Steve Cropper - Memphis Soul Man
Lead Guitarist with Stax Record's MGs and writer of 'Green Onions'
Aug 6, 2008
Steve Cropper was born in 1941 and moved to Memphis at the age of nine before getting his first guitar at the age of 14. Influenced by Gospel, R & B and the early country rock that would shortly spawn Elvis Pressley, he has been (and remains) a superb guitarist, songwriter, A & R man, record engineer and producer, who has been involved with some of the greatest names in popular music over the last half century. Steve Cropper is a fundamental part of the sound of ‘Memphis Soul’.
The Stax Years
During his time at Stax Records, Steve Cropper was part of the group Booker T and the MGs who not only had a string of hits in their own right, but also acted as the backing band to Stax’s extraordinary roster of talent. Also in the MGs were Booker T Jones (Hammond organ), Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn (bass), and Al Jackson (drums). Members of the MGs, including Cropper, can be heard on almost every Stax recording made between 1961 and 1970.
The MGs' most famous track is ‘Green Onions’ which went to No 1 in the US charts and others soon followed including ‘Mo' Onions’, ‘Hang 'Em High’ and ‘Time Is Tight’.
During his time at Stax, Steve Cropper also played a part in writing some of the decade’s anthems. His song-writing credits include:
- ‘(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay’, a worldwide hit for Otis Redding just before his untimely death in 1967
- ‘Knock on Wood’, sung by Eddie Floyd
- and the universally-known ‘In the Midnight Hour’ which is forever associated with the great Wilson Picket.
The MGs were notable for being a multi-racial band at a time of segregation in the US and particularly in the south where Stax was based. They, and Cropper, appeared at the Monterey Festival where they backed Otis Reading in one of his greatest performances.
The Blues Brothers
Following the breakup of the MGs in late 1970, Steve Cropper produced and played on sessions for Jeff Beck, John Couger, Jose Feliciano, Poco and John Prine before a brief reunion with Donald Dunn and Booker T Jones as the reformed MGs.
1980 saw the release of the film ‘The Blues Brothers’ in which Cropper and Dunn played almost as themselves as members of the band. The characters ‘Joliet Jake Blues’ and ‘Elwood Blues’ (played respectively by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd) were modelled (at least as far as their stage act was concerned) on the great Stax act ‘Sam and Dave’ who, of course Cropper and Dunn had backed on their recordings for Stax. All of the stage moves used by the Blues Brothers can be found in vintage footage of Sam and Dave’s live performances and Cropper’s trademark guitar sound can be heard on all the Blues Brothers albums.
Steve Cropper’s Current Activities
Steve Cropper continues to work as hard as ever. He and Dunn were part of the outfit that recorded and then toured the ‘Memphis Album’ by Australian Pop Idol winner Guy Sebastian.
In late 2008 he will be playing in the UK at the Colne Blues Festival and then will return to the US to undertake a Booker T and the MGs tour in the Fall. His career and new about him can be found at his website.
