Sam & Dave
Photo: Atlantic

The widow of the late Dave Prater, of Sam & Dave fame, is suing Atlantic Records for back royalties on R&B smashes such as "Hold On, I'm Comin' " and "Soul Man." In addition to suing the label, Rosemary Prater filed suit Monday in Superior Court in Paterson, New Jersey, against Artists Rights Enforcement Corp., a private company that helps artists try to get back royalties in exchange for a 50 percent cut, according to the Associated Press. She claims she and Prater's children from a previous marriage have not received royalties for several years.

Dave Prater contracted with Artists Rights a year before he died in a car crash in 1988. The suit claims that after his death, the agency coerced his widow into signing the same contract.

Neither Atlantic nor Artists Rights had any comment on the suit.

Both 1966's "Hold On, I'm Comin' " and 1967's "Soul Man" peaked at #1 on the Billboard R&B charts. The duo split bitterly after a 1981 concert in San Francisco.

• Sam & Dave