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The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan

Sam Moore | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan

The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan

Billy Corgan

Music, Arts, Performing Arts

4.6731 Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2025

⏱️ 75 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In what may be one of his final interviews, soul legend Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) sits down with Billy Corgan for a candid, career-spanning conversation—covering church-born vocals, the Stax vs. Motown divide, and why real bands beat backing tracks. He revisits the accidental origins of Sam & Dave, the studio alchemy with Isaac Hayes and David Porter, and sessions behind “Hold On, I’m Comin’” and the iconic “Play it, Steve!” on “Soul Man.” Moore speaks frankly about industry politics, DJ gatekeeping, tours with Otis Redding, the M.G.’s (Duck Dunn, Al Jackson, Steve Cropper) and his long road from addiction to sobriety.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

And then came, you don't know like I know. Great song. Well, it didn't hurt nothing. Now, I think had a monopoly on Sam Moore. I really liked the stuff coming out of you know how to, I like those songs. Did they promote it? No, because you know why I was a junkie. I didn't like that because you burned first time I could make love and all that stuff. Whoa, boy. And that was the beginning. Let's start here because I haven't seen the new stack documentary. I heard you did see it.

0:45.0

You did see it? I did. I did. How do you feel about it? Because I heard you weren't totally happy with it. Billy, the first two nights were I could accept. And I did accept. But the last two nights, I, from my standpoint, I wasn't very pleased about it. I don't think when you're doing something like that musically, you want to try to throw away from the politics and the racism and everything else. You want to focus much more into the music. What had to be begun, how it revolved and not all the stuff about who killed Mac and why they killed Martin and Ku Klux Klan. That's not given information and talking about the music for the young people that's going to be watching. Yeah. That was my, that was my, that's my own to take on it. I mean, my, my impression as a fan of Staxe is it's such a testament to how music can bring people together. Yes, yes. I tell you, Billy, I was very. And I looked at this yesterday. Um, looking at the book and there are people that could have got call ads like. Oh, Luther Ingram, the sole children, believe it or not, Lil Milton, the stables singers, Arthur Connolly, who has switched all music. Come on. You know what I mean? I mean, you're going to focus in on who killed Martin instead of you know, doing your thing, doing your thing about, you know, these people that's in the industry of music. Yes, sir. From my view, I was not totally happy about it. How do you feel how they dealt with your guys' story? You know, from where, from the time we came from roulette records and trying to get a record deal, working up until we got signed to Atlantic and the tell the story how we got signed to Atlantic that was interesting. Now there were some parts in there that is really is a contradictory thing because one person saying that Sam and Dave came down to Memphis Stacks.

3:48.7

No one- one person is saying that Sam and Dave came down to Memphis, Stacks, no one wanted to record and they wanted to be given us a deal. And before that, it says that Jerry Wexler from Atlantic sent us down there. So you know, if that's confusing, you know, you can't, if you're gonna say something, positive or negative, be honest and tell the truth. Yeah. That's what I, you know, don't say things to make yourself, whatever look good, tell the, and be honest and let the cause fall with

4:26.2

that may.

4:27.2

And that's my, that was my take on a deal.

4:29.9

Okay.

4:30.9

So a quick story about myself.

4:32.1

So my father was born in Southern Illinois and they moved up to Chicago.

4:38.8

My grandmother got divorced.

4:40.1

My dad was quite young and my grandmother ended up working as a maid and, you know, living

4:43.9

in a poor neighborhood. My dad told the story of how he fell in love with music because they lived across the street from a gospel church on the south side of Chicago. Oh wow. In the 1950s and he used to go into the church and listen to, you know, and for all we know he was listening to Sam Cook or whoever was in the circuit around that point. So I like. Right, right, right. So this forever stuck with me because he loved black music to his gut. He basically would tell me. Wow. He would tell me as a little boy, white people not so great. If you want to listen to real music, you listen to this kind of music. That's what I grew up on. I grew up on stacks. I know, I grew up on bands like the shy lights and things like this. So I want you to, if you could talk because I know how important the church was for you in terms of your singing. Billy, I have to, I would have to agree with your father. As opposed, now the reason let me explain to you why. I'm not gonna be putting down today's music. That's not in the conversation here. But what I agree with him is back in the days of what what your father was listening to and what you became lover of, that was music. You had, if your father lived in the 50s and living in Chicago, that meant that he heard, but he owe you Jackson.

6:26.3

He heard the caravan, he heard the cook family,

6:32.7

which is slamming his brothers and its sisters.

6:36.0

He heard, oh my God, a lot of gospel,

6:41.6

mostly other sable singers.

