The "I Hate Sam Moore" Blog

The Way It Should Be

2009-12-02T19:10:00.011-06:00

It just happens to be my opinion that I feel it is an unfortunate thing that Dave Prater will always have to share his name and legacy with Sam Moore forever and ever. But it's a far greater tragedy that Dave doesn't even have a headstone all his own (how messed up is that?). That is why I love Photoshop, because it has the capabilities to turn a tragedy into a triumph (see above picture). It makes me sick to my stomach when I think, "What if Dave's children & grandchildren - his blood - want to visit his gravesite and then have to be subjected to seeing that thing's name on HIS headstone." It makes me sick! It's bad enough Dave's offspring have to deal with that thing having her paws all over their dad's estate, but now they can't even go to his Find A Grave site without being accosted by that thing posting her crazy ramblings everyday (in case you were wondering, the "Anonymous" that has been leaving comments on Dave's Find A Grave page since about November 22 of this year is Rosemary Whatever-Her-Last-Name-Is...You know, the chick that thinks she is Dave's widow). She even had the insolence to post some gushy comment pretending to be Sam Moore and wrote something about Dave being a great partner, a hard worker, the best partner anyone could ask for, and so sorry that he was gone. Then she ended her insane, pretending to be Sam Moore post by saying something like Sam & Dave eternal & forever, Love Bubba and signed it "SDM." And when I wrote a follow-up comment warning everyone that Sam Moore did NOT write that message, the phony post suddenly disappeared (along with all my comments AND my account). So if I can't even post a simple and benign comment like "R.I.P. Dave" on his Find A Grave page without it getting deleted (along with my entire account), then I'll just come here and post whatever I want...F**K YOU FIND A GRAVE!!! And, oh yeah, R.I.P. Dave...Or at least try to rest in peace in spite of that God-awful headstone you're stuck with.

P.S. Hey Find A Grave dude from Salt Lake City (and you too Canyon Country, CA)...STOP COMING TO MY BLOG! If I'm not welcomed on your site then get the f**k off of mine!

UNBELIEVABLE!

2009-05-22T14:49:00.017-05:00

This is the trailer for Tavis Smiley's new movie "Stand" that will air on TVOne this Sunday night.

I'm not exactly sure what this movie is all about, and quite frankly, it doesn't look too good to me (it kind of looks like a bootleg version of Spike Lee's "Get On The Bus"). I'm just scratching my head trying to figure out why Sam Moore is in this movie??? And judging from this following excerpt of Sam's "performance" in this movie, I'm not scratching my head anymore, I'm just shaking it...UNBELIEVABLE!

Sam is still talking about Dave (a dude he claims over and over that he never needed and wants so desperately to break away from)...UNBELIEVABLE! And can you say "Not that funny, guys!" I thought I was watching an old clip of Def Comedy Jam when the audience would jump up and down, overreacting to a joke that wasn't that funny in the first place. I almost feel sorry for Tavis, Cornel and the other suckers who are obviously buying Sam's "story" (and I actually dig Cornel West immensely), because they are so gullible and just clearly don't know (again, shaking my head). Maybe it's just me, but Sam's whole story reeks of bullsh*t! First, the timeline for this alleged Sam & Dave and Ike & Tina Turner concert at Madison Square Garden has to be between the Fall of '67 and the beginning of April '68. You ask, "How did you come up with that timeline, Duchess?" Well, Sam mentions the songs "Hold On, I'm Comin'," "Soul Man" and "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" in this movie excerpt, and "Hold On, I'm Comin'" and "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" both came out in '66, and "Soul Man" came out on August 21st 1967. Now, Sam & Dave were on tour overseas in the late Summer/early Fall of '67 (hence, that's where I got the "Fall of '67" for the beginning of this timeline). Sam also mentions that Martin Luther King, Jr. was in attendance at this alleged concert, and we all know that Martin was murdered on April 4th 1968, so that's how I got the "beginning of April '68" as the end of this timeline. Now, I will be the first to admit that I don't know when, where, and with whom Sam & Dave had ALL of their concerts, but I never heard about them giving a concert at Madison Square Garden between the Fall of '67 and early Spring of '68 with Martin Luther King, Jr. in attendance, and Ike & Tina Turner as their opening act with the audience screaming "Tina! Tina!" when Sam & Dave took the stage! Is it only me, or does this latest Sam "story" make no sense and sound highly suspect?

First, how the hell could Martin Luther King, Jr. be at Madison Square Garden and nobody knew about it all these years except Sam Moore? (even Sam hasn't told this "story" before, and he's been asked numerous questions about Martin Luther King, Jr. in the past). That's like Barack Obama going to see an Earth, Wind & Fire concert and nobody (including the whole audience and everyone backstage) noticing Barack was there except Philip Bailey! Second, why would Ike & Tina Turner be opening up for Sam & Dave? Ike & Tina had been performing since 1960 and had a few hit records under their belts and probably had already built-up a fan base and could headline their own show, right? I know Ike & Tina opened up for The Rolling Stones in 1969, but that was The Rolling Stones! Third, Sam mentions that this was Sam & Dave's "first" performance at Madison Square Garden, and he also mentions that Tina "was killin' 'em with 'Proud Mary'" and I could have swore Ike & Tina didn't start singing "Proud Mary" until 1971 (long after Martin Luther King, Jr. died). And Creedence Clearwater Revival (the original artists who wrote and performed "Proud Mary") didn't even come out with that song until January of 1969 (again, long after Martin died). I don't know, maybe I'm wrong...Does anybody remember this alleged concert that Sam is talking about? Is there anybody out there who was actually in attendance at this alleged show and saw and heard the audience scream "Tina! Tina!" when Sam & Dave hit the stage? Is there anybody out there that remembers Sam & Dave doing a pseudo strip tease to keep up with their opening act, Ike & Tina Turner? Is there anybody??? Maybe Sam is confusing the concert he and Dave were a part of in June 1968 at Madison Square Garden for the tribute to the late Martin Luther King, Jr.? Maybe Sam is losing his mind? It is worth noting that someone who knows Sam very well once told me that as a form of "amusement," he would purposely reminisce with Sam about old times that never actually happened, and Sam would go right along with the bogus recollections (which Sam thought were true) and even add his own to the "story"...UNBELIEVABLE! To me, that insight into Sam, from someone that knows him very well, speaks VOLUMES and sounds exactly like what Sam is doing in this movie (and has done in many an interview). At this point, if Sam Moore's "stories" aren't corroborated by at least two other people (other people that aren't married or related to him, or aren't in his and Joyce's "cult," that is), then I just don't believe a word of it.

P.S. Just a random side note that I found peculiar yet hilarious...Sam mentions in this movie excerpt that after he and Dave hit the stage and the audience allegedly started screaming "Tina! Tina!" That Dave had then taken off his jacket, and Sam followed suit. Then Dave took off his shirt, and Sam followed suit. Well, according to Sam (in the book "Sam And Dave: An Oral History"), it was Dave who always followed everything Sam did (onstage and otherwise):

"...He was a little younger than me—by the time we got together, I was twenty-six, he was twenty-four. He really was just a clean-cut country boy. Anything I did he would follow—as far as the stage was concerned, I'm saying." (page 45-46)
"...Dave was following me; he's a junkie, too. Because everything he see me do, you understand, Dave is gonna do it. If I bought a mink coat, Dave was gonna buy a rat, or a mink. So if he sees me on drugs, he's gonna emulate, because I'm Mr. Cool." (Page 92)

So now according to Sam in this movie excerpt, it was him following and copying Dave?...UNBELIEVABLE! And I'm not even gonna go there with that last quote about the drugs; not in this blog entry anyway.

P.P.S. Sam is still talking about Dave Prater, yall, and is still putting words in that man's mouth...UNBELIEVABLE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!!!

2009-05-09T08:49:00.041-05:00

Wow, Dave Prater would be 72 years old today if he were still alive. Like most of the cats I happen to dig that died rather young, I cannot picture how they would look now. For example, I cannot for the life of me picture Marvin Gaye as a 70 year old man. But Dave is different because I actually can picture him as a 72 year old. Anyway, I choose to dedicate this blog to celebrating the birthday of a truly underrated, unappreciated, unheralded, and unsung soul music legend—Dave Prater, Jr. And to celebrate Dave’s birthday—in my own little way—I’m just gonna post a few pictures, share a few quotes, and bask in that emotionally-drenched, heart-filled, gritty baritone voice of his that I've come to love so very much! You all are more than welcome to join the "celebration," and to "bask" as well :)

DAVE SPEAKS:

"I was born and raised in the church. Methodists. When we come up as kids we couldn't afford to go to the great schools and take music lessons, voice training and all that 'cause we were very poor so we had to get ours the best way we could, the hard way, through the church." (From interview conducted by Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth from the back of the 1984 Can't Stand Up For Falling Down LP)

"When we were growing up we couldn't listen to blues in my house. If you didn't listen to gospel, you didn't listen to nothing. Every so often I'd ease on out to my friend's place and we'd listen to whoever was big in blues, .B.B. King, you know. I'd listen to country & western, too. I used to listen to the guys that sing, Roy Hamilton, Johnny Ace, Cross My Heart, I used to love that song." (From interview conducted by Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth from the back of the 1984 Can't Stand Up For Falling Down LP)

"Sam Cooke influenced a lot of people with the style and quality of his voice and when he did his lyrics you could hear everything he said perfectly. It wasn't muffled, fumbled. It just came together and everybody tried to sing like him, including me." (From interview conducted by Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth from the back of the 1984 Can't Stand Up For Falling Down LP)

"We had a couple of years touring with other Stax acts then we started doing tours ourselves. We had our own plane and we'd play two countries in one night. Keep on truckin'. But the Apollo Theatre was the toughest. That was like a proving ground. If you couldn't satisfy the people in Harlem at the Apollo Theatre you could forget it." (From interview conducted by Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth from the back of the 1984 Can't Stand Up For Falling Down LP)

"The FCC banned it for about six months because of the title of the song. At that time those words were too suggestive. The disc jockeys on the radio were twisting it worse than what it was, and the FCC didn't like that. So we had to prune the tune back, and just put the title as 'Hold On.' We had to sing the tune on every show at the Apollo. That was the 'in' thing, man, like they were really into it. I tell you what, it made a lot of babies that year." (From the book Showtime At The Apollo by Ted Fox)

"In recording you can get wrapped up and go all day, man. You can go all day and all night as long as you're groovin'." (From April 13, 1988 The Miami Herald article "Singer Dave Prater, of Sam and Dave")

"You can play one of our records now and it sounds like a brand-new record. The songwriters and producers Isaac Hayes and David Porter were writing ahead of the time. Besides, rhythm and blues never dies." (From August 28, 1987 The Atlanta Journal Constitution article "Old Sam or New Sam, Hits are Hits")

"Everything was raw sound. Everything was done from scratch in the studio. There was no electronic gadgetry. It was real music and I think it's going to happen again. Everybody went through the space life and the acid trips and everything and it's time to get back to basics." (From interview conducted by Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth from the back of the 1984 Can't Stand Up For Falling Down LP)

"Sam Moore and I were together until he decided to do what he wanted to do on his own a few times then I decided that I ain't gonna put up with it no more. The last time we got together was after the Blues Brothers when people decided that they wanted to see the original Sam & Dave so we opened the Sha Na Na tour. Sam missed the first few nights, I don't know what the deal was. Anyway, we got kicked off that tour and the last gig we did was in 1980 at the Waldorf in San Francisco and I haven't seen or talked to him since. He just walked off the gig with some chick." (From interview conducted by Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth from the back of the 1984 Can't Stand Up For Falling Down LP)

"I knew I was going to be in this business with him or without him so I went back to Miami and settled everything legally and put this new band together. Everything's been booming since. I'm not expecting anything different from what happened in the past. I'm expecting it to be better, really." (From interview conducted by Dave "Daddy Cool" Booth from the back of the 1984 Can't Stand Up For Falling Down LP)

"The young generation is the new outlet for Sam and Dave music...and if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't be doing it after all these years." (From August 28, 1987 The Atlanta Journal Constitution article "Old Sam or New Sam, Hits are Hits")

"I'm always planning on doing some more recording. I've been trying to catch Isaac to get him to write me another song. That's what I need." (From August 28, 1987 The Atlanta Journal Constitution article "Old Sam or New Sam, Hits are Hits")

"I'm a legend. I've been singing all my life. That's the way I make my living. They ain't gonna stop me from making my living. I'm too old to start construction work." (From March 6, 1988 The Record article "Soul Man Singer is Sentenced for Crack...")

"I gotta do something. I can't just crawl in a hole and die. You've gotta stay on top, or it's going to get away from you." (From March 6, 1988 The Record article "Soul Man Singer is Sentenced for Crack...")

