Double Dynamite: Sam Moore & Bruce Springsteen on the Asbury Park Boardwalk
"I learned so much about leading a band from watching Sam Moore onstage."
In December of 2003, Bruce Springsteen once again returned to fabulous Convention Hall in beautiful Asbury Park, NJ for what had become a semi-regular tradition of benefit Christmas shows in his adopted hometown. Joining him were the Max Weinberg 7, the Alliance Singers, Steve Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren, Southside Johnny, Jesse Malin, Garland Jeffreys, Jon Bon Jovi, Bobby Bandiera, Willie Nile, and the Victorious Gospel Choir, who served as the opening act.
But the main attraction was none other than Sam Moore. The great soul singer, half of Sam & Dave, the Stax duo known as "Double Dynamite." We knew Bruce and Sam were acquainted: there were reports of Bruce at Sam & Dave gigs at the Fast Lane, had sung backing vocals on a few songs on 1992's Human Touch, made a guest appearance at a Reunion-era show in 1999. However, absolutely no one in the audience was prepared for there to be a full-on, old-school rhythm and blues revue at Convention Hall in 2003 thanks to Sam's arrival, and that's exactly what happened.
I am not exaggerating when I tell you these were some of the greatest concerts I have ever seen (I was there for the 7th & 8th), and that opinion has not changed in the ensuing decades.
Earlier in the evening, there were signs that the onstage energy was going to be elevated out of the gate: Bruce out there shaking a tambourine with the gospel choir; the enthusiastic leg kicks during the instrumental bridge of "So Young And In Love," a number during which he elegantly removed his suit jacket and slung it over his shoulder as suave as any 60's soul idol: "Thank you, Jackie Wilson," he declared at the end as if to make sure we got the reference; the extra oomph on his voice when he took a verse on "This Time It's For Real." There was so much anticipatory excitement on that stage all night before Sam got there, and in a room as small as Convention Hall, the audience was going to feel it.
Finally, as the Alliance Singers began the intro to "Hold On, I'm Coming," Bruce grabbed the microphone and with visible glee and a fair amount of pride, declared:
"We have with us tonight the greatest soul singer on the planet earth. So hold on to your glasses, grab hold of your asses, and put your hands together and put your arms together for Sam Moore!"
With that, the band kicked into full gear, with everybody on that stage absolutely on their A game, especially the horn section, which was (thank god) none other than La Bamba and the Hubcaps, which is exactly the horn section you want to have on hand when you need to try to emulate the power and the precision of the Memphis Horns.
As the band vamped the unmistakable opening melody of the song, Sam made his entrance onto the stage at Convention Hall to respectable applause, but it wasn't until he stepped to the mic and began to sing that the audience erupted. Sam's voice was still smooth as silk, still warm and golden. If you had memories of hearing these songs coming out of a transistor radio, those synapses fired hard at that moment. If you didn't, you were making new memories right now.
But the excitement wasn't just from the performance, it was because of the occasion of this particular group of musicians getting to play these songs with one of their original interpreters. Every musician onstage had grown up listening to, playing, and being inspired by these songs, and they had gone on to create their own music that was absolutely built on the foundation constructed in that old movie theater on McLemore Ave. in Memphis better known as Stax Records. The vibration on that stage was absolutely palpable, and the electricity generated in the next four songs is what made this night so memorable.
Listen to the bridge of "Hold On, I'm Coming." As the Alliance Singers repeat the chorus, you can hear Sam singing a counter-melody in the background. After a beat or two, Bruce picks up on what he's doing and joins in, it's in the background almost off-mic at first, but then the two of them build the tension back up. It's what Sam was looking for, because once they go through it a few times, Bruce asks, "Are you ready, Sam?", looking for a sign that he's satisfied and they can bring the song to an end.
"I first saw Sam at a place called the Satellite Lounge, down at Fort Dix," Bruce explains before the next song. "And I remember I travelled down there one winter night to watch Sam in the late '70s. Sam was not only one of the greatest soul singers of all time, but he was – is – a great, great band leader. I learned so much about leading a band from watching Sam Moore onstage."
