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Sam Moore was more than a Soul Man – he was one of the 20th century’s great live performers

Sam & Dave singer’s electrifying artistry was revered by musicians ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Mariah Carey

The 1967 hit Soul Man was one of the 60s great coded protest songs – a message of Black empowerment disguised as loverman swagger – but from the minute Moore opens his mouth, you might hazard a guess that he was singing about something other than his sexual prowess. In his bleaker moments, Moore was occasionally wont to complain that the public couldn’t see past the duo’s 60s hits – he once described Soul Man as “an albatross” – which was perhaps understandable: in the UK, his biggest latter-day success came with a re-recording of the track featuring Lou Reed, of all people. Things might have turned out differently had his 1971 solo album Plenty Good Lovin’ not been shelved after the murder of its producer, King Curtis: finally released in 2002, it displayed a remarkable supporting cast – Donny Hathaway, Aretha Franklin, Betty Wright, the Sweet Inspirations – contriving to update Moore’s sound for a new decade without sacrificing any of its power.

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