*This picture is courtesy of Swete Harold

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE!!!

You are truly missed

Sam Moore Was NOT One of Otis Redding's Pallbearers, nor Otis' BFF!

2009-03-15T18:53:00.016-05:00

This blog entry is dedicated to ending another one of Sam’s blatant lies—the lie that Sam Moore was somehow Otis Redding’s “best friend at Stax,” and that Sam was a pallbearer at Otis’ funeral. Sam (well, it was really probably Joyce) even went so far as to write these outrageously false statements, not once, but twice, in his most recent court documents concerning his beef with the movie "Soul Men":

e. The performers’ “idol” was Otis Redding, who died in a plane crash in “Montana.” (Exhibit 12). Sam Moore is professionally and personally very close to Otis Redding, appearing with him on many shows in the US and Europe; Sam Moore is a pall barer at Otis Redding’s funeral after his plane crash in Wisconsin. (From page 23).

g. Otis Redding: referenced incorrectly as to the location of his death from a plane crash in the Movie’s website. Otis Redding was Sam Moore’s best friend at Stax Records. (From page 24).

“Otis Redding was Sam Moore’s best friend at Stax Records”??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?! And the list of Otis Redding’s pallbearers has been incorrectly written in numerous books, articles, and websites over the years. It seems that a few authors are confusing some of the attendees of the funeral as pallbearers. Percy Sledge, Don Covay, Solomon Burke, and Sam Moore have all wrongly been listed as pallbearers at Otis’ funeral in a few publications…Those men attended the funeral (as did a multitude of other soul stars), but WERE NOT pallbearers. Earl “Speedo” Simms, Sylvester “Huck” Huckaby, Joe Simon, Johnnie Taylor, Joe Tex, Clark Walden, Hampton “Hamp” Swain, and Arthur Conley were Otis Redding's true pallbearers. The correct list of the pallbearers (and even a photo of them) can be seen in this 1968 article in Jet Magazine. The correct list of pallbearers can also be seen in the book “Otis!: The Otis Redding Story” by Scott Freeman (after clicking on the provided link, type the word “pallbearers” in the search box and hit the “go” button. Then click on the one passage from page 216 to read the list from the book).

Sam also claims in the 1998 book, “Sam And Dave: An Oral History,” to have been “buddies” with Otis Redding, and even allegedly helped Otis write some songs:

So we came back to the States, and we did this sixty-four-day tour. That’s when Otis said, “No more.” We were out sixty-four days—and sixty of those days was damaging to him. Sixty of those days we were ramming him.
But he and I got close; he and I were buddies. He would call me. We would write—I would just put words here, words there to his stuff. I wasn’t looking for credit or nothing. We were just buddies.

I suspect that quote is news to people who actually worked at Stax (especially Steve Cropper, who is listed as co-author with Otis on a number of Otis’ songs). And according to Scott Freeman’s book, “Otis!: The Otis Redding Story,” (after clicking on the provided link, type the words “Sam and Dave” in the search box and hit the “go” button. Then click on the passages from page 152 and from page 153 to read how Otis felt about Sam & Dave) Otis didn’t really seem to want anything to do with his so-called “best friend” and “buddy,” after they toured together. If Sam Moore was truly Otis Redding’s “best friend” or vice versa, then I find it awfully weird that Sam’s full name was never mentioned in Scott Freeman’s book about Otis’ life (the only time Sam was mentioned in that book was in reference to “Sam and Dave.” His full name “Sam Moore,” however, was not even mentioned ONCE throughout the entire book! And who wouldn’t have their best friend’s full name, or talk of that said close friendship, in a book about one’s own life?)

In conclusion, it seems that Otis Redding & Sam Moore were nowhere near "best friends" let alone "buddies," and that Sam was definitely NOT a pallbearer at the man's funeral! Don't kill the messenger, folks! I'm just writing information that's readily available to anyone. Now, maybe people will STOP spreading this particular falsehood so Otis Redding can stop turning in his grave about this.

Dave Prater's Daughter Speaks!

2009-02-26T13:45:00.010-06:00

I am so beyond honored to have this particular guest blogger here today, folks. She is none other than Dave Prater, Jr’s baby girl, Sharon Prater! And make no mistake, Sharon knows better than most her daddy’s faults and sins, but those things don’t matter to her now because her dad is at rest; he is no longer here. Besides, Sharon loves her daddy unconditionally, and there is NOTHING that ANYONE can say or do to change that! Anyway, without further ado, I give you Sharon Prater—take it away, Sharon…:

First, I must say to Duchess, thank you for this blog! You have written true words that I wish I could have said myself, but couldn't, because of the pain—the pain that my family and I have carried for a long time. My brothers and I have nothing of our father, so to hear someone—anyone—say hateful, untrue things about our dad, makes my blood boil in my veins! If I should ever meet sam moore [his name is purposely written with no capital letters], I pray that God, Himself, holds me tight!
So keep on doing what you’re doing, Duchess! I’m so glad we met. You have helped me with this pain that has been in my heart ever since my daddy died 20 years ago. As for the people who think that Duchess’ blog is wrong, tell that sh*t to ME! I dare you to tell me how I should feel about my own daddy, or how I should feel about sam moore and the lies he’s told, and continues to tell, about my father…That’s my daddy! How would you feel? I’m pissed, and I feel exactly like Duchess does—the young lady is right! My father doesn't deserve this, he is dead and cannot speak for himself. sam moore would not DARE say this crap to my father’s face! Instead, sam waits until after my daddy is dead and buried to talk most of his mess. What is wrong with you people? Are you so blind that you can’t see how messed up that is? I guess so, but let me stop because I have a lot of pain about this, and sam moore just adds to it and, really, he ain’t worth it. Besides, my daughter—Dave’s granddaughter—can sing sam moore’s ass under the table!
My name is Sharon R. Prater, although I’m on myspace as “motherlove4ever” because I love everybody…even that sad, pathetic man sam moore. I pray that Jesus helps sam because The Lord is still helping me deal with all this too.
Rest in peace, daddy, I LOVE YOU!
P.S. My daddy could read.

So there you have it, another one of Sam’s lies about Dave debunked…Dave could read! I LOVE how Sharon won’t even capitalize sam’s name! I LOVE IT! Sharon is such a strong, genuine, down-to-earth, God fearing woman who has been through a lot of pain in her life but chooses to stay positive. She is so real (she doesn’t have a phony bone in her body!) Sharon’s life story thus far is truly inspiring, and I can’t help but think how proud her daddy would be of her now. So, welcome to the blog, Sharon! You are more than welcome to come do a guest blog again whenever you want.

I think it’s important for Sam, Joyce, and whoever else believes Sam Moore’s b.s., to be able to actually see the impact his posthumous insults and lies have on people like Sharon (and even her children). More than one person has said to me, “Duchess, Dave’s own children don’t seem to have a problem with Sam Moore and the things he says about Dave, so why do you?” And to that I say, at least one of Dave’s children does have a problem with Sam and the hateful things he’s said about their dad (as is evident in what Sharon just wrote), so THERE :P Besides, don’t direct those comments to me, do like Sharon said and “tell that sh*t to” HER!

Identical "Shticks"

2009-02-18T20:09:00.011-06:00

I have been racking my brain trying to figure out who it is Sam Moore's over-the-top, phony-baloney singing "style" reminds me of...and I've finally got it! CEPHUS MAYWEATHER! You know, that character David Alan Grier played on the t.v. show In Living Color back in the day? Still don't know who I'm referring to? Well, watch these video clips, and then you tell me Cephus and Sam don't have similar singing "styles."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! All Cephus needed to do was yell "Lukey Dook" during his performances, like Sam used to, and I wouldn't be able to tell them apart! Sam & Cephus, Cephus & Sam...identical "shticks," baby! Need I say "Moore"?

What!?!

2009-02-04T20:01:00.008-06:00

Wow! That last blog entry was taken waaay more seriously than intended. I just wanted to put a spotlight on what I thought was some interesting “gossip” I found online, and to invite those ladies to the blog to possibly expound, or prove their allegations. But mainly, MY WHOLE POINT in posting that "gossip" here was so that Sam, Joyce, or anyone else who may read it may feel that sting, that burn that comes when reading unsubstantiated, inflammatory “gossip” about yourself or a person you happen to dig. Now you all know how I feel when I read Sam's lies about Dave. Now you all know my plight and DON'T IT BURN!!! LOL! Seriously though, I know two wrongs don’t make a right, and that kind of “revenge” could be seen as childish, I’ll admit; but I still don’t regret posting that last entry. And if it possibly cost me “credibility” like a few people have pointed out to me, then so be it. I never really started this blog to be "credible." Honestly, I never really thought people would find me “credible” anyway, simply because I’ve never met Sam, Joyce or Dave. I’m just a “nobody”old school music fan, here to post Sam’s own contradictory words from over the years, and put my spin on it mainly just to get this stuff off of my chest. If you happen to find me “credible,” truthful, and/or understand and “see” where I’m coming from with some, or all, of my entries…cool. If you don’t…that’s cool too…you are free to leave the blog at any time, or post a comment of disapproval whenever you get the notion—the choice is yours.

Now that that is out of the way, let’s get back to the business that I originally intended for this blog…to point out Sam Moore’s jacked-up recollections and “stories.” And this one’s a doozey, folks. Normally, I get frustrated and/or angry when I read or hear something that Sam has said about Dave that is suspect or downright untrue (mainly because all the lies are totally unnecessary and Dave is dead and can’t defend himself, for Goodness sake). But this quote I’m about to drop on you guys, just really left me baffled and kind of sad. It comes from a Chicago Sun-Times article from May 29, 1988 titled “The New Soul Men, Sam & Dave: Aykroyd and Moore, in memory of Jake, form Elwood Blues Review.” Now, that “in memory of Jake” line was what initially got me fired-up because when this article was printed, “Jake” had been dead for six years while Dave had just died a month and a half ago (his body was barely cold), but no one was doing any “in memory” stuff for him…just a tribute for the bootleg “Soul Man” John Belushi (aka “Jake”)—What!?! So how did Sam pay “tribute” to the recently deceased Dave Prater in this article? By stating how “drugged up” Dave was the last time he saw him, and elaborating on how terrible he thought "The New Sam & Dave Revue" were…nice! But even that wasn’t the part I had a major problem with. It was this ridiculous recollection made by Sam that had me shaking my head:

…With Aykroyd listening like an intense student of soul, Moore explained the rudimentary procedures behind the scenes at Stax:

“The way we would record was never a situation where we put the charts up on the table,” Moore said. “The way me and Dave were recorded is that they would outline the voices. They’d call us in, sit us down and say, ‘Once you have looked at the scales, put this paper away and we’re going to go only with the feeling.’ Isaac Hayes and David Porter would have me and Dave get the song down and then tell us to make it our own. I would sit there with Dave and—wop, be bop bebop…and ask if he saw where I was coming from. I would never give Dave words. Since I was singing the dominant high part all the time, we had to have somebody sing the other part to give me a chance to rest.”
With his mouth open in amazement, Aykroyd roared, “Really?”
“That was really the point,” Moore continued. “Isaac and David always put in those extra words. So when you heard the chorus line or something and didn’t hear me in there, it’s because I was resting. Then, when they were ready to push it, they’d come back and say, ‘Now!’ And I’d put the earphones on and punch, punch, punch….”

“I would never give Dave words”—What!?! Who was Sam to be giving anybody words anyway? He didn’t write the songs! “Since I was singing the dominant high part all the time, we had to have somebody sing the other part to give me a chance to rest.” Hold on, wait a second! Let me read that again carefully and slowly…“we had to have somebody sing the other part to give me a chance to rest”—What!?! Is it just me, or does that sound extremely arrogant and just not right? So let me try to get this straight…according to Sam, the only reason Dave was ever given any lines to sing during their heyday was so Sam could take a “rest” between his lines?—What!?! “We had to have somebody sing the other part…” as in, they could have gotten somebody, anybody to sing Dave’s added-on, throwaway parts—the Stax janitor, the person who answered the phone, or maybe the drunken bum who hung out in front of the liquor store down the street—just as long as Sam, “the star,” got his “rest” between lines—What!?! Please tell me that I’m reading that wrong, or I’m misunderstanding that quote in some way because even Sam Moore couldn’t be that narcissistic, egotistical, and downright delusional. Please tell me that Sam Moore didn’t just sum up all of Dave’s contributions on wax—a month and a half after he died, mind you—as merely a “rest” between his “dominant” parts. Please tell me that’s not what Sam meant…Please! As a person who knows all of Sam & Dave’s songs, it is true that quite a few times Sam had the so-called “dominant” parts to the songs, but he in no way was singing the “dominant” part “all the time” as he claimed in this article.