It's one thing to play the game of figure out the influences, and while they were always obvious, you could see all the elements, but back then Bruce was rarely this direct and specific. The literal acknowledgement is important, and deeply meaningful, especially doing it when Sam is right there, and in front of an audience.
Next up was a gorgeous, plaintive rendition of "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby." Sam is holding everyone in the palm of his hand. The horns are perfect, the instrumental backbone of the composition, adding depth and pathos without detracting from that voice. It began to feel a little otherworldly at that moment, like we'd slipped through a time warp in this sleepy, snowy and mostly desolate city. If you, like me, fervently wished you could have seen someone like Sam & Dave at their prime, it was as close to the feeling I imagined as I was probably ever going to get. Every musician knew what was expected of them and based on what we were witnessing, each one clearly intended to deliver on that promise.
Sam handles the vocals until the very end, when Bruce comes in for the last few lines, where you're thinking about how you're watching him live out some element of his dreams, taking Dave Prater's part, standing next to Sam Moore, onstage at Convention Hall. The final crescendo is the singers and the horns and a tasteful guitar solo and it was magnificent.
"Hey Bruce, I guess it's time to back upstairs and rock a little bit."
From the riff you can tell that the next song is obviously going to be "I Thank You," but there are a lot of guitar players on stage and everyone's trying to figure out who is doing what, and Sam's trying to give them some space to do that, waiting for them to hit the right groove. In the video you can watch the two of them interact closely, how Sam encourages Bruce, and how Bruce defers to him, the eye contact, the wordless request for approval, the satisfied nod from Sam.
Sam and Bruce alternated lines, Bruce with a dialed in, sexy soul growl – he's not oversinging, he's giving the exact right amount of power – and the horns remain perfect, special, glorious. I need to state for the record that I am not over-emphasizing the horns due to any kind of personal preference, but because you absolutely cannot play these songs without a horn section and if you had a bad horn section that didn't know these songs in their bones this would have been a disaster. Instead, it is some kind of paradise.
there's great video of these shows & i wish someone would get them back on youtube again
"We're gonna get a little funky...hey Max." Sam proceeds to sing the rhythm he wants him to follow, while the guitarists find their own way into where he's going. In anyone else's hands this could be a trainwreck, but these are very specific guitar-playing hands and everyone is watching each other very closely so it doesn't fall apart.
Then there's a sharp, immediate transition into "Soul Man," and it is an explosion of pure joy. Everyone in the crowd knows this song, everyone loves this song. The audience is dancing, the singers are dancing, the horns are doing what they always do, the kind of moves that everyone in that audience knew to expect from decades of watching them. Bruce's soul growl is warmed up and purring, and with obvious delight he takes the "Play it, Steve," line. You wonder how much he thought about that before it happened or if he just did it because that is what you do, that is part of the song. There's a little bit of a jam session in the middle that Sam tries to direct, and this might have been the least successful of the numbers but it also doesn't matter because all anyone remembers is that they got to jump up and down and sing "Soul Man" with Sam Moore. It doesn't translate very well on the tape but I swear it was hilarious to watch when it happened.
As you probably know by now, Sam Moore joined the ancestors on Friday, January 11th. I'm grateful for the friendship between Sam and Bruce affording me the opportunity to get to see one of the great soul voices in action in a fantastic setting and with a great band. I was lucky enough to see Sam Moore solo several times in the ensuing years where the bands were not always as strong, because they were working with what they could afford. But I'd never miss a chance to stand in any room in which he'd be singing.
I also wanted to mention Sam's awesome appearance with the entire E Street Band at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary shows in 2009. This show was also a delight to witness, but not at all the same.
At the time, I wrote: "The real treat was watching Bruce and the rest of the band in a mood that can only be described as “giddy”. It was like watching the E Street Band do the Snoopy Dance from the Charlie Brown cartoon."
If you need to brush up on your Sam & Dave history, I wrote this back in 2019 and afterwards got a note from Joyce Moore, which matters because she has been a diligent steward of Sam's career and guardian of making sure he got the respect he deserved.
Caryn Rose
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