Moore filed a lawsuit, claiming the similarities were too close, but ultimately lost. He also sued Prater for years after Prater hired a replacement and toured as "The New Sam and Dave." Prater died in a car accident in Georgia in 1988.

Moore also filed legal actions accusing the record industry of defrauding him and depriving him of his retirement benefits. In 1993, Moore and other artists sued several record companies and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Moore stated in 1994 that he joined the lawsuit after learning that, despite his records selling millions of copies, his pension was only $2,285, which he could choose to take as a lump sum or $73 a month. "My entire life's pension is two thousand dollars?" Moore said at the time. "If you profit from me, give me some of it. Don't give me cornbread and tell me it's biscuits."

Moore also wrote the song "Dole Man" for Republican Bob Dole's 1996 presidential campaign, a parody of "Soul Man." In 2017, he was one of the few artists to perform at the inauguration of Republican President Donald Trump. Eight years prior, Moore had opposed the use of the song "Hold On, I'm Comin'" by the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Moore was born in Miami on October 12, 1935, and initially sang in church. He and Prater performed separately in clubs in the 1950s until they met in Miami in 1961.

Moore helped Prater guide the lyrics of a song, and they soon became a popular local duo. After signing with Atlantic Records in 1965, producer Jerry Wexler sent them to the company's Memphis subsidiary, Stax. Moore is survived by his widow, Joyce, his daughter, Michele, and two grandchildren.