Usually when a person just dies, you really try to go out of your way to remember the good things and try to stay positive (or you just say NOTHING). Sam didn’t even try to do that in this Chicago Sun-Times article. Sam could have said nothing about Dave at all, or he could have said something like, “although I sang the dominant parts on quite a few of our records, Dave’s contributions were still an integral part of the songs. He’ll be missed.” No, Sam didn’t say anything like that, he instead insinuated in his normal condescending way that Dave’s parts were merely an afterthought; some worthless, throwaway, needless, tack-on part to the songs so that he, “the star,” could catch his breath for the important and meaningful parts. What a lovely thing to say about a man’s career and legacy, that he held so dear, some 50 days after he died…Lovely!

Normally, I just get frustrated and a little angry by Sam’s posthumous shots/digs at Dave Prater, but this one just left me bewildered, confused, and slightly sad. Sad because Dave always seemed so proud of his accomplishments, and so proud to be Dave from “Sam & Dave.” And it's just a dreadful shame how Sam is really trying hard to take away and downplay those contributions Dave held so dear and always seemed so proud of—as is evidence with this particular quote—pathetic, and just plain sad. What!?!

P.S. Just in case you’re thinking it was a one-time fluke that Sam insinuated Dave’s contributions to the songs were unnecessary or added on for the sole purpose of giving Dave something to do, read this excerpt from the 1998 book “Sam & Dave: An Oral History” where Sam described his role (and Dave's supposed role) when recording the song "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby":

See, by me being the dominant one that was singing, they could have just got away with maybe two verses, and a chorus, or two choruses and a verse, or whatever. But they had to have something for Dave to do.

(Shaking my head) What!?!

Is Sam Moore a "sexual predator of minors"?

2009-01-28T19:06:00.012-06:00

Yeah, yeah, I know it’s been awhile since last you heard me rant, but I’M BACK, peoples, and ready to burn! First, I would like to do a little something out of the ordinary by putting the ol’ Duchess “quote spotlight” on someone other than just Sam Moore, but rather on two ladies I saw compose some fairly interesting material on wikipedia. Now, I cannot say that what these ladies wrote is the gospel truth or 100% factual because it's their opinions and perspectives, but their entries are rather interesting (and entertaining) even though they really don't belong on wikipedia. What these two ladies wrote on Sam Moore’s wikipedia site was ultimately erased (despite my attempts to “undo” that just to be a pest lol), but will forever remain in the “history” section of that wiki site, AND will now forever remain here at the blog (they belong on a blog anyway)…take that, you wiki-Nazis!

First up, an entry from a poster going by the name “Judywesthoff”:

Ironically enough, while Joyce McRae Moore professes to be an advocate of artists' rights, it appears that she is primarily only interested in HER artist's (Sam) rights, or of those which line her own pocketbook. She is known throughout the industry for underpaying, or not paying at all, the musicians (of all ages) who have worked with Sam. This has resulted in bad press, bad feelings and consistently inconsistent performances. Everyone in the industry seems to have a "Joyce Moore story", with a time clock and calculator running.

Next up, was an entry from a poster going by the name “Amtrakjanet47.” Her entry is a response to the previous one from "Judywesthoff":

Ironic? The woman is predatory. Didn't anyone notice her face in the camera during "Only The Strong Survive," hyping the "Joyce machine" while openly admitting tricking Sam into signing all his rights over to her? Was he her first? No. Last? No. Among others, she pounced on opportunity when it came to Billy Preston. Go way back and ask her about the Jackie Wilson episode while he was semi-concious in the nursing facility. Of course she may be Sam's ultimate karma payback, for him being a deadbeat dad, and a sexual predator of minors. I had to go get our daughter away from him, with the AZ police with me. He's been in my life since 1968, ask me anything you want to know, and I'll answer it if I can.

“Ultimate karma payback,” I LOVE IT! I would like to extend an open invitation for both you ladies to come be guest bloggers here. You two (especially “Amtrakjanet47”) sound like you need to get some things off your chest regarding Sam & Joyce Moore, and that’s what we do; that’s what we’re here for, ladies—cathartic release :) Normally, I like to focus on facts and things I can prove or disprove here at the blog (and that won’t change), but sometimes individual opinions can be extremely insightful. Besides, Sam & Joyce are well overdue for a taste of their own medicine. All that unsubstantiated crap and straight-up lies they have put out about Dave Prater and a host of others over the years perpetrating it as the ultimate truth, is finally coming back to bite them in their asses! Now that’s the “ultimate karma payback,” baby!

As for the title of this blog entry, "Is Sam Moore a 'sexual predator of minors'?" I cannot say for sure (and I, personally, doubt it), but maybe "Amtrakjanet47" can come to the blog to shed some light on this accusation. After all, if it's true that the Arizona police went with her to Sam's home to remove her child, then their would be some paperwork on that somewhere, right? And Sam probably really is/was a deadbeat dad seeing as he actually bragged about it in his book "Sam And Dave: An Oral History:"

…So this resulted in a lot of…children. If I had to really sit down and count, I would say…between ten and twenty. Half of ‘em before Sam and Dave became big time and half after we were stars. These days, I don’t know most of the kids any more than I know most of the women. Because I also did the same thing with my children. Conned them. They’d call, or come to see me, and I didn’t want to be bothered, or I had another woman with me. And most of the time all they wanted was money.
I'm the most lucky son of a bitch you'd ever want to find. I don't know how I was able to dodge going to court with them all. To get rid of 'em, I'd reach into my pocket—because most of the time I carried bills in my pocket. I'd give them four or five hundred, maybe a thousand dollars. I would just hand it over. And I'd say, "Look, give me your phone number, or give me your house address. I'm gonna be sending money every week." I just wanted to get rid of 'em. But nobody ever showed up with a lawyer, no. Maybe they were too poor. But mainly, I kept control.

So, “Judywesthoff” & “Amtrakjanet47”, and really anyone else that would like to share a Sam and/or Joyce “horror story”, I invite you to get in contact with me by clicking on my profile and sending me an email...Come join the fun and festivities!

Hair or No Hair? A Funny Contradiction

2008-12-19T22:03:00.006-06:00

I thought I would take a break from my usual ranting this week to share a rather funny Sam Moore contradiction (funny to me anyways). Sam always sounds so certain when recalling stories from his past—I guess that’s partly why some fans choose to believe everything he says—even recollections about what people were wearing down to the color of their socks some 40 years ago is told with an air of confident certainty. But Sam is an old man who has done a lot of drugs in his lifetime, and those two facts should always be taken into consideration when Mr. Moore opens his mouth to tell another one of his infamous “stories.” The following quotes (ranging from 1998 to 2006) are Sam's various recollections about the first time he laid eyes on Isaac Hayes. Sam pretty much stays on script when describing Isaac's clothes, but when it comes to Ike's hair, or lack thereof, Sam...um...well...um...you'll see. Enjoy!

NO HAIR:

Then, here came a man down the street. He wore a pair of white straw loafers, pink socks, chartreuse green pants, and a yellow flowered shirt. The pants were high waters—you could see the pink socks more than you could see the pants. My eyes came up and then I saw his head—he was bald, man! And couldn’t have been more than about twenty years old. I ain’t never seen anything like that in my life! That was the first time we ever met Isaac Hayes. (Quote taken from the book "Sam And Dave: An Oral History")

HAIR:

…They were waiting on Isaac Hayes to come, you know, come, come around to the studio, and as I was standing there Dave and I had just, uh, gotten out of the cab, you know, and uh, Mr. Stewart says, ‘Oh, here comes Isaac now.’ And I looked, you know, wa-water first came into my- tears bulged up into my eyes. This guy had hair, and he had this beard, you know, like so. And he had on this, I think it was pink, sh-see through net like shirt, Peter, and he had chartreuse pants, you know, and a white belt. And, I-I went down, and he had on pink socks, and white shoes, and I went, ‘Dave, this is it. What have we gotten ourselves into? Call Jerry, call somebody, we gotta get outta here.’ (Quote taken from 2004 interview Sam Moore had with Pete Fornatale )

NO HAIR:

“The first time I saw Isaac he was wearing pink socks, green pants and a yellow flowered shirt—and he was completely bald,” says Moore. “I wanted to cry. I thought, ‘Who are these people? Where have they sent us? They don’t care about us.’…” (Quote taken from Phoenix New Times article “Song of Salvation”)

HAIR:

GROSS: …When you first met Isaac Hayes, did he give you a sense of the sound that he heard you doing?
Mr. MOORE: No. When I first met Isaac coming down the street, I thought he was the most strangest looking person I had ever seen. But you must understand at that time Isaac had hair on his head.
GROSS: That’s hard to imagine.
Mr. MOORE: Yeah, I know. You know, he had hair, Terry. He had on a pink shirt and green—I think they were green pants. I’m color blind so I could be wrong, it could have been another color, but I think he had on green pants with a white belt, and pink socks with white shoes. And I went ‘Oh, my God, what is this coming down the street dressed like that?’ And I basically started crying because I went, ‘Oh, my God, what is, you know, what is happening here? Why, why, why, why would they do this to me?’ (Quote taken from NPR's “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross)

Now Sam's "color blind?" Really? He had no trouble pointing out Dave's blue Chrysler with the black driver's side door as I mentioned in my previous blog. Anyway, see how Sam sounds so certain in his contradictions? Most people don’t remember what they were wearing last week let alone what someone else was wearing 40 years ago. Why doesn’t Sam just say he doesn’t remember? Why must his lies be so irrelevant, unnecessary, and detailed? This particular Sam contradiction is funny to me because it’s basically harmless—did Isaac have hair or was he bald? Was Isaac's shirt pink or was it yellow? Who cares? Either way it doesn’t really matter. But when Sam’s contradictions and “stories” rewrite history and ultimately harm someone else’s reputation and legacy, that’s where the comedy ends (and the blogging begins).

I hope you all enjoyed that funny little anecdote. Merry Christmas!!! And remember, don’t believe everything Sam says! He’ll swear to you he’s always loved Coca-Cola, then turn right around and tell you he’s always been a Pepsi man.

Ungrateful Sam, I Am

2008-12-11T22:43:00.020-06:00

Mr. MOORE: …soon after I met David, and he was an insurance runner at the time in Memphis and working at a store in the corner of Stax. He was dressed with pants that looked like petal pushers, you know, and a little short hat and this sweater. Well, what are you doing with a sweater on that time of hot summer day? I mean, it was hot. And the pants were real high, and he had on these funny looking socks with rivets in it. And I said, ‘Oh, boy.’ And that’s how I met those two. So…

GROSS: And did you feel different when they started giving you songs?

Mr. MOORE: I did. I felt like I wanted to go home. ‘Please send me back home,’ you know.

GROSS: Even after they gave you the songs?

Mr. MOORE: Well, when they started playing them and saying, ‘These are songs we’ve come up, you know, we’re writing for you and Dave.’ And I’m standing there, ‘Can’t you find another way of doing it?’ It was sort of like a take off on a country song. And I, actually, if you go back and play it, I actually interpreted it that way. I sang it that way. You know, I was so dissatisfied with this, I didn’t try to do anything with it. I just sang it like they, you know, they were playing it for me and they recorded it like that.

GROSS: OK, so when they gave you “Hold On, I’m Comin’,” which was a huge hit for you, your first really big hit, did you like that?

Mr. MOORE: No.

GROSS: But it’s such a great record. What did you do to make it more to your liking?

Mr. MOORE: Nothing. I think it was more—I didn’t do anything, Terry. I, you know, up to that point, I was just singing the song. I sang the song as straight as I could because, you know, I wasn’t familiar with that kind of, you know, with what they were trying to do, and I was trying to feel my way through.