6:44.5

So your father was right. That was musing and the day we didn't have what they have today. Today, back in that time, if you went on stage to do a show, a performance, you better, you better, you better bring your A-game because whoever was ahead of you could and would embarrass you to the point that, no, your father, right, it would be the person that would be a head of you would embarrass you with your own headline you headlining and they're coming on as as a get as a Gus Sanger and they're embarrassing you. So today they don't I found out they don't use because I said to my wife I said to choice I said choice I said I see beyond saying Taylor Swift and all these people doing these shows and I said but I Don't see a band. She says Sam She said I don't know how to tell you this, but I'm going to tell you, they don't use bands any longer. I said, lie, band, she said, no. I do tracks. They do, and they don't, but she's right, yeah. Why? And I'm going, what? Well, I would like to hear, if I was going to go to a show today, if, and I say, if, preposition, if I was going, I want you to show me something, Billy. I mean, even you're going to, you know, show me what you got. I'm a G-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D-D a lot of dolls and fake penises and all this stuff. I don't wanna see that. But I'm not into that bill. I'm not into fake penises either. No, I'm not into a bill. No, I'm not into that. I don't want to see the latest on the floor and all that stuff. I want to get, but also again, I come back to our, we discussed this. I said said do you think we're going to ever? Because they're a question. My mind that there are still good singers out here. There are still good singers out here. But what? And I said, are you do you think we're going to ever hear any good music today? She says no. And when you talk to her, maybe sometime in the near future, you can even get her. But she says she doesn't think the music is going to be like it good as it was back then. What do you think? Well, I think, I think, you know, when you guys first hit it big, there was a lot of fake artificial music in the time, you know what I mean? Like cheesy, cheesy sweet pop, and you guys broke through with real gut bucket from the heart soul music, like literally from the soul. So I think there's always that opportunity when it gets too perfect, too fake that somebody comes through from the heart. And I think from a spiritual point of view, God always sort of seems to manifest the thing you least when you least expected. Yes sir, yes sir. Amen. I totally agree with that because I want to hear your heart. I know, you know, I want to hear, I want to see you sweat. I want to see you. I want to see you do CL Franklin. Right. I get it. I want to see. Yeah, I want to see you. I want to see your dads all over that place singing and when I did not be a clown Because that's to me that's not clown, but if the Holy Ghost fit here, you're gonna dance You're gonna do the holy dance and we did that. I did that. David. I did that a lot. I got Joyce, she doesn't understand. I never dance, I did the holy dance. She said, yeah, okay. As a dance. At the dance of dance, she said. Yes, for you. But I, you know, if I'm paying 40 or 50, or 75 or 1700 to see you, I want you, man. I want you to put it laid out on me. Which, that's, you know, that was that was saying something that's not gonna happen. So, you know, so we move on. I know there's this story where you got a gig MC and that's, and that up meeting Dave and there's that whole story. But I want to know, how old were you when you got that gig and you started singing professionally for the first time? I was probably in my 20s. Really? Yeah, I was probably in my 20s. Yeah. I was, I think, oh, I was either, this was back, this was up in the six seas. And, you know, you know how young kids at that time, really tried to impress one another. And we were, it was a gang of us, well, there were three or

12:47.8

four of us together. And being the smallest one in the group, we passed by this club. And there was a sign in the glass window that said hiring MC, singer, comedian, and hotel, the comedians plus. So one of my one of the guys with us said, hey Sam, I bet you won't shout at and I said, He's a right there. So I look at that. I said, yeah, well, I'm a gospel singer, you know, and but I, you know, Darym, you know, go to my ticket there. So I walked, I walked up, Billy, and I, I, that was Mr. At the time, there was Mr. Lamello, the honors father was sitting at the door, and I walked up a night, said to him, I said, I like to take that job. He said, what job? I said, right there in the window. Well, when you look at me at that time, you would question question you're gonna go really Right, you know of what What what is your what is your Qualification. Oh, yeah, well, you know, yeah, you You Yeah, well, you know, yeah, I mean I you, you know, I'm MC, well, what God's was shows and shows on the beach? Okay, what shows on the beach? What's your name? Sam? Okay. Sam, what shows you, I'm seen on the beach? Well, Billy, I got myself in a shirt bag. I said, oh, I ate the Eam Rock and, you know, and who did you MC for at the Eam Rock? Oh, oh, oh, yeah, I MC see for Frank Sinatra, Frank Sinatra. Not Billy. We're not, we're not dead for out of segregation. Okay. Come on, come on. You know, that's why I got myself in a jail. He said, Frank Sinachi, yes sir. And who else? Bobby DARREN? Bobby DARREN. Really? Yes sir. Uh huh. At least she went for the best. At least she went for the best. Right. You started at the time. I had read about, I had read this in the newspaper. And entertainers come in town. I didn't know. I didn't know. So he said, okay. I'll give you a try out. When could you do a try out? Can you come in and do a try out? I said, yes, sir, sure. When? So when do we win life? I mean, he said, how about tomorrow night? Now, Billy, there was no way. I didn't have clothes to fall for a rock and roll show out, nothing like that. So I took one of my gospel suits and cut the legs to make them like like little art for it. Yeah. And court, shirt and tie. And I went in and he said, and then he gave me a list, really. He gave me a list. He said, this is what you do. When the music starts, you come up and you introduce yourself. Yes, sir. This is gonna be amateur night. Yes, sir. Oh, okay. Now, what you do, you introduce yourself, then you sing a song and After you sing a couple of songs then you introduce the band and You start with the Then we do I okay? Yes, sir, and you tell a come you know you you can, you say you can tell Joe's, yes sir.

17:26.0

Okay, good, good.

17:27.4

Oh, okay.

17:28.4

This is a good tryout now.

17:29.6

This, you don't have the job, Sam.

17:32.1

You're doing a tryout.

...

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