LOS ANGELES ('Motown' Fans Website) - He's still a "Soul Man."
Veteran singer Sam Moore of the 1960s soul duo Sam & Dave will make his solo album debut next month with a collection of nearly forgotten tunes he recorded more than 30 years ago, his label said Monday.
"Plenty Good Lovin': The Lost Solo Album" consists of 10 tracks Moore recorded in the early 1970s but never released, most of them cover versions of songs by other artists.
Highlights include "Shop Around," composed by Smokey Robinson and Berry Gordy for the Miracles, "Get Out of My Life, Woman," written by Allen Toussaint for Lee Dorsey, and Little Johnny Taylor's deep blues hit "Part Time Love," penned by Clay Hammond.
Moore himself wrote the title track, "Plenty Good Lovin."'
All the recordings were produced by session R&B saxophonist King Curtis shortly before his murder in 1971. Queen of soul Aretha Franklin played keyboards on the track "Part Time Love."
Moore, 66, is best known for the string of hits he recorded in the 1960s with his late partner Dave Prater, including "Soul Man," "Hold On! I'm Comin"' and "I Thank You." John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd sparked renewed interest in Sam & Dave's music in the late 1970s with their Blues Brothers routine, which borrowed heavily from the soul duo.
Prater died in a car accident in 1988.
According to Moore, who has publicly acknowledged being addicted to drugs during the 1970s, he had nearly forgotten his solo sessions with Curtis until a few years ago, when a record company executive asked him to sign a DJ promotional copy of the 1971 single "If I Should Lose Your Love."
At that point, he dimly recalled recording a few songs on his own but only later discovered there was enough material for an entire album, said Lathum Nelson, a spokesman for the EMI-distributed independent label 2K Sounds, which is due to release the album on Aug. 13.
"At first, I was afraid to play the record," Moore said in a statement. "I thought it might sound dated. But at the end of the day, I'm pleased. I think people are to say, 'Wow, this guy could really sing!' I truly think this is some of the best work I've ever done."