I hope when I get to be in my 60’s and 70’s (Lord willing) that I can look back on my life – on my successes and failures – with an air of gratefulness. Grateful every morning when I wake up that I’m still here. Grateful that I made it through the tough times. Extremely grateful for the good times and the success. Just basically grateful for everything that has happened in my life and all that I’ve gone through, and still being alive to talk about it, share it, and learn from it all. So the word for the week is GRATEFUL. And judging by that excerpt from a 2006 interview with Terry Gross from NPR’s “Fresh Air,” one person who rarely seems grateful for anything is Sam Moore. I mean, that interview excerpt is like the equivalent of someone inviting you to their home so you can cook them a great big meal; a meal that you’ve been slaving over and trying really hard to make delicious and extra special. Then when that person finally comes to your house to eat that meal, they take one bite and spit the food out and say, “that’s the nastiest sh*t I've ever tasted! Are you retarded? Did you cook that with your feet?” And that is exactly how Sam Moore sounds when talking about the songs, the people, the place that made him a star. If you listen - really listen - whenever Sam speaks about his past, he feigns gratefulness for his success while with Dave, then turns around and calls it an “albatross” (a word he certainly learned from Joyce) around his neck. Sam always seems to talk down about everyone (even the very people who made his career), and always has some snotty little remark to say about everybody (especially in regards to their clothing and appearance). Sam also always seems to degrade and disrespect the very songs that made him who he is, and allow him to gig to this very day - which is nuts considering Sam really didn’t write any songs (let alone hits). One would think by the way Sam talks about everyone and everything that he is freakin’ PERFECT! That he is the best looking, best dressed, smartest, most talented, and most sophisticated, "uncountry" person that has ever lived! Why must Sam constantly complain about his time with Dave and talk down about basically everyone and everything that is associated with the success of Sam & Dave? Is Sam’s self-esteem so low that he still deems it necessary to degrade people in an attempt to make himself seem great? Why is Sam constantly biting the hand that’s feeding him? Is he grateful for anything? Just look at how Sam talks about Dave, David Porter and even Jim Stewart, for example. Just look at how Sam talks about the songs that made him who he is. Just look at how Sam talks about the studio and the city that launched his career into orbit. Just look, and tell me that Sam doesn’t sound like an ungrateful old man who would rather sit up on his ivory tower, look down and condescend on us lowly peasants and constantly bitch & moan rather than be appreciative for the success that so many helped him to achieve…what a shame!

On the very top of Sam’s list of people to talk down about is Dave Prater—hands down. Dave is the top, the standard, the go-to guy, and Sam’s favorite person to degrade (which seems rather silly considering Dave has been dead for 20 years). I, personally, have never ever read or heard Sam genuinely say anything nice about Dave without it being a condescending, back handed compliment (but that’s a blog topic onto itself…stay tuned). Just look at the very first thing Sam said about Dave in his 1998, ass-backwards and totally unfounded book “Sam & Dave: An Oral History.”

Country. Dave had on a white shirt, white pants, and sneakers, and I thought it was rather strange that dust was coming from that outfit. I did not know that he was baking bread at a bakery. I thought he powdered his skin. What got me was that as he walked through, the floor was dark, and flour was coming off, so he was making tracks. He had his hair real conked; he had the pompadour. He had the do-rag in his back pocket. They had a car – a blue Chrysler – and the driver’s side door was black. So they were driving with this do-rag on. But before he got out of the car, he would take the do-rag off.

Huh!?! First, I gotta put an end to this crazy notion that Dave was somehow the “country one” of the duo. Fact is, THEY WERE BOTH COUNTRY!!! And what’s wrong with that? Dave was born and raised in a little farm town in Georgia, he couldn’t be anything but country, but newsflash, so is Sam! Let’s remember, while in the middle of singing “Soul Man” on stage in 1967, Sam yelled “lukey dook!” If that’s not country then I don’t know what is lol. And listen to Sam speak the first verse of their rendition of “I’m With You” from the “Soul Men” album…now that’s kun-tree lol! But even beyond all that country stuff, Sam talks about Dave like he himself is perfect. So what the man supposedly had flour coming off his clothes…he worked for a living, jackass! And, by the way, that “flour story” is total bullsh*t! That flour b.s. is getting really old and stopped being funny decades ago. So what if Dave had a process and a do-rag in his pocket. It was 1961 and a lot of black men had conks (even Sam’s so-called “idol” Jackie Wilson had a pompadour, and I know Jackie wore a do-rag to keep his hair together lol). So what if Dave’s Chrysler was "colorful?" Dave was a working dude with a “wife” (it was actually his soon-to-be wife) and baby son at the time. What the hell difference did it make what color the car door was as long as it got him where he needed to go, right? And why did Sam bring up all that unnecessary info about the location of the do-rag and the car door color in the first place? It just seems trivial and completely irrelevant to me. A- ha! I know why Sam brought those things up…to try, yet again, to make Dave look like a clown, a fool. Turns out it just made Sam look like the fool. And as bad as Sam has talked (and still talks) about Dave, he is not the only one to get burned by Sam’s ungrateful tongue:

Now, Jim is sitting there. Jim is funny looking, too. He’s a little guy, and he’s a banker during the daytime, and he played country music at night, and he’s got a pretty stiff attitude.

…They were waiting on Isaac Hayes to come, you know, come, come around to the studio, and as I was standing there Dave and I had just, uh, gotten out of the cab, you know, and uh, Mr. Stewart says, “Oh, here comes Isaac now.” And I looked, you know, wa-water first came into my- tears bulged up into my eyes. This guy had hair, and he had this beard, you know, like so. And he had on this, I think it was pink, sh-see through net like shirt, Peter, and he had chartreuse pants, you know, and a white belt. And, I-I went down, and he had on pink socks, and white shoes, and I went, “Dave, this is it. What have we gotten ourselves into? Call Jerry, call somebody, we gotta get outta here.” And Jim Stewart said, “No, no, no, no, this is going to-this is going to be one of your producers. “One of the producers? Is anyone else like him?” I’m saying to myself. And ‘round the corner here come Dave Porter with this little stingy-brim hat, being during the daytime he’s an insurance [pause] man, going from house to house selling insurance with pa-pel-petal pusher pants on, shoes, and uh, with holes in the bottom! And I’m going, “Wha-wha-what-what are we? What are they doing to us?” You know, and he says, [speaking like a hillbilly retard who is talking with his mouth full] “Hi, I’m Dave Prater.” Uh, what!? “I’m Dave-” I said, “Prate-Por-Por-what!?” He said, [speaking clearly now] “Oh, I’m, I’m Dave Porter.” I said, [pause] “okay.” And he had a lot of teeth, right? Oh boy, I knew we were in trouble. So we went inside, and, and then they started playing some songs, introducing songs so that we-we were gonna record. Not to see if we wanted to record them but to record them…we had no clout, never did. And, uh, they played, uh, “Jody Ryder”…[singing fast with an exaggerated country accent] Can’t ‘cha find another way of doing it baby, caint ‘cha? So, Lord have mercy. Now you gotta understand, Peter, my mind is set to Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson, Little Willie John, you know, people like that, uh, uh, uh, Benson, uh, Benton, you know, all the [whining] oh man, what are you doing? [Continues to whine] I don’t know what’s going on, you know. And I didn’t like any of these songs, but, uh, we stuck it out.

Wow! Did Sam say that David Porter had a lot of teeth? Well, if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle black! Look who’s talking…look at Sam’s grill. Sam looks like the Cheshire cat from Alice In Wonderland lol. I can’t believe he said that! And did he say Jim Stewart was “funny looking”? The last time I checked, Sam Moore could never be considered handsome…unless you favor that corny, cheesy, greasy, toothy, cat-like look. Anyway, the first quote is taken from “Sam & Dave: An Oral History,” and the latter is taken from a 2004 (I think) interview Sam Moore had with Pete Fornatale. And although Sam is dogging Isaac Hayes’ threads and appearance, Ike is actually one person from his past that Sam speaks very highly of on a regular basis. David Porter, on the other hand, is a different story altogether. I don’t know when, why, or how, but something happened between those two which has caused Sam to gradually diminish Porter’s role, contributions, and importance to the legacy of Sam & Dave. Sounds familiar, right? Sounds like the exact same thing Sam is trying to do to Dave Prater. Whenever someone negatively criticizes Sam (or Joyce)—no matter if it’s constructive, honest, or coming from the heart—that criticism will forever banish that person from the Sam & Joyce clique/clan/cult. I don’t know what Porter did or said, to or about Sam (or Joyce), but it has caused Sam to pout like a baby and try to write David Porter out of the history of Sam & Dave. I mean, remember when Sam brought both Isaac and David on stage at his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony? But nowadays, Porter is lucky just to be mentioned by Sam in reference to Sam & Dave’s success…it’s all Isaac, Isaac, Isaac, all the time! Not to take anything away from Isaac Hayes, but he did not “create” the Sam & Dave vision alone. Let’s remember that Porter wrote most of the lyrics and was primarily the vocal coach…that’s a pretty big contribution!

…I’ve tried my best to get away from that old catalogue but I’m saddled with Soul Man, Hold On…I’m constantly telling them, ‘That’s the last time you’re gonna hear this stuff; but there’s some things you gotta live with.

…Sam and Dave’s records, soul music – I heard that stuff but I didn’t really care about it. I felt most of the music was…I don’t want to use the word dumb. It just wasn’t for me. “What am I doing here? What is this they’re giving me now? They’re not giving me what I know I can do best.” That was how I felt.

It wasn’t until the beginning of 1966 that we finally got our hit: “You Don’t Know Like I Know.” I didn’t like it much. To me, it did not have the guts that I could stick my teeth into. And I don’t like it today.
"Am I still a soul man?" Sam Moore, the vocalist some critics call "the greatest living soul singer", ponders the question in the lounge of his London hotel for less than a second—and comes out with an emphatic "No."..."I still don't like those songs but I sing them because it's my job..."

GROSS: Great. Now I’ve got to play “Soul Man” because it’s such a well known recording of yours. What did you think of this song when you were given it and was it a song you wanted to do?

Mr. MOORE: Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, yes and—well. No. Let’s be honest.

GROSS: Sure.

Mr. MOORE: No. I didn’t want to do “Soul Man,” you know, because I felt, you know, I felt it was putting us in a—you must understand, it was a critical part of coming out of segregation, and it was a message there but I didn’t feel it that way. I felt like it was more bluesy kind of thing. I had no idea the song was going to get as big as it did. Had no idea.

GROSS: Did it seem like a novelty song to you?
Mr. MOORE: Well, no, it was not like that. It was—I don’t know. There was something about it. You know, I think it was, to me, it was just too many…[singing] “I’m a soul man, I’m a soul…” I got sick of that. And I tell you, over the years I’ve turned the song around, over, flipped it around, I’ve done it all kind of ways not to become so boring, because I know I have to do it, you know.

That first quote is from the back cover of the 1984 album "Can't Stand Up For Falling Down." The second and third quotes are from "Sam & Dave: An Oral History." The fourth quote is from The Times November 18, 2006 article "My Big Hits? Hate 'em All." And the fifth quote is another excerpt from the 2006 NPR "Fresh Air" interview with Terry Gross . Now, how many hit records has Sam Moore written, again? How many? How about a big, fat ZERO! ZIP! ZILCH! NADA! NONE! NIL! GOOSE EGG! And how ironic is it that a man who has no talent for writing songs, is this vocal about what a “hit” is, or what sounds good. It’s like me harshly criticizing the way Al Jackson played the drums, or how Duck played the bass—I don’t play the drums or the bass at all, so how could I degrade their skills? It makes no sense! It's one thing to have an honest opinion, and another to be a disrespectful, ungrateful jerk! “Soul Man” and “Hold On, I’m Comin’” are what make Sam Moore, Sam Moore! They are the songs that allow him to gig today. But he talks about those songs with such a disdain until he needs them to make some money, that is. Sam supposedly hates the song “Soul Man” so much, but he doesn’t hesitate to call himself “The Original Soul Man” wherever he goes. And he only continues to sing the old Sam & Dave hits because he’s “saddled” with those songs and has to sing what the people want to hear? Don’t do us any favors, pal! If you don’t want to sing those songs, don’t! But see how many shows you’ll book with that "Plenty Good Lovin'" or "Overnight Sensational" crap. You can’t have it both ways, Sam! Either you’re the “Soul Man” or you’re not…choose already! I’m sick of hearing you complain about having to sing “Soul Man” when the fact is NOBODY is holding a gun to your head making you sing that song! If you can write better songs than that, then DO IT ALREADY!!! Or just SHUT-UP and stop biting the hand that’s feeding you and your cackling wife! Fact is, most people would be humbled to tears to have someone writing songs for them; really trying to make them a hit. And most people would be extremely grateful to make a living off of songs that are 40 years old. Most people that haven’t had a hit record in 40 years don’t complain—except Sam Moore, that is…what a shame!

I’m looking at the room and this machine and they’re both a lot smaller than what I’d seen in Miami. The piano had all kinds of scratches and dents, and it was always out of tune. I don’t think they’d ever taken the curtains down – you know, the thick curtain that opens up when you’re getting ready to see a movie? – and they were dusty. And the floor was all dusty. The studio had been a movie theater and it was set up so that we were working in the pit. The control room is all the way in the back.

I never felt part of Memphis—I got what I could get out of it. Memphis being Memphis, the people there got what they could out of us…but they never felt we were part of their thing, either. We were tolerated. There was nothing they could do about it because eventually, we’re the biggest act on the label. Well, years later, after they tore the studio down, when they put up the plaque on that spot, Sam and Dave were the only artists who worked there whose names were left off. They could do that.

