LOS ANGELES (Top 40 Charts/ Universal) - Featuring 21 outstanding live performances, including their 1967 Grammy-winning classic song 'Soul Man,' and new and vintage interviews, the two-hour DVD documentary The Original Soul Men: Sam and Dave (Hip-O/UMe), released in the United States, December 9, 2008, tells the story of the greatest, most successful 'soul duo' of all time, SAM & DAVE. Sam Moore and Dave Prater Jr. had a major impact as one of the most successful 'cross over' acts of their era influencing everyone from the
Beatles and the
Rolling Stones to Bruce Springsteen,
Bon Jovi and, of course, the Blues Brothers. The impact of their unique sound and style continues to do so today. The Blues Brothers' classic 1978 Saturday Night Live rendition of 'Soul Man' and the duo's own version on that show in 1980 are among the DVD's highlights.
Many of Sam and Dave's performances were culled from their mid-60s appearances on European television, plus there is extremely rare footage only seen on the original broadcasts of The Mike Douglas Show and Hollywood Palace-appearances which have never before been released on home video or available for viewing. Each performance has been remastered from the original tapes (some untouched in vaults for 40 years). For the two lip-synched TV performances, the original multi-track masters replaced the original broadcast audio.
Beginning with their first surviving video performance on the American show The Beat, in 1966, and recently discovered performances of 'Soul Man' and 'You Don't Know Like I Know' from the German series Beat Beat Beat, the documentary brings together an incredible London concert performance of 'Hold On! I'm Comin',' an electrifying medley of 'Soul Sister/Brown Sugar/Lucky Old Sun' from The Ed Sullivan Show (which also provides two other performances) and 'When Something Is Wrong With My Baby' from the rarely seen U.S. show A Shade Of Soul.
Along with 'Soothe Me' from Norway and 'You Got It Made' and 'I Don't Need Nobody (To Tell Me About My Baby)' from Denmark, are other 1966-1970 performances in the U.S., including 'Make It Easy On Yourself,' 'Baby Don't Stop Now,' 'I Take What I Want' and two spotlighting Sam and Dave's band: 'Secret Agent Man' and 'Road Runner.' Also seen and heard is a solo Sam Moore in Japan in 2007 with his Grammy-nominated 'You Are So Beautiful.' A bonus section titled 'The Roots of Sam and Dave' adds three 1963 video performances by legendary Gospel acts, including the Soul Stirrers, who presaged Sam and Dave's style and sound.
The Original Soul Men: Sam and Dave also tells their story through interviews with Moore, who shares many anecdotes for the first time; Prater from past footage; Prater's widow, Rosemary; Blues Brother Dan Aykroyd, musical director Paul Shaffer, and bassist Donald 'Duck' Dunn, renowned for working with Booker T & the MG's and who toured and recorded with Sam and Dave; and former Stax Records owner Al Bell. A booklet with extensive essays, rare photographs and more will be available for download at www.hip-o.com/Sam&Dave or www.originalsoulmen.com.
The Original Soul Men: Sam and Dave was produced by Historic Music Inc., the world's leading music footage and historic stock footage library, whose credits range from projects for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Martin Scorsese's Grammy-winning TV series The Blues.
You can purchase the DVD at www.originalsoulmen.com or by going to www.amazon.com and searching "Sam & Dave DVD" on sale December 9th.
