Album Notes

In 1961, while searching for new talent, I decided to pay a visit to a very popular black nightclub located in the Overtown section of Miami called the King of Hearts. Owned and operated by Johnny Lomelo, the club was a great showcase for many famous black recording artists. It was also a place that gave newcomers a chance on the stage.

I had heard about a Soul duo that had been performing around Miami and who were bringing the roof down. Their names were Sam Moore and Dave Prater, Jr., who simply went by the name of Sam & Dave. I was very impressed with their explosive show and signed them to record on my Marlin/Alston label.

While Jerry Wexler, of Atlantic Records, was in Miami, I brought him to the club to listen to Sam & Dave and he was very impressed with what he heard. He wanted to know if he could sign them to Atlantic and I thought that would be great for their career.

After Atlantic signed them, Jerry called me and asked if it would be a good idea to release their records on the Stax label, which Atlantic was involved with. I suggested that if these records were to be released on Stax that two young producers I had been following produce them. The producers were Isaac Hayes and David Porter. They did sign with Stax, and Isaac and David produced them and they had several million-selling records.