Again, those two quotes are from “Sam & Dave: An Oral History,” where Sam even sees fit to diss the Stax studio, and the city and people of Memphis! I mean, what the hell kind of studio was he expecting? Sam & Dave were nobodies with NO hit records at that time. Did Sam think he was Elvis Presley? Did he think he deserved a parade throughout Memphis and some palatial, lavish studio set-up? Maybe a private jet, too? Puuuhleeeeease! He needs to just SHUT-UP and be thankful that someone—anyone—was willing to try so hard to make him and Dave a success. I just can’t believe that after so many years, Sam continues to talk this way. People say that time heals all wounds, and with age comes wisdom, but I don’t know about Sam. He still talks like a bitter, old, arrogant, ungrateful idiot! And I'm sick of it!!!

There are artists who would give an arm and/or a leg to have a smash hit record and timeless anthem like “Soul Man.” There are singers who would sell their souls to have writers and producers diligently and consistently write songs (hit songs) exclusively for them. There are musicians who would give away all they own to be historically associated with the great music of Memphis. Fact is, most people would be extremely grateful and appreciative to have half the opportunities, success, and help that Sam & Dave had. Who among us wouldn’t be appreciative for writers and musicians to come up with songs tailored especially for them? Songs that those writers could have easily kept for themselves, and tried to record themselves. Who among us (who hasn’t ever written a hit record, by the way) would look back on a string of hits and call them “dumb”? Who among us would look back on our singing partner who helped make them a success and make him out to be a total rube, a buffoon, an idiot, and ultimately dead weight? What kind of person looks on success that others would’ve killed for as an “albatross”? What kind of person does all that? Well, I’ll tell ya…only a very small-minded, arrogant, egotistical, disrespectful, ungrateful JERK would do that—Sam Moore…that’s classic Sam Moore, baby. Ungrateful Sam, I am...what a shame!

Debunking The MYTH(S) of How Sam & Dave Came To Be

2008-11-25T02:11:00.017-06:00

“Okay, Duchess, okay! You keep talking about how you’re gonna shine a light on Sam’s contradictions and inaccuracies, well put-up or shut-up already! Hurry up and show us Sam’s bullsh*t that you’ve been constantly bitching about!” Okay, okay, nay sayers, calm down! Exposing contradictions, inaccuracies and lies takes time. But hopefully this blog will satisfy your appetite as it is dedicated to exposing one huge whopper of a Sam Moore contradiction…embellishment…LIE! I am going to dissect this MYTH that has been floating around about how Sam Moore and Dave Prater, Jr. ended up singing together in the first place and eventually became one of soul music’s best duos of all time. I have heard and read Sam tell this particular story so many times and so many different ways that I need to first try to break the many versions down into three categories, which seemingly are:

The way Sam tells the story when he was still singing with Dave (1961 - 1981).
The way Sam tells the story when he was no longer singing with Dave, but Dave was still alive (1982 - April 9th 1988).
The way Sam tells the story now that Dave is dead and gone (April 10th 1988 - present).

First, I will post Dave’s version of the story, then I will post at least one quote from Sam for each of the three categories and let you see for yourself how Sam’s version of the events keeps changing. Then you tell me if I’m wrong for saying Sam is totally bogus for rewriting history and ultimately rewriting Dave’s legacy in an attempt to make himself look better, greater than he really is. This story started out as a simple, “we sounded good together and that’s why we formed a duo,” and has evolved into Dave looking like a complete idiot who purposely went on stage to sing a song he didn’t know the words to, froze up and got booed unmercifully until Sam "the superhero" swooped in to save the day! Wow, no wonder Sam wears that gold Superman pendant around his neck lol.

Sam Moore and I came together by singing gospel. The first time I met Sam, we were doing a gospel program at the same church. Then, on off nights, we’d do amateur shows separately, and then we’d do a couple of tunes together, and that’s how it all started.

That is how, in 1984, Dave Prater told Dave Booth (in “Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down,” Edsel) the circumstances surrounding how he and Sam formed a duo. Notice how Dave’s version is simple, straight to the point, and sounds rather plausible (albeit kinda vague). Shortly before Dave ended up singing with Sam he was singing gospel music in Miami with his older brother J.T.’s group, The Sensational Hummingbirds, and Sam was also singing gospel in the same neighborhood, supposedly with the group The Melionaires. The gospel music circle is like any other genre of music in that singers/groups will keep tabs on the trends, and keep tabs on what other singers/groups are doing. Within that gospel circle, most everyone will know the singers that are really good and the singers that are not so good. So it stands to reason that with both Sam and Dave singing gospel music in the same neighborhoods of Miami (the same gospel circle) that they would run into each other from time to time.

Soon after, we were in a talent show at a local nightclub, where I sang “Danny Boy” and Dave sang “Wonderful World.” The club owner was so impressed with our styles that he came up with the idea of having Dave and I perform together. We did, using another Sam Cooke song “Chain Gang.”

That is a Sam Moore quote from 1978 about how he and Dave ended up singing together professionally, that falls into the first category of “the way Sam tells the story when he was still singing with Dave (1961 - 1981).” That quote is from a July 1978 Blitz Magazine article, and at that time Sam was still out there singing with Dave. And it is also worth noting that Sam gave that quote while supposedly SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO DAVE! Sam ain’t that dumb lol. He knows better than to lie on Dave right in front of the man’s face. Notice how Sam sticks to the point, and gives a simple answer that actually makes sense and sounds truthful. Man, Dave should’ve sat next to Sam during ALL of his interviews! Now I really wish Dave was still alive if for no other reason than to permanently sit next to Sam whenever he’s talking to the media lol! Dave “The Human Lie Detector” Prater, Jr., baby lol! It is also worth noting in this particular Sam quote how he points out that Dave did indeed sing “Wonderful World” without incident or "problems," and he also makes a point of saying that BOTH their styles were good…remember that – BOTH.

…As I said, I was doing singing MC work in Miami and one night Dave Prater came in to the amateur night and did a Sam Cooke tune. He couldn’t get it together and I asked him if he knew Jackie Wilson’s tune Doggin’ Me Around and he said he didn’t know it. So, I fed him the words on stage. I stood behind him and fed the words to him, like I did years later. That was the beginning of Sam & Dave.

What the hell happened to the simple story? Now, we are entering the beginning of the bullsh*t phase. This Sam quote is from the back cover of the 1984 “Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down” LP on Edsel Records. This quote also falls under the second category of “the way Sam tells the story when he was no longer singing with Dave, but Dave was still alive (1982 - April 9th 1988).” It is also VERY IMPORTANT to point out that Sam hooked up with Joyce around 1980, so all the Sam quotes from here on out in the rest of this blog are with him being married to (and ultimately controlled by) that thing, AND now all the quotes start to sound like b.s.…coincidence? I think not! I think Joyce has a whole lot to do with Sam rewriting his history with Dave to try and make himself look better by constantly degrading Dave…I think Joyce came up with that schiesty public relations move (but that's just my opinion). Anyway, this quote also marks the beginning of Jackie Wilson entering the story (it is also worth noting that Joyce was very close to Jackie Wilson…hmmm, that’s interesting). Here is where Jackie’s song “Doggin’ Around” starts to become intertwined with the Sam & Dave initial meeting story, and hopefully after enough people read this blog, it is where it ENDS! In this version, Sam begins to say Dave had to sing “Doggin’ Around” even though he didn’t know the words. Why would Dave agree to sing a song he didn’t know the words to? Who does that? Now, all of sudden Dave miraculously “couldn’t get it together" when singing "Wonderful World." Even if that were true, then why didn’t Dave sing a song that he actually did have “together”? I’m sure Dave knew the words to more than one song…it makes no sense that he would agree to sing a song he didn’t know. Still, Sam says he jumped in to “feed” Dave the words to “Doggin’ Around” and basically came to Dave’s rescue like he claims he also did years later. So it stands to reason that Sam actually knew the words to the song, right? Remember that fact. Anyway, here is where Sam starts that “Superman complex" sh*t. Funny, Sam wasn't talking all that blah blah about coming to the rescue and saving Dave's performance in the '78 article when Dave was right there next to him...coincidence? I think not! It is awfully peculiar that when Dave is not in the same room with him, Sam sure tells this story very differently. And just wait until you see how Sam tells the story once Dave is dead!

A young man shows up at the King of Hearts one night for amateur hour. I’d never seen him, but I heard about him. He’s winning all these contests in the nightclubs in the other parts of Miami. This young man shows up at the front door of the King of Hearts. And I was sitting there because I was getting all the names of who was gonna be getting on the show. Johnny’s father, Pops Lomello, asked him his name. “Dave Prater.”…
…Well, I thought I knew what Dave was gonna sing, a Sam Cooke song called “Wonderful World,” because he didn’t have a voice like Sam but he was a Sam Cooke wannabe…
…Dave comes to the stage. “What are you doing?” “‘Doggin’ Me Around,’ by Jackie Wilson.” I’m surprised, but…okay. I’m about to walk off. He says, “Uh…I don’t know all the words.” “You don’t know all the words?” “You know, I don’t know the part that goes, ‘I can’t help it…’” “Oh, c’mon!”
So I said I knew it. Which I didn’t. So Johnny walks over to me – he’s always walking over to me – and signals like, “Let’s go.” So I said, “What key you singin’ in?” He said, “Yeah. Whatever.” “Whatever – what?! Oh, my goodness. Do it in C.” So I said to the crowd, “Just stay with it y’all, we’re with you, we’re gonna be right there with you.” They really didn’t give a shit. They just kept talking.
So they give him a chord. “You better stop, yeah…doggin’…” First of all, it was too high for him. He didn’t know his own key – you have to admit Dave didn’t have a lotta range. You know he was scared because he was sweating. He’s sweating through that process and that boy’s getting ready to go Wilson Pickett on me, right?
And then it got to that part again [singing the chorus] and that’s me. I’m behind him. “You better stop, yeah…” I don’t know what the fuck Dave was doing but it was a very magical song. And I got the best part. But I stepped back, you know? Because it looked like he was upset with me. Still, he kept repeating what I sang, so it was like ad lib call-and-response.
I keep backing up and then coming back to the mike. Now, we had a very long mike cord, so that at certain points in the evening, if the emcee needed to, he could go out into the audience. As we’re moving back and forth from the mike on this song, I get tangled in the cord. More and more each time I move. All of a sudden the mike starts to fall. Well, that really scared the hell out of Dave. And it scared me – because I figured Johnny would charge me for the mike. So he and I both drop down on our knees to get this mike – simultaneously. I’m screaming now, preaching and hollering, ‘cause I’m scared.
We caught the mike stand! I caught the top, he caught the bottom. And we came up. Oh, we came up! Doin’ the Joe Tex thing. Hot damn were we bad! People thought it was part of the show!

This quote is from the 1998 book “Sam And Dave: An Oral History,” and clearly it fits into the third category of “the way Sam tells the story now that Dave is dead and gone (April 10th 1988 - present).” Dave is now gone forever and I guess Sam feels like he has free reign to make-up whatever b.s. he fancies when telling the story of how Double Dynamite got started, and he really starts to go wild lol. Sam has decided to adopt this “Sam & Dave by accident” theory, and has even managed to make Dave look even more like an idiot than before. I mean, where do I even start in debunking this latest stupid-ass version? Now Sam is claiming that he never saw Dave before (he had only heard about him)? And Dave is a “Sam Cooke wannabe” but he comes to sing a Jackie Wilson song? A song that he doesn’t know all the words to, no less. And Sam is now saying that he too didn’t know the words to “Doggin’ Around”! WHAT THE HELL?! Sam is so mixed up in his lies that he can’t even keep them straight anymore. So let me get this right, according to Sam's new ass-backwards version, Dave doesn’t know all the words to "Doggin' Around" and neither does Sam, but Sam is feeding him the words? Huh? Is it just me or does that not make a bit of sense? So according to Sam, Dave was getting ready to go onstage to sing and at the very last second he decides to tell Sam that he doesn’t know all the words to the song he's about to sing. Then they have an impromptu rehearsal and Sam yet again tries to make Dave look totally incompetent by claiming he doesn’t know keys. Now, all of sudden, Dave doesn’t know his own key and doesn’t have any range. Okay, whatever. It seems that every time Sam tells this story something different happens, and this new development then gets added to the overall story…better yet, MYTH. For instance, in this particular version Sam now starts to say that the microphone fell and that he and Dave caught it together and the audience thought it was part of the show. Where the hell did this mike falling down stuff come from? Sam didn’t say anything about that in the other versions of this story that I quoted. If that really happened, that is a pretty big chunk of the story to leave out (and leave out for years). For some reason Sam is hell-bent on selling this idea that he and Dave (a dude he never met) just happened to end up singing together by accident, and they just happened to ad-lib and fall down into this performance that caused someone to think they would be a great duo. I don't get it? What happened to BOTH their styles being impressive enough for the club owner to think they'd make a great duo? It's no more BOTH - Now Dave is a fumbling, bumbling idiot and Sam is a superhero...What happened to the simple story? I don't get it?

