Let's Salute 'THE' Soul Man - Sam Moore!

Also, Jake & Elwood - The Blues Brothers

I flew into Los Angeles from London in January 2004 to shoot Iron Maiden. Whenever I am in Los Angeles, there are many people to see and things to do. I planned to meet a few people in town, including Dave Grohl and my great friend and uber-talented musician/arranger/writer/producer John Altman, who was over from London and recording a new album at a small studio in Burbank, California. The album was called ‘You Started Something’, and I shot the cover for this album whilst I was there.  I was also visiting my family in the Thousand Oaks area of Ventura County.

I love the weather in LA at that time of year. The air is clearer, and you can sometimes see the mountains on either side of the San Fernando Valley. It’s usually sunny but slightly cooler than usual, and if we are lucky, it rains a little. That’s when the fun begins. Californian drivers are hilarious when it rains. Firstly, they have to find their windscreen wiper switch, which they have had a year to forget where that is. More importantly, they drive so slowly, and they all think they're going to crash or skid in the rain. Many of them do, so watching them is very funny or frustrating, depending on whether I am in a hurry to get somewhere.  

(Sunset Boulevard by Chateau Marmont)

It wasn’t raining on this occasion. It was quite a sunny afternoon as I drove to the Sunset Marquis along Sunset Boulevard. I was going to meet and have dinner with my friend, Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden’s brilliant drummer).  My phone rang, and I pulled over and answered it. It was Joyce Moore. Joyce is married to Mr. Soul man himself, Sam Moore, formerly of Sam & Dave. Sam & Joyce are great friends of mine and my family. Joyce asked me where I was, and I said LA. She said that was great and they would be there in a day or two. This was a pleasant surprise for me, as I had no idea they were heading into Los Angeles prior to that phone call.

I had a great time with Nicko and got some rather nice photographs of Iron Maiden. The next day, Joyce called me and said they had arrived. I had a free day or two and headed to their hotel to meet them. We had breakfast, and I asked them what they were doing in town. Joyce told me that Sam was appearing on The Wayne Brady TV show, and they invited me to go with them to the CBS TV studios, which I did. Obviously, I had my cameras with me as I rarely go anywhere without them! The limousine arrived, and Sam, Joyce, and I jumped into the car. We were joined by Sam & Joyce’s friend, journalist/film producer Roger Friedman, who runs Showbiz411.com.

I have met Roger several times; he is always lovely, knowledgeable, and funny. By the way, Roger produced a fabulous documentary called ‘Only the Strong Survive’ directed by Chris Hegedus & D.A. Pennebaker. My daughter Sarah and I went to the original private screening of this with Sam, Joyce, Roger and a few others at the Charlie Chaplin cinema in Hollywood in 2002. It's a great documentary and well worth watching.

We arrived at CBS TV studios and were met and guided to Sam’s dressing room. We were asked to come onto the set for a rehearsal run-through a few minutes later. As we approached the set, we were met by various CBS people, floor manager producers, etc., and then Wayne Brady came over, and we all stood around chatting for a while. The rehearsal took place, and Wayne had his lovely little daughter with him, too.

(Wayne Brady and his daughter)

Obviously, everyone was in their civilian clothes at that point.

After the rehearsal, we headed back to the dressing room. There, we met a lovely little lady who was some sort of fixture of the show. For those in the UK, her role was a bit like Mrs Doyle in Father Ted. I took a photo of Sam and this lady backstage, and then she would ask for another photo with Sam every so often.

He was getting rather fed up with her requests, as seen in one of the shots on this post. What’s funny is that she never ever asked me for my details or requested to get a copy of a photo. So, I have no idea why she kept asking him for another photo. Unless, of course, she was just trying to get close and pickpocket Sam’s wallet!

A few hours went by with Sam, Joyce, Roger, me and other guests on the show chatting in the green room when we were given the 15-minute warning. We gathered ourselves and wandered onto the set. As we did, Sam turned to a guy who walked in and gave him a big hug hello. Sam and Joyce turned and introduced me to him. His name was Bernie Brillstein. I didn’t know who he was at first. So, I did my usual of sounding completely daft by saying, “So, what do you do?”. Joyce stopped me, saying, “This is MR HOLLYWOOD”. Not for the first time in my life, I felt mildly embarrassed (well, I didn’t really). I just came out with things like, “Okay, prove it then”. He laughed, and we had a great chat whilst Sam was now with Wayne Brady running through a few last points.

The doors were about to open in 10 minutes to let in the TV audience. So, there I was with ‘Mr Hollywood’ and asked what he had done and how he knew Sam & Joyce. He said, well, amongst other things, I put Saturday Night Live together. He also said he helped create an act John Belushi and Dan Akroyd did. He said you may have heard of them and their act, ‘The Blues Brothers’. I said, “Yup, I certainly have”. He said, “But, did you know that the dance routines and basis of the Blues Brothers act were taken from Sam & Dave?”. I didn't have a clue, and then I thought, yes, of course, how did I not know this? The dance routines were so like Sam & Dave. Bernie said, “Yes, it was based on the amazing Sam & Dave”. Then I instantly realised that Sam, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, Bo Diddley, Dr. John, Wilson Pickett, Billy Preston, Isaac Hayes, BB King and James Brown were all in The Blues Brothers 2000 film. I was very impressed that The Blues Brothers was based on my friend and real Legend, Sam Moore when he was in the Soul Duo, ‘Sam & Dave.’

We were told the doors were now open. So, I quickly grabbed Sam, Wayne Brady and Bernie Brillstein and took a photograph of them.

(Sam Moore, Bernie Brillstein & Wayne Brady)

We then quickly disappeared and only returned when Sam was on the show. Sam’s performance was rather fabulous and went down very well with the studio audience. After the show, we were taken by limo back to the hotel. We went off to Sam’s suite and chilled for a few hours. That evening, we were going out for dinner with a few music lawyers and celebs. We arrived at AGO (owned by Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken and director Ridley Scott). Our friend, the wonderful Barbara Orbison, joined us, too. She was such a lovely lady who we sadly lost in 2011. Sadly, Barbara lost her battle with cancer on the same day that her late husband, Roy Orbison, died December 6^th, 23 years apart.

One of the lawyers with us that evening wore a rather unusual pair of glasses. So, it wasn't long before I asked to borrow them, and Sam & Barbara decided to wear them as I took photos. We all thought they looked funny in them.

(Joyce Moore, Sam wearing those wonderful glasses and Barbara Orbison).

After dinner, I jumped in my car and headed up the 101 Freeway to Thousand Oaks to stay at my parent’s house. I was thinking about what Bernie Brillstein had told me about the Blues Brothers and that they were based on Sam. That was a rather interesting fact and now made perfect sense to me. About a year before this TV show, I was with Sam & Joyce at London’s Royal Albert Hall, where Sam had just performed to a sold-out crowd. Who was there and backstage with us? Yes, Dan Aykroyd.

I know what you are thinking. Why didn’t I figure this out when I was there in London with them? Well, how was I to know I am not a police dog, or am I?

Here is a video of Sam & Dave performing one of their hits, Soul Man, in the late 1960s, followed by the Saturday Night Live version. I think you might see what Bernie Brillstein was talking about.