Because I’ve known about Steve Cropper for decades, I forget that others weren’t so fortunate. It’s partially due to STAX Records having a less prominent profile in popular music in the 1960s than Motown.
Rob Bowman wrote the detailed Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story of STAX Records, published in 1997. Steve Cropper is mentioned no fewer than 100 times. There was also a four-part HBO documentary in 2024 of the same name, with Bowman as a consultant.
Cropper was a founding member of the Mar-Keys and Booker T. and the MGs. He, among many others, worked at the Satellite Record Store, which STAX co-founder Estelle Axton ran; it became a “conduit for talent.” Estelle’s brother, STAX co-founder Jim Stewart, recognizing Steve’s acute ear, picked Cropper to be the STAX A&R man in 1965.
Waren Haymes noted, “It is quite another thing entirely to be part of creating a sound or a ‘movement.’ Steve Cropper… helped invent a genre- ‘the Memphis sound’ [with the other MGs] (among others) was an integral part of the bigger movement at that time, which came to be known as Soul Music, which changed the lives of millions of hungry music lovers- myself included.
“As a gifted songwriter and producer, his rhythms laid the foundation for the groove in Booker T. & The M.G.’s and The Mar-Keys. Known for his riveting guitar licks and prolific songwriting, his sound became a defining voice of the Stax era on classics like Eddie Floyd’s ‘Knock On Wood, Otis Redding’s ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,’ and Wilson Pickett’s ‘In the Midnight Hour.'”
Post-STAX
After leaving STAX in 1970, he kept busy. From the Songwriters Hall of Fame page: “Producing soon became second nature as ‘The Colonel’ turned out timeless tracks by such renowned artists as Wilson Pickett, Tower of Power, John Mellencamp, Jose Feliciano, Poco, John Prine, and Otis Redding. Cropper’s exemplary guitar work can be heard on the albums of Rod Stewart, Peter Frampton, Art Garfunkel, Booker T. and the MG’s, Ringo Starr, and Wynonna, to name a few. He has toured with such greats as Neil Young and Jimmy Buffett.
“In the late ’70s, Steve began his now-famous work as an original member of the Blues Brothers Band, appearing in both major motion pictures and numerous TV shows.”
From an interview in Uncut Take 331 (November 2024), “You might wanna write this,” says Steve Cropper, handily summarising his myriad musical achievements. “There are only three people in history who are in all three halls of fame – the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, the Musicians’ Hall of Fame, and the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame: Keith Richards, Roy Orbison, and Steve Cropper. Pretty good company!”
Jim Peterik of Ides of March wrote what many others shared: “Perhaps the best part of this was getting to ‘hang’ with him and hear his stories, all of which were of definitive moments in music history. He was a true Southern Gentleman, humble and warm.” And, as others noted, a hockey fan.
New York Times (gift link)
NPR, including part of a 1990 interview with Terry Gross
Here’s Play It, Steve, 30 videos celebrating his legacy, and a narrative
Chinese Checkers -Booker T & The MG’s (Stax S-137, 1963)
Soul Man – the Blues Brothers (SNL)