I had heard about Dave. I had, you know, I hadn’t seen him, but I heard about him. He had started out in gospel, too, from Georgia. So this night, particular night he came in and he said, uh [pause] “I’m signing up,” and I said “What’s your name?” “Dave!” “Okay, and your last name?” “Prater!” I said, “Okay, what are you singing?” Uh, “’Doggin’ Me Around’,” Jackie Wilson, ooooh, you goin’ into my field now [laughter], you know, but okay fine. Then it was time for Dave, and I said, “Now ladies and gentlemen…” blah, blah, blah, and “little young man is gonna be singing a song by Jackie Wilson, ‘Doggin’ Me Around’, lets give him a great round of applause,” and he walks up. Now, here we go. Dave gets up [pause] and he starts singing, [singing] “You better stop, yeah, doggin’ me around. [Sings faster] You better stop, yeah, doggin’ me around. Can’t help it much longer” and on. Now, when he got to the verses [long pause] he stopped! He just [laughter] he just stood there! [Laughter] He was looking at the audience, just looking, you know going, and they were going “Boo, get ‘em off! Get ‘em” [mumbles something inaudible while laughing]. Uh, [pause] even if he had just given a “Umm.” He didn’t do no- he was just [pause] petrified! So I said, “Come on, come on, come on.” So I said, “Look,” [pause] I said, “Let me talk to him some.” I walked up, [speaking very gently] “Look, I know Jackie Wilson’s song, I know the song. What I’ll do, I’m not supposed to do this, but I’ll stay up here with you and when you get to the verses I’ll stand back and I’ll give you the words.” [Pause] Okay, so got- went all over again, [mumbles extremely fast] “Okay, give ‘em one more chance! Come on, lets give ‘em a sh-,” and I’m standing in the back, and he did, [singing] “You better stop, yeah, [mumbles inaudibly]” and I said, [whispering] “Can’t help it.” He said, [mocking Dave’s singing] “Can’t help it!” [Whispering] “Much longer.” [Mocking Dave’s singing] “Much longer!” [Whispering inaudibly, then mocking Dave’s singing inaudibly]. And I’m tryin’ to back away. I don’t want, you know, I don’t want, you know, to take away from him, you know? And my foot [pause] got caught into the wire - the cord of the mike. And I’m tryin’ to not look…kick…away, and instead of kicking it away, I’m bringin’ it to – like – this. The poor guy’s already petrified, he’s waiting on the next words, and the mike does this [he uses his hand to show how the mike fell]. [Laughing] And Dave does the same thing. [Laughing] And when Dave does this, I do the same thing. That became Sam and Dave – Sam and Dave – for the next 22 years.

That quote is Sam’s latest variation of the story as told (verbatim) in the 2008 DVD “The Original Soul Men: Sam & Dave.” It also falls under that third category, but mainly I posted it to show how Sam is telling the story today. And also to show the newest development in the story which is Dave, now, froze up and got booed in his very first performance at The King of Hearts. Where the hell did this freezing up and getting booed stuff come from? Sam didn’t say anything about that in the other versions of this story that I quoted (or even in his own book). If that really happened, that is a pretty big chunk of the story to leave out (and leave out for years). And also in this version, Sam is back to saying that he did indeed know the words to “Doggin’ Around.” And what’s up with Sam saying, “Jackie Wilson, ooooh, you goin’ into my field now”? Was no one allowed to sing Jackie Wilson songs except Sam Moore? Where is that rule written? What an arrogant, condescending thing to say! The nerve of that assh*le is just astounding to me! It is also worth noting that Dave coming to the club to originally sing “Wonderful World” has been written out of the story completely. Now Sam is just telling the world that Dave came to sing a song he didn’t know all the words to, froze up like he’d never been on stage in his entire life before, gets booed, and looks to Sam to save him. I bet Dave turns over in his grave every time Sam tells that bullsh*t. And what’s worse, so many fans believe EVERYTHING that comes out of Sam’s mouth, especially concerning Dave…and THAT HAS GOT TO END!

BUT, because Sam lies so much and has altered the story of how he and Dave came together professionally so many times, that the way he tells it and when doesn’t always fit so neatly and nicely into three categories. For example, check out this quote from Sam in 2002 from an interview with EGG - The Arts Show:

…That was the first part of 1960. I started performing at the King of Hearts in Miami. The next thing I knew, I was performing as an amateur around the predominately Black sections of Miami. Eventually, [Dave] came to my club. Dave Prager [sic] was [rumored to be] the next Sam Cooke. The owner of the club, Mr. Lamello, [asked one day if we] would like to sing together. I said, “Yeah, why not?” Dave, at that time, couldn’t [be a] full-time performer because he was baking bread at night. He would come [to the club] after the midnight shift. A lot of times Dave would walk into the club with his white shirt, white pants, and his white shoes. We’d get up there to sing, he would clap his hands, and flour would fly all over the place. We’d be singing, trying to get ourselves together and we’d just make up anything. We used to sing songs by the Clovers, the Drifters, and the Dominoes. We even did songs by Elvis Presley. We were a joke. I never thought we were that good. I think we were just louder than anyone else was, because we were church guys. What we did was testified and preached. We would hear people in the audience say, “Sing, Sam; go ahead, Dave; preach, boy.” That’s the kind of stuff we would do. And we would also have a sermon on stage. We’d have people shouting. That was our act.

Prager? Anyway, Sam goes back to almost telling this story as he did way back in '78, but then he just can't help himself in mocking Dave. Sam went back to the simple story of the club owner wanting the two men to form a duo. But then he goes back to being typical Sam by poking fun at the fact that Dave actually worked for a living. I don't believe for one second that Dave came onstage full of flour, but lets just say for argument sake that he did...so what? What's wrong with a brother actually having a legit 9 to 5 and trying to support his family? I guess the working man is a joke, a chump to Sam since at that time he would rather con people, hustle, gamble, and pimp women (minors too) than have a real job and actually WORK. And he also goes back to typical Sam by trying to dog out their act and call it a "joke." Actually going so far as to say that people only recognized them because they were the "loudest." Would it kill Sam to admit that he and Dave had something special? That they were actually good together on stage? No, no, he'd never say that because then he'd have to admit that Dave was actually talented...that Dave actually had something to offer the duo. No, no, he'd never admit that.

Okay, so lets sum this whole thing up, shall we. First, Sam tells the simple story (like Dave's version) of how he and Dave ended up singing together in that he would sing a few songs alone (like "Danny Boy"), and Dave would sing a few songs alone (like "Wonderful World"), and the owner liked both their styles and thought they would sound good together so they started singing as a duo, and the rest is history. Fast forward a few years after Sam becomes involved with Joyce, and the story starts to change, not make sense, and make Dave look like a fool who needed to be rescued on stage. Fast forward a few more years after Dave is now dead and buried, and the story is still changing and even has a new development. Jackie Wilson's "Doggin' Around" is now always mentioned, and Dave doesn't know the words but decides to sing that song anyway with the help of Sam from the wings who says he doesn't know all the words either. Dave is made to look even more like an incompetent fool who doesn't know notes or his own key. And the new development is the accidental falling microphone that they catch to the audience's delight. Then fast forward some more years and Dave is still dead but now Sam sees fit to kill Dave's reputation too, and the story is still changing and has yet another new development. Now Dave comes to the amateur contest with the intention of singing "Doggin' Around" (a song he still doesn't know the words to. No more mention is made of "Wonderful World"). A total bonehead move, right? But wait...hold on...now when Dave comes to the part of the song that he doesn't know, he completely freezes up...silence, that is until he gets booed by the audience. But never fear, Sam "Superman" Moore was there to save the day! He swooped in to help Dave deliver his lines in the song because now he claims, YET AGAIN, that he does indeed know the words. Yeah, Sam! Sam "The Hero" who saved the poor fool, incompetent, moron Dave. Gee, I wonder how idiot Dave managed to win all those other amateur contests around Miami without the help of "Superman" Moore? One has to wonder??? And don't get me started on the falling microphone story and its many versions as told by Mr. Moore! First Dave trips and falls into a split with the mike. Then Dave trips and makes the mike fall and Sam catches it. Then Sam kicks the cord and makes the mike fall and they both catch it. Then Sam gets tangled in the cord and makes the mike fall and Dave tries to catch it and Sam falls on top of Dave. Whew, I'm dizzy!

The story of how Sam and Dave came to be has more changes than the weather, than a freakin' symphony (when going by Sam's versions, that is). And think about it, if that first performance of "Sam & Dave" was an accidental mishap of confusion and melee, then why would the owner (or anyone) ask them to do it again? If that first performance was a falling down, forgetting the lyrics and getting booed, fumbling "joke" like Sam makes it out to be, then why would they decide to form a duo together after such a messed up performance? Think about it, people! Go back and read Sam's first version of this story from '78, and then read the last one from the 2008 DVD...It's like two totally different stories! It's like Sam is talking about two totally different Dave's! Those two stories are like polar opposites! And since the latter version makes no freakin' sense and contradicts itself, I'm putting my money on that version being complete and utter bullsh*t! SAM IS A FREAKIN' LIAR!!! Don't let him get away with this crap any longer! We the fans have got to try and stop Sam from ripping Dave's rep to shreds like this! Or at least stop the lying! I'm serious. I refuse to sit idly by any longer without speaking on Sam's bullsh*t...I REFUSE! And I wish more Sam & Dave fans would do the same. You may not think it, but we do have some say. We do have some power...Dwell on it!

P.S. And just think of what Sam's version of this story will be in a couple of years (if he's still alive). What will the "new" development be this time? Oh, I know! Sam will now say that in addition to Dave freezing up on stage, he then also peed his pants lol! Oh, no, I got it!...Dave forgot to wear his pants altogether and came out on stage in his drawers lol! That will be Sam's "new" version. Whatever it is, YOU KNOW it's gonna be bullsh*t and make Dave out to look like an even bigger moron than ever before (if that's even possible).

It's official, "Soul Men" is NOT about Sam & Dave

2008-11-19T09:09:00.026-06:00

A 60’s and 70’s black, soul singing duo try to stage a comeback while dealing with the legendary animosity they feel for one another…At first glance, it does kinda sound like Sam & Dave, right? But don’t be fooled, people, the movie “Soul Men” is NOT the story of Sam & Dave…PERIOD!

Last week I went to see "Soul Men", and remember my first blog entry? Well, it’s official, kids, Sam Moore doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell at winning any kind of legal case regarding this movie! I mean, what lawyer would even waste their time with this? That movie had more to do with Cheech & Chong…Tom & Jerry…Bartles & Jaymes...Johnson & Johnson...Batman & Robin...and any other famous duo you can think of than it had to do with the story of Sam & Dave lol. Seriously though, I went to see this movie with the sole purpose of trying to connect the dots between this story and the story of Sam Moore and Dave Prater, and I, for the life of me, COULD NOT! There isn’t too much plot in “Soul Men”, so I don’t want to give what little there is away. The movie is a little over an hour and a half long and takes place over a four day period, but I don’t think the real Sam and Dave talked that much to each other the entire 20 years they knew one another.

Let me just say this, the points I brought up in that very first blog about why “Soul Men” is NOT about Sam & Dave still hold up now that I have actually seen the whole movie. The essence of the entire movie has to do with the fact that Sam Jackson’s (Louis Hinds) and Bernie Mac’s (Floyd Henderson) characters haven’t seen each other in almost 30 years because they had an ugly falling out over some woman. But now that they are reuniting for a gig, the duo start to deal with those old wounds and finally come to realize that they really do love and respect one another. Now, does that still sound like Sam & Dave to you? If you say “yes” you clearly don’t know a damn thing about the history of Sam & Dave (but don’t fret! Just keep reading my blog and you’ll know the real story of S&D soon enough). Anyway, the real S&D never had a reunion after being apart 30 years…not even close! The real S&D were never apart more than 2 years without “reuniting” to do some kind of gig or recording. AND, the real S&D were never close friends…never! I’ll say it again: Sam Moore and Dave Prater were never really good friends! Sam said as much in December 2006 during an interview with Terry Gross on NPR:

…And this is what caused the relationship to really get, you know, quieter – that’s the only word I can find to say, because the relationship was not wherein he and I socialized. We never socialized together…

Also, in the 1998 book “Sam And Dave: An Oral History”, Sam said “Dave and I were never really close”. The characters Louis and Floyd had grown up together and were really good friends from way, way back. So, you see, Sam and Dave’s relationship was nothing like Louis and Floyd’s. S&D didn’t grow up together. Hell, they didn’t even meet until both men were in their twenties. Sam and Dave didn’t sing in the same church choir together as kids. Sam and Dave didn’t go to elementary school together and dream of forming a duo and becoming big stars. They started singing together at the suggestion/request of a club owner in Miami. Sam and Dave were more like co-workers than buddies. You know, like the person who works in the cubicle next to yours that you have to do a big project/presentation with on a regular basis, but as soon as that presentation is over and you leave work, you don’t talk to or hang out with that person…that’s Sam and Dave! That seemed to be the essence of their relationship, and the movie “Soul Men” is about an entirely different type of relationship, and it's that relationship the whole entire movie is based upon...that is the whole movie! There are other things that don't match up when comparing Louis & Floyd to Sam & Dave, but it seems really futile to point them all out when the whole point/story line/plot/basis of the movie, which is Louis and Floyd's relationship, doesn't resemble the relationship Sam and Dave had AT ALL!.

