‘Sweat ‘N’ Soul’: The Story of Sam & Dave

Considering that the singing team had only three Top 40 pop hits, a 50-song retrospective album may seem excessive. But that’s not the case when the team is Sam & Dave.

The duo may be best known for those three ‘60s hits--”Soul Man,” “Hold On! I’m a Comin’ ” and “I Thank You”--but this collection from Rhino Records of Stax and Atlantic recordings reflects a consistent craft and passion that stands alongside the best of Memphis soul.

One reason the Stax material on “Sweat ‘N’ Soul Anthology (1965-1971)” is so stirring is the songwriting-production team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter, whose creative stamp is felt on the cited hits plus such other gems as “You Don’t Know Like I Know” and “When Something Is Wrong With My Baby.”

Equally important to the seductive feel of the records was the backing of the great Booker T. & the MG’s band, which is described by Jimmy Guterman in the album’s liner notes as “the tautest, most intuitive unit soul has ever offered.”

Describing Sam & Dave’s 1965 debut Stax single (“A Place Nobody Can Find,” which was backed by “Goodnight Baby”), Guterman adds, “More than a quarter century later, the thrill of discovery on that introductory single is still inescapable. It sets the pattern for what was to come . . . The rolling rhythms and cascading vocal trade-offs, leaning against horn outbursts, instantly perfected a method. They were all looking for something new, magical, and different, and they found it.”

The third essential element, of course, was the exquisite singing of Sam Moore and Dave Prater, who both combined gospel backgrounds and R&B; instincts--the recipe for Memphis soul.

Moore, in fact, was a member of two gospel groups (and was even approached by the Soul Stirrers as a replacement for Sam Cooke) before teaming up with Prater in the early ‘60s. The pair had already developed a lively stage act and had recorded for Roulette Records before being signed by Atlantic in 1965.

The team was assigned to Stax Records, the label that in the ‘60s was the citadel of gospel-driven soul music, thanks to a roster that was headed by Otis Redding. The results were so captivating that Sam & Dave virtually defined a wing of soul music that has since been saluted by the Blues Brothers and hundreds of club acts.

After Atlantic’s distribution deal with Stax ended in the late ‘60s, Sam & Dave moved to the parent Atlantic label, but the records didn’t have the same impact. Prater was killed in a car crash in 1988, while Moore continues to make news occasionally, including his vocal support on Bruce Springsteen’s “Human Touch” album last year.

“Sweat ‘N’ Soul” is an overdue tribute to their musical story.