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Steve Cropper

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Steve Cropper was an American guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was born in Dora, Missouri, in 1941, and moved as a child to Memphis, where he got to know Black gospel music. He got his first guitar at fourteen. He admired, among others, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Reed and Chet Atkins. With the guitarist Charlie Freeman he started the Mar-Keys, who were named after the sign above the Stax Records studio and had a hit in 1961 with Last Night.

Music and breakthrough

At Stax, Cropper became one of the founders of the house band Booker T. & the M.G.'s, with Booker T. Jones on Hammond organ, drummer Al Jackson Jr. and later bass player Donald Duck Dunn. In 1962 they had a hit of their own with Green Onions. The band also played on records by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave and Carla Thomas. Cropper played a Fender Esquire and later a Telecaster. He was known for short, dry chords and sparse licks: he never played a note too many. He co-wrote In the Midnight Hour with Wilson Pickett, Knock on Wood with Eddie Floyd and (Sittin' On) the Dock of the Bay with Otis Redding. In Sam & Dave's Soul Man he is even mentioned by name.

Influence

After leaving Stax in 1970 he worked with, among others, Rod Stewart, Ringo Starr and Jeff Beck. Later he played in the Blues Brothers Band, including in the films. In 1992 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the M.G.'s. He died in 2025.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Green Onions by Booker T. & the M.G.'s from 1962. Notice how the organ plays the blues riff, while Cropper's guitar adds short stabs and plays a sharp solo halfway through.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: Artists