With all that said, there were little, tiny things in the movie that did slightly remind me of Sam & Dave (but you’d have to be a “super fan” to notice them). Like the balcony scene with the two white groupies was a little Sam & Dave-ish because anyone that has heard Sam Moore tell THIS STORY (about where he and Dave supposedly were when four little girls got bombed in church in Birmingham, Alabama 1963) knows what I'm talking about (wink wink). Also, when Louis and Floyd get arrested in the movie, and Floyd was cheesin' like a fool in his mug shot. Well, said mug shot reminded me of Dave on the cover of the "Back At 'Cha" album lol! Little things like that reminded me of S&D, but the big things, the main things in the movie couldn’t be more unlike the real Sam Moore and Dave Prater. Even when Louis and Floyd sang a cover of "Hold On, I'm Comin’", it didn't even remotely remind me of Double Dynamite (not the singing, not the moves, NOTHING!). And, another one of Sam Moore's big claims that this movie is about him and Dave is that he said no other two artists worked at Stax and worked with Isaac Hayes like he and Dave did. But in the movie the group, The Real Deal, (that's Louis & Floyd) NEVER said anything about being on Stax Records (or Atlantic, for that matter) OR having worked with Isaac Hayes!

I really think Sam Moore is pissed about this movie because I'm guessing that he thought Sam Jackson's character (Louis) was supposed to be him (I really couldn't tell because neither character even remotely resembled Sam Moore’s OR Dave Prater's lives). And Louis was the knucklehead, ex-druggie, ex-con, failure, and loser of the duo while Bernie's character (Floyd) was living the life of leisure and wealth having retired from a successful car wash business. Sam Moore has spent the better part of 20 years trying to make Dave Prater look like the bad guy, the loser, the incompetent idiot of the duo in an effort to elevate his own stature, and he’ll be damned if some movie’s gonna come along and try to mess up that bullsh*t facade he (and his cackling wife, Joyce) has worked so hard to build lol! I’ve also come to the conclusion that Sam Moore knows he doesn’t have a case and is just using this movie and the bogus threat of litigation as a means of free publicity for the December U.S. release of the documentary "The Original Soul Men Sam & Dave." And we all know Sam didn’t come up with this publicity stunt idea on his own. No, my friends, this one has the earmarks of a Joyce Moore original. And "you're welcome" for the free publicity I have given your DVD here. Although I like to look at it as me solely promoting DAVE'S HALF of the documentary.

So, save your money, guys, and wait to see this one when it comes out on DVD. This flick is predictable, kinda crude, lacks any kind of meaningful dialogue or originality, and is not really funny (save for a very few scenes...the "piano coffin" scene comes to mind…now that was funny). And, last but not least, THIS MOVIE HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH SAM & DAVE AT ALL!!! I cannot stress that enough! So, don’t believe the hype, people. Lets smash this myth to bits before it gains any more momentum, okay? Sam Moore has absolutely no case whatsoever, but I suspect he already knows that...and now, so do you.

Why I'm Doing This

2008-11-07T18:11:00.022-06:00

This probably should have been my first blog, but like I mentioned earlier, I have so many bones to pick with Sam Moore (and his cackling wife, Joyce) that I really didn’t know where to start. So, I should’ve probably started at the very beginning (my beginning, anyways), and how I came to be a Sam & Dave fan in the first place, and how & why I ultimately came to the decision to start this blog.

Well, It’s been exactly one year that I have been a devout Sam & Dave fan (really, a Dave Prater fan, but I'll get into that in a minute). It all started with the song “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby”. I wanted to download that track to my iPod but I wasn’t exactly sure who sang it. So I did what most folks do nowadays when faced with an “I don’t know” dilemma…I "Googled" it. I found out that Sam & Dave originally had sung that song. Now, I had heard of Sam & Dave before, and assumed Sam was the “leader” because his name was first, but I didn’t know who was who, and I definitely didn’t have any preconceived notions about them or know anything about their personal lives. I remember one of the very first pics I saw of them during my Google search (see above pic), and I thought to myself, “The darker-skinned one is kinda cute. I wonder if that’s Sam or Dave?" I feel I should explain myself here as I have very peculiar tastes in what I find attractive lol. Anyway, I didn’t initially know that that “darker-skinned one” that I was so smitten by was actually Dave Prater. It was only after I read a wikipedia article about them that I then knew who was who, their respective last names, and who was the tenor and who was the gritty baritone. After putting a name and a voice to that “darker-skinned one”, and after reading various one-sided, pro-Sam only material, I set out about the task of finding out any and everything I could about this seemingly unheralded underdog Dave Prater. As you can imagine, I was kinda pissed to find out that Dave was actually dead (not to mention that he died rather young and died on my birthday). Dave then joined that seemingly long list of musicians that I adore who are no longer with us: Marvin Gaye, Paul Williams, Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Fela Kuti, Tammi Terrell, Billie Holiday…just to name a few. So, from that one track that I always loved (“When Something Is Wrong…”), I became consumed with hearing more, and learning more about not only Dave, but Sam as well. And I’ll admit, the first time I saw a pic of Sam Moore I got the feeling that I wasn’t gonna like that dude because he just looked extremely arrogant and even a little evil to me. But even with all that, I came into this Sam & Dave thing completely neutral and I actually tried to like them BOTH (I really wanted to like them both). But the more I read, and the more I learned, and the more I listened to their songs, it was clearly becoming evident that I was really just more of a Dave Prater fan. I will be the first to admit that Sam technically has the "better" voice. Sam’s vocal range is bigger, and he seemingly never hit a wrong note. But to me Dave brought the funk, the heart, and the feeling to the duo (and I’ll take “heart” and “feeling” over “technically better voice” ANY DAY!). I personally like Dave’s gritty voice more because it feels more real to me whereas Sam comes off sounding phony and contrived most of the time…but that’s just me (to each his own, right?). So, I began buying all their music, watching all their videos on youtube, and collecting a stack of articles about them. But one of my very first purchases was that book "Sam And Dave: An Oral History," and after reading it, it was basically a done deal that I didn’t care for Sam Moore, the person, AT ALL! And that book just left me with the overall feeling that not only does Sam Moore NOT really know Dave Prater, but, we the fans, will never really know the real Dave Prater either. And that book left me with a strong longing to want to know more about Dave. I was on a mission then…a mission to find out who the real Dave Prater was. And after a year, I still don’t really know, but I definitely have a better idea because of stories told to me from folks who actually knew Dave, from certain quotes I've read supposedly attributed to Dave, and last but not least from my ability to discern and size people up…all of that has helped me get a better picture of the kind of person Dave was. I’m not totally ignorant or naïve though; I NEVER said, or will say, that Dave Prater was an angel or he was perfect and without faults. I know that he too had a serious drug problem, had a serious drinking problem, got caught selling crack, had multiple wives, was probably high when he drove into that tree, and supposedly shot his girlfriend (who later became his second wife) in the face. Although I hesitate in bringing up the shooting incident and I said, “supposedly shot” because NO ONE (except Dave and that woman, Judy) REALLY knows what happened…but I’m sure I’ll discuss and dissect that issue further in a future blog.

Since I started this blog last week, I have gotten a few comments that ask me “Why are you doing this?” I know the main title of my blog gives the impression that I’m here just to hate on Sam Moore because I personally don’t like him, but that’s not really the whole story, so let me explain. Basically, I started this blog because a year’s worth of frustration just boiled over into me needing to get this stuff off of my chest lol. I was so sick and tired of just seeing Sam’s side of the story, but even more than that, I was sick and tired of none of the fans coming out (publicly, anyways) and questioning the things that Sam says and does. It seems like the fans just accept the things Sam (and even Joyce) says as the gospel truth without even considering that Dave had a side to this story as well! And I’m not saying that Dave’s side is the gospel truth either, but it would have given a more balanced view about the history and even the squabbles surrounding the Sam & Dave legacy. I don't personally know Sam or Joyce (or Dave, for that matter), but that doesn't mean I can't have an opinion on them. I'm just sick and tired of Dave Prater getting belittled by those two, and they're constantly rewriting HIS history/legacy. I'm just trying to wake people up to the fact that there were TWO members of Sam & Dave (and one of the members sure as hell wasn't Joyce!), hence there are TWO sides to the story. But fans wouldn't know that because all they have ever seen or heard is SAM, SAM, SAM telling everybody HIS SIDE like it's the ultimate truth! You know that saying: There's your side of story, my side of the story, and then there's the truth. Well, there's Sam's side of the story, Dave's side of the story, and then there's the truth, but Sam has brainwashed people into thinking that his side of the story IS the truth...and I ain't buying it...PERIOD! And since Sam is always in the media giving his side and talking to anyone who will listen (AND pay him), then he is fair game for people like me to scrutinize and comment on what he says and does. You can’t constantly put your ass in the line of fire and then turn around and be surprised and/or pissed when you get hit. And some of my frustration is with Dave as well! I don’t know if it’s the reporters who didn’t want to talk to him, or if it was Dave who didn’t want to talk to the reporters??? Either way, sometimes I wish I could just shake the hell outta Dave for not telling the media HIS SIDE! I mean, he did die kinda young and maybe he thought he had time to get his story out or write his book in the future. I’m just frustrated that Dave’s thoughts and feelings are not really part of the history of Sam & Dave, and that’s a crying shame! And I’m not here to speak for Dave, because I can’t do that…I’m here to represent the fact that Dave did have a side, opinions, a story in the history and legacy of Sam AND Dave! And if I can shine a light on the hypocrisies, contradictions, and downright inaccuracies in the things that Sam says (especially in respect to Dave and the history of Sam & Dave), then that ultimately casts doubts on ALL the things Sam says (in my mind, at least), especially in regards to his Sam & Dave years…and that’s my MAIN objective in doing this blog: To represent the fact that Dave too had a side and a story, AND to point out Sam’s contradictions and lies in order to show that what he says is not the gospel truth like most fans think.

So, to recap & breakdown for the slow people here, my main objective in doing this blog is:

To point out that even though Dave never really got his side of the story out to the masses like Sam has been able to doesn’t mean that Dave didn’t have a side, an opinion, a point-of-view, a story! And Dave's version of events probably differed greatly from Sam’s (and actually might be more truthful???)
To point out the things Sam says that are suspect, hypocritical, contradictory, and/or downright false in the hopes that it will show people that not everything Sam says is the gospel truth, and the last and only word in all things Sam & Dave like most folks have been brainwashed into believing.

And remember folks, I am WELL AWARE of Dave’s faults & sins (as it is basically ALL that is ever said and repeated about him). And, I am basically unable to put a microscope on the things he has said like I can do with Sam because Dave didn’t say that much (to my knowledge). I really wish I could scrutinize the things Dave said like I do with Sam, but I just don’t have enough quotes and facts on Dave to do that. And, again, I wish I could shake the hell outta Dave for not getting his side of the story out there! Maybe someday, someone that actually knew the real Dave Prater will write a book…In regards to Dave’s thinking and the things he may have said, that book would be second-hand information, but at least that’s better than getting second-hand Dave Prater information solely from people who hated (and still hate) his guts! It's better than getting second-hand Dave Prater information solely from an admitted liar, Sam, and his cackling wife, Joyce! To that, let the church say “AMEN”! LOL!

P.S. I even received a comment stating that I should leave Sam ("the poor guy") alone because he changed his life and because he's a soul music legend. Poor Sam!?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! At least Sam is still able to defend himself against possible libelous and/or slanderous attacks. Don't you mean poor Dave? Because a lot of the sh*t that Sam & Joyce have put out about Dave has been after he died, and after he would be able to defend himself and possibly expose the lies. Don't you mean poor Dave? How can he truly rest in peace when his legacy is being told and ultimately ripped to shreds (and basically rewritten) by two money hungry LIARS that hate his guts!? I'll agree that Sam is a soul music legend who stopped doing drugs (to the best of my knowledge), but that does not mean he's automatically exempt from being checked (and checked harshly) on his lies! Save the sympathetic sentiment for poor Dave, his children, his family, and other people who love him who have to sit back and watch Sam & Joyce basically belittle & dog him and try to diminish his importance & contributions to the duo every chance they get...What about Dave? Don't you mean POOR DAVE?!

