A Cold Winter So Far

Date: December 20, 2014

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The past few weeks have been a toughie. We have lost Bobby Keys (Tenor for the Stones), Don Davis(Producer of many hits including,”Who’s Making Love”, Johnny Taylor), Wendy Rene(STAX artist), Larry Henley (Song Writer- ‘Wind Beneath My Wings” “Peanut Butter”) and John Fry (Owner of Ardent Studios, Memphis). These were close friends and associates. When you get my age, which I feel is still young, it’s expected but it sure isn’t fun. God bless them and their families.

Steve Cropper

Interview: “All Things Norfolk”

Date: October 20, 2014

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By Simon Alcock

I don’t think it would be too large an embellishment of the facts to state that almost everyone reading this article will either recognise Steve Cropper, be well-acquainted with his prodigious musical output, or more than likely be familiar with both the man and his work. Allthingsnorfolk tracked him down in Russia and asked a few questions about his career ahead of a visit to the UK.

READ THE REST

Top Ten (Again!)

Date: June 19, 2014

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You may think playing in a band is sometimes tough, but it’s nothing compared with being a session guitarist.

You’ll be playing other artists’ songs. You’ll be required to work very quickly. You often need to be able to interpret others’ ideas without your own ego coming into play. And you need to be super-versatile enough to change playing style and tone for whatever your paymasters demand. But also to have your own ideas to flesh-out the bones of a song-in-progress. It’s a lot to ask. As such, the best session guitarists just might be some of the greatest guitarists ever. Here are just 10 masters who made their mark, with tips and tricks on what it takes to deliver when that recording light turns red.

CHECK OUT THE LIST

French Film (1969) Shows FAME and STAX Sessions

Date: January 7, 2014

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This was filmed in Memphis and is dedicated to the blues. In the FAME studio in Muscle Shoals, Brook Benton records “She Knows What To Do For Me” with studio musicians including Barry Beckett on piano and Eddie Hinton on guitar. Later, in the STAX studio in Memphis, guitarist Steve Cropper and bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn work and rehearse daily with the stars of the blues; a sound laboratory which also includes organist Booker T. Jones, Isaac Hayes on saxophone, working on the instrumental part of a song by Carla Thomas.

WATCH THE WHOLE VIDEO HERE (Full-Screen Available)

“Remember Alex” Benefit

Date: January 7, 2014

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On March 11, 2014, Steve will join a stellar cast of artists, songwriters and musicians in a benefit concert at The Franklin Theater in Franklin, TN. The Alex LeVasseur Memorial Fund presents the 7th Annual Jeffrey Steele & Friends, an intimate evening with Jeffrey Steele, LoCash Cowboys, Chris Janson, The Shuggah Pies and other artists to be named soon. Read More

You’re Playing It Wrong

Date: December 20, 2013

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Somehow, it took hearing the Booker T. & the M.G.s’ classic “Green Onions” on a recent television commercial to come to the embarrassing realization that I’ve been playing Steve Cropper’s rhythm guitar figure wrong for, oh, about 40 years. But, that epiphany got me thinking that there might others in the same boat. Read More

One-Track Mind

Date: December 19, 2013

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Steve Cropper, of Booker T. and the MGs and Stax Records fame, has trouble picking any one moment on his upcoming star-studded project Dedicated as his favorite. So, we went further back into his legendary soul-soaked career. Read More

Otis Box Hits #2

Date: December 19, 2013

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The best-known songs on Disc One alone are more than enough to make the case for Otis Redding, and for this three-disc compilation of every single he ever released. But each of those hits, it seems, had a blistering B-side. Read More

Steve’s Fave Player

Date: December 4, 2013

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Steve Cropper has claimed his share of accolades as a guitarist, finishing at No. 35 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 greatest and finishing at No. 2 on the Mojo list. Read More

“The rest is history”

Date: November 24, 2013

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A trick of fate launched Otis Redding’s career. He was, in 1962, working with a flamboyant guitarist named Johnny Jenkins, who had some unused studio time at Stax Records. Up to the mic stepped Redding. Read More