Cropper, Steve "The
Colonel" (21st October 1941-Present)
He is a songwriter, guitarist and producer born
Stephen Lee Cropper in Dora, Mississippi, on a farm.He moved to Memphis, Tennessee,
with his family in 1950 and within a year was learning to play the
guitar.After getting his own guitar when
he was 14 he began playing locally and before too long he and the
guitarist Charlie Freedman had formed The Royal Spades which would
later evolve into The Mar-Keys with the additional Wayne
Jackson on trumpet and Donald
"Duck" Dunn
on bass and release the hit single "Last Night" in 1961.
Stax took notice of him and
after Chips Moman left the company he became their A&R man working
alongside Jim Stewart who was the president.This led
him to becoming a co-founder of Booker T & The MGs who had many
hits including "Green Onions" and "Time is Tight" and soon he became
sought after to perform with many of the days artists including Otis
Redding where his production and performance on some of his largest
hits made him known throughout the music world on an international
level and Lennon
& McCartney
both expressed an interest at collaborating with him and Sir
Paul McCartney
later stated that they based "Drive My Car"
on the bass line of "Respect".His songwriting became widely known when his collaborative efforts
began to hit the charts in songs such as "(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay"
with Otis Redding which is estimated to be the sixth most often played song
in history, "Knock on Wood" with Eddie Floyd, "In the Midnight Hour" with
Wilson Pickett and "Soul Man" and on the back of the enormous success he
was now seeing he released the album With a Little Help From My Friends.In 1970
he left Stax and formed Trans-Maximus (TMI) with Ronnie Stoots and
Jerry Williams and would produce and perform with such acclaimed
acts as Jose Feliciano, Jimmy
Buffett and his Coral
Reefer Band
, Yvonne Elliman, Jeff Beck, Tower of Power.Still
working with others in the industry he played on recordings with John
Lennon and Ringo
Starr and then he moved to Los Angeles where he, Booker T.
Jones, "Duck"Dunn
and Alan Jackson
were going to put Booker T & The MGs back together, but the murder of Alan
Jackson put a stop to this.Still in the 1970s he and "Duck"
Dunn joined the RCO All-Stars and then moved on to
head The Blues Brothers Band, which resulted in two movies, many tours and
album releases. The group disbanded but reunited in 1988 and they have both
been with them ever since as well as appearing often together on many other
recordings.Never ceasing continuing
to record and perform with other artists and as a solo musician, Mojo
magazine in the UK named him the "greatest living guitar player" and "second greatest player of all
time behind Jimi Hendrix" in 1996.It is impossible to name all the albums that he has worked on but
they include his own Playing My Thang, Night After Night and Play
It! Steve as well as Ringo and Goodnight Vienna by Ringo
Starr
, Rock 'n' Roll by John
Lennon , For My Love, Memphis Menu
and Compartments by Jose Feliciano, Universal Language and Time
is Tight by Booker T & The MGs, Blue Night by Percy Sledge, We
Came to Play by Tower of Power, Jeff Beck Group and Beckology
by Jeff Beck, Nothing Matters and What If It Did by John Cougar
Mellencamp, Blue Brothers, Made in America and Briefcase Full of
Blues by The Blues Brothers, Hot Water and Boats, Beaches
Bars & Ballads by Jimmy
Buffett , 30th Anniversary
Concert Celebration by
Bob
Dylan , Gold by Etta James, The Preacher and the President
by Joe Louis Walker, Foot Loose & Fancy Free by Rod Stewart, Fairwell
Fairbanks by Randy Edelman, Southern Star by Alabama , Mercury
Smashes...and Rockin' Sessions by Jerry Lee Lewis and Otis! The
Definitive Otis Redding and Love Songs by Otis Redding. In 2005 he was
inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