Where Do I Start?

2008-11-01T11:17:00.004-05:00

I have so many bones to pick with Sam Moore that I truly don't know where to start lol! Well, I guess I'll start with my most recent gripe.

It seems that Sam has recently gotten more adamant, agitated, and detailed about his beef with the upcoming comedy flick "Soul Men". But Sam is so dense and arrogant (a deadly combination lol) that he believes that just because the movie has the same name as he and Dave's most famous song/album, that the movie is all about him! But then again, in Sam's egocentric and delusional mind EVERYTHING is always all about him lol! I mean, what kind of person would serve people with "cease & desist" papers concerning a movie that they haven't fully seen yet!?! Reading a script and actually seeing the finished movie are two totally different things...DUH! But before I get into the particulars of Sam's moronic tirade, you should really READ THIS WHOLE ARTICLE FIRST.

First, I would like to point out that most of what I know about the history of Sam & Dave comes from quotes and lengthy interviews (both written and audio/video) from Sam Moore himself. So, if things I state concerning Sam & Dave's career sound suspect, or not quite right...Don't blame ME, blame Sam lol! Anyway, on with the article, let's start by breaking down this statement first:

In legal letters seen by The Independent, Moore claims the film, due out next week, gives a defamatory account of a reunion that he and the late Dave Prater attempted in 1982, having not spoken to each other for four years.

What reunion is Sam talking about? Is he saying that he and Dave were going to have a reunion in 1982? Or is he talking about the short-lived so-called "reunion" they had around the time the movie "Blues Brothers" was out in 1980-81? Lets face it, Sam & Dave had many "reunions" during the 70's lol. Let me try and break this timeline down further: S&D first broke up around June 1970, and that break-up only lasted a year and a half. So they were back together by late '71 and recorded a few sides for Atlantic Records (songs like "Don't Pull Your Love", "Jody Ryder Got Killed", and "Starting All Over Again") before being dropped by the label. S&D had pretty much stopped recording together by late '71, but they were still touring together in '73 (because they even had a gig in Turkey around this time). In 1974, S&D made an appearance on the television show "The Midnight Special". By 1975 S&D were back in the studio recording songs for their new album on United Artists Records titled "Back At 'Cha!". The duo then recorded one song titled "Come On, Come Over" (a great track, btw) as a guest spot on Jaco Pastorius' debut album in 1976. And it was around '77 or '78 when Sam & Dave recorded the Contempo tracks and also started to record those albums of remakes of their own past hits, and hits by a few other artists like Sam Cooke and Otis Redding (those "Sweet & Funky Soul" and "Soul Study" type albums). In December '79, S&D signed on for a guest spot in Paul Simon's 1980 movie "One Trick Pony". It was also around this time that S&D started to tour again eventually becoming the opening act on the Sha Na Na tour, and on February 23rd of 1980 they were the musical guests on "Saturday Night Live". Sam & Dave continued to tour (in mostly small clubs and dives, performing for mainly drug dealers according to Sam) until that fateful New Year's Eve night in 1981 at The Waldorf in San Francisco when they officially performed together for the last time ever. Now, it is my understanding that in this movie "Soul Men", the Sam Jackson and Bernie Mac characters (known as "The Real Deal") reunite after about 30 years of not performing or even speaking to each other. Sam & Dave NEVER had a reunion like that! The longest they were apart before "reuniting" was no more than 2 years (recheck that timeline I just laid out). So, this myth that S&D had this grand, special "reunion" after so much time apart is just that...A MYTH - DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE!

The film infringes trademark rights over the duo's most famous song, "Soul Man", Moore alleges. It also wrongly portrays them as constantly swearing, making liberal use of the "N-word" and indulging in casual sex with groupies, he complains.

Now, this is truly news to me! Sam Moore owns trademark rights to the song "Soul Man"!?! I hope Dave's estate has some of that action, baby lol! I say that facetiously because I have my doubts about Sam (or Dave's estate, for that matter) owning any parts of any of the songs they ever sang. Now, the swearing and casual sex part (especially the casual sex part) completely floored me!!! I was floored because I couldn't believe that Sam…Sam Moore…Samuel David Moore had the audacity to claim with a straight face that he didn't indulge in casual sex with groupies!!! We're talking about the same Sam Moore, right? The Sam Moore of Sam & Dave fame who claimed (in his own words) that he's not sure how many children he has out there in the world; we're talking about that Sam, right? You don't believe me, well read for yourself:

“When it came to women, I loved all of ‘em. But I couldn’t stay with women. Well, I could as long as they didn’t want a commitment. I couldn’t handle a commitment. Yet, I would send for her and move her in with me, and stay with her. I wasn’t after much younger women or white women in particular or any of that. I was just after some pussy. On the road, either they were working as dancers, or they were working in the office, or whatever, I slept with ‘em [laughter]. I didn’t get ‘em all the time, but most of the time, yeah, I’d sleep with ‘em....

…So this resulted in a lot of…children. If I had to really sit down and count, I would say…between ten and twenty. Half of ‘em before Sam and Dave became big time and half after we were stars. These days, I don’t know most of the kids any more than I know most of the women. Because I also did the same thing with my children. Conned them. They’d call, or come to see me, and I didn’t want to be bothered, or I had another woman with me. And most of the time all they wanted was money.”

That quote was taken from the 1998 book "Sam And Dave: An Oral History"...straight from pages 80-82, and supposedly straight from Sam's mouth, baby! How in the world can Sam claim some supposedly fictional movie is defaming his reputation and legacy when the words that came out of his own mouth are FAR MORE defaming than this movie seems to be! Now are you uninformed and/or misinformed fans starting to get a taste of Sam's hypocrisy? (and keep in mind that's just a taste, there are many more contradictions and hypocrisies to come in future blogs...Hell, there's more to come in the rest of this blog let alone future ones lol!) I mean, how in the hell can Sam be mad at a fictional movie portraying fictional womanizing characters when he doesn't know how many kids he has! "Between ten and twenty"!?! That's a difference of 10 KIDS!!! Sam's guessing curve/error margin is 10 FREAKIN' KIDS!!! Do you have any idea how much casual sex that is, man! That's some Wilt Chamberlin type numbers lol! It's just totally ridiculous and laughable for Sam to even bring up that he's upset by the casual sex with groupies part of this upcoming movie when he was actually living THAT FOUL!!!

...But when you read the script, all you see is vulgarity. Every other word is the 'N-word' or 'M-f' and it's just not right. They have bastardised my whole story.

And I will admit that I've never seen or heard Sam use the N-word in print, song, or otherwise, but also I've never personally been around the man so that doesn't mean I don't believe he's never used that word in private before. And what does it really matter because he AND Dave used every other foul word in the book lol. I already pointed out Sam using the word "pussy" (and not in the context of some bar or cat house, but in an interview for a book nonetheless), so let's point out some more of both Sam AND Dave at their potty-mouth best and YOU be the judge if he has a claim or a right to be upset about some stupid fictional movie character's swearing:

"...Then when we got to New York and I started to hang around the Parks Cafe and Wilt Chamberlain's place and whatnot, I'm hanging with people like Jackie Wilson, B.B. King, and Chuck Jackson. I'm on the same level with these guys. Dave would try, but a lot of times, to tell you the truth, when Dave would show up, they would be very cordial to Dave. They weren't rude. But as soon as Dave would leave, they would laugh and they'd call him country. Dave would be talking to us and later he'd say, 'Well, I wanted to leave but I was afraid to leave because I knew if I left, you motherfuckers would be laughin' at me'. On the other hand, I was a cocky son of a bitch. If I sensed that you didn't want to be bothered with me, I would go about my business. I would just say, 'Okay, fine, fuck you,' and go about my way."

"...I remember telling Dave these infamous words, that have been carried around for years. I said, 'Dave, I gotta tell you something. I'll sing with you, man, okay? I'll sing with you. But I shall not ever, ever again speak to you.' And his words were, 'Well, I don't give a fuck. It wasn't none of your business. You ain't got nothing to do with it, so fuck you. I'll never talk to you again.'"

"...No. 'I'm Sam fuckin' Moore. I don't want to stay with this motherfucker. I'm leavin'.'"

Again, those quotes are from the book "Sam And Dave: An Oral History," and the funny thing is those 3 quotes are not from various scatterings througout the whole book, but from pages 79-85 lol. A mere 6 pages but littered with swearings (especially the "M-f" word that Sam claims is "not right" lol). Sam claims the movie "bastardised" his whole story, but what he can't seem to comprehend is maybe, just maybe this movie isn't about him! Sam can't seem to grasp this far off concept called FICTION!!! So let me break it down so slowful Sam can understand: "Sam, the movie is make believe, a fairytale, not real, not based on YOU! The world does not revolve around YOU, Sam! Got it, yet?" lol!

The Weinstein Company says the film's fiction. In that case, I'd like them to tell me what part's supposed to be fiction," said Moore. "I'd like them to tell me which two black soul musicians, signed to Stax Records, who worked with Isaac Hayes, it's meant to portray.

Mel & Tim lol? They were two black soul musicians signed to Stax Records, right? Did they work with Isaac Hayes too? If that's Sam's only argument for thinking this movie is about him and Dave then his lawsuit is in a world of trouble lol. And Sam wants to know what part of the movie is supposed to be fiction? Well, I will be the first to admit that I too have not seen this movie in its entirety either, but just judging from the 2 different trailers that I have seen there are a few things that I'm pretty sure don't resemble the Sam & Dave story at all:

The Real Deal were 2 back-up singers who decide to reunite after the death of the lead singer they sang behind.
The relationship between Sam Jackson's and Bernie Mac's characters are based on a love/hate type of relationship and it seems they were very close friends at one point. And although it seems as if they bicker a lot, it still feels like underneath it all they still really do love and respect one another.
In a plot twist, it seems that the daughter Bernie Mac's character always thought was biologically his actually turns out to be Sam Jackson's character's daughter...Oops! lol!

So, going by Sam's rationalization, Sam & Dave were actually back-up singers for some mysterious third member of their group who was actually the lead singer, and they decided to reunite after many years because this mysterious lead singing third member had just died. And from all accounts (Sam's included) that I have ever seen or heard about, Sam & Dave were never that close of friends. Sam & Dave's relationship was more of a "sorta, kinda like/hate" type of thing. They didn't seem to have friendly or comedic bickering, they just had an icy silence that well proceeded any of their numerous break-ups. And last but not least, Dave was known to have 5 children - 4 boys and 1 girl. So, again, going by Sam's rationalization that this movie is completely and utterly about his and Dave's life together, then Dave's only daughter, Sharon, was actually Sam's biological daughter! lol! Get a grip, Sam! Even I haven't seen this whole movie but I know your legal case is a sham!

Moore's laywer [sic], Arnie Lutzker, said his client considers litigation to be a "last resort". He added: "Clearly, the film takes from Sam Moore's life without getting permission. If you look at the story ... if you know anything about Sam & Dave then you could make the reasonable assumption that this is the Sam & Dave story. The film-makers are exploiting his reputation to make a buck. They are taking his rights to the phrase "soul man". They've abused his trademark in a way that creates the likelihood of confusion.

Puuuhleeeze! Litigation is Sam's only resort because he thinks he can scare these people into giving him some money...classic shakedown, baby! lol! And if they offered to settle, Sam Moore would probably take it in a heartbeat and wouldn't give a damn if Dave's estate got their cut or not. And he probably miraculously would no longer care if people thought this movie was about him or not - To hell with thoughts of buffoonery and defamation of character once he gets that check lol. Sam would take that check, turn around and now say he LOVES the movie LOL! I'm pretty sure Sam's cackling wife, Joyce, put him up to all this litigation in the first place (as I have a haunting suspicion that Sam is not bright enough to figure out such things on his own) as sort of a shakedown attempt. And the Moore's lawyer has the nerve to say the film-makers are the one's exploiting Sam to make a buck! No, Sam and Joyce are exploiting this movie, that is from all accounts, NOT about Sam & Dave to try and make some fast and easy money through a settlement (they're hoping settlement, anyways). And going by the Moore's lawyer's rationalization, all the film-makers really have to do is change the title of the movie (and maybe take out the song "Hold On, I'm Comin'" from the film and soundtrack), and Sam has NO CASE at all!...PRESTO! CHANGO! lol

So, film-makers of this movie, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE do me a favor and just change the darn movie title from "Soul Men" to, say..."The Real Deal" so Sam and Joyce will have no choice but to go slither pennilessly back under the rock from whence they came and just GO AWAY and leave us decent folk alone! AND I'M FINALLY THROUGH!!!

P.S. And just think of what I'll say on this topic once I actually see the entire movie! LOL!