The Bay,” which was co-written by Steve Cropper.ĭK: When you were in Memphis, were the Mar-Keys your first group?Ĭropper: Yeah, that was a group out of high school, and we formed that group around the 11 th grade.
Here’s a video of Otis Redding’s #1 hit “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of I wound up with that guitar, and that guitar is now on display at the Musician’s Museum, and noted as the first guitar that I ever played which I think is interesting. My uncle was a piano player and fiddler, and he had a guitar in the closet, and I used to get it out and thump on it when I was around 8 years old. Steve Cropper: I picked up the guitar because a lot of my buddies had done that in school. & the MGs, and how he co-wrote his classic songs.ĭK: In the early days, how did you start playing guitar and decide to become a musician? He tells how he got started as a guitarist and joined Booker T. We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Steve Cropper. This summer (in 2018), he will be launching a new tour with veteran rock artist, Dave Mason (formerly of the band, Traffic, and hit solo artist). and internationally with the Blues Brothers Band. For the past three decades, he has toured in the U.S. Now based in Nashville, Cropper has remained very active, continuing to tour and record. “In the Midnight Hour” became soul legend Wilson Pickett’s best known song, and it has been covered by Tina Turner, James Taylor, Roxy Music, Tom Jones, the Jam, the Young Rascals and the Righteous Brothers. “Knock On Wood” was not only a #1 R&B hit for Floyd in 1966, but it became a bigger hit for pop/disco artist Amii Stewart, whose high-energy dance version reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1979. “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” has also been covered by Bob Dylan, Cher, Glen Campbell, Pearl Jam, Willie Nelson and Sammy Hagar.
“ The Dock of the Bay” in 1968 was a #1 hit for Redding (following his tragic death from a plane crash), and became a hit again in 1987 when Michael Bolton recorded the song. Here’s an excerpt of our interview with Steve Cropper, who recalls how he wrote with Otis Redding the classic hit, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.”Ĭropper’s three biggest hits-“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” “In The Midnight Hour” and “Knock On Wood”-are soul standards that remain popular, even 50 years after these songs were written.
Notably, Rolling Stone magazine ranks him 39 th on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time. Cropper’s guitar playing is so identifiable and connected to the soul/blues sound of the ‘60s, that he was later recruited to join the famed Blues Brothers Band, which starred in the hit movies The Blues Brothers (in 1980) and Blues Brothers 2000. & the MGs (which also served as the house band for Stax Records), he played guitar on many hits for Redding, Pickett, Floyd, Sam & Dave (including the hit “Soul Man”), Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas and Johnnie Taylor. Impressively, Cropper has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.Ĭropper’s songs and his distinctive guitar playing helped create the Memphis soul sound of the ‘60s. & the MGs, and he co-wrote their instrumental hits “Green Onions” and “Time Is Tight.” Most notably, Cropper co-wrote several of the greatest R&B/soul hits of the 1960s, including “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding, “In the Midnight Hour” by Wilson Pickett, and “Knock On Wood” by Eddie Floyd. He was a founding member of the classic band Booker T. Steve Cropper has long been known as an acclaimed songwriter, guitarist and record producer.