Sam & Dave – Hold On, I'm Comin'

Magic most often strikes in the most unexpected manner, with that being the case for the 1966 release of the Sam (Moore) & Dave (Prater) single “Hold On I’m Comin’”, penned by Isaac Hayes and David Porter for Stax Records.

“Hold On” is a blistering hot infectious number that bridged the cultural divide in America during the mid 60’s, with the track hitting number 1 on the Black Billboards charts and number 21 on the Billboard overall Top 100, where the song was quickly embraced for both its swaggering nuance and sexual pinnings. But the most interesting aspect of this number had to do with its recording process, a process that would be embraced by many who followed, with none other than The Doors seen creating the song “L.A. Woman” in the same manner in a documentary.

Stax Records was an old movie theater in Memphis Tennessee, and to that end, offered much when it came to dynamic sound, both in the recording studio and the main hall in general. Yet Sam & Dave took things to a new level. The song’s title was derived from Porter heading off to the men’s room, when an impatient Hayes yelled out for him to get back to the studio, with Porter yelling back, Hold on, I’m comin’”, and the rest as they saying, being history. But that wasn’t the end, hearing Hayes shouting along the piping to the men’s room gave the two a sensational idea, as the reverb and echo in the room was fantastic due to the tiling. Hence, when came to recording, a speaker linked to the studio was placed in said men’s room along with a microphone to feed the sound back to the studio, creating a lively effect like no one had heard before. And that, as they say is history.

Sam and Dave switch back and forth for the lead vocals on this the most lusciously raw record of their career, almost as if they’re exuberantly singing to each other, and effect that also drastically changed the face of music, where singers were no longer vocalizing to the microphone, delivering a phenomenal emancipated blues laden soul number embroidered with great harmonizing and heavenly horn arrangements, while dropping in the most unexpected drumming, creating a classic that ebbs and flows, builds and cools down, coming off as a whole lotta fun, nothing more, nothing less.

The song has never been off the charts, has been a staple for more movies than one can count, along with commercials by the score. “Hold On” is one of those songs that no matter how many times you’ve heard it, or how badly it’s been exploited, it still sounds as fresh and invigorating as the day your feet heard it for the first time.

Review by Jenell Kesler