Posted on 12/04/2025 6:57:45 PM PST by Morgana
Steve Cropper, the guitarist and songwriter who helped anchor the celebrated Memphis backing band Booker T. and the MG's at Stax Records and co-wrote the classics Green Onions, (Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, has died. He was 84.
Pat Mitchell Worley, president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, said Cropper´s family told her that Cropper died on Wednesday in Nashville.
The foundation operates the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, located at the site of the former Stax Records, where Cropper worked for years.
A cause of death was not immediately known. Longtime associate Eddie Gore said he was with Cropper on Tuesday at a rehabilitation facility in Nashville, where Cropper had been after a recent fall. Cropper had been working on new music when Gore visited, he said.
'He's such a good human,' Gore said. 'We were blessed to have him, for sure.'
The guitarist, songwriter and record producer was not known for flashy playing, but his spare, catchy licks and solid rhythm chops helped define Memphis soul music. At a time when it was common for white musicians to co-opt the work of Black artists and make more money from their songs, Cropper was that rare white artist willing to keep a lower profile and collaborate.
Cropper's very name was immortalized in the 1967 smash 'Soul Man,' recorded by Sam & Dave. Midway, singer Sam Moore calls out 'Play it, Steve!' as Cropper pulls off a tight, ringing riff, a slide sound that Cropper used a Zippo lighter to create. The exchange was reenacted in the late 1970s when Cropper joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act 'The Blues Brothers' and played on their hit cover of 'Soul Man.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah
I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time
RIP Steve Cropper
You loved that song too eh?
One of my top 20 songs of all time
A classic good feeling song. We need more of that type of talent. RIP.
Yes I did!
“The Dock of the Bay” sounds like the complaint of a wharfinger, or wharf manager, who is frustrated at having to multitask and deal with multiple issues—state, federal and local regulations, the harbor administration, shippers, unions, environmentalists, and maybe even organized crime (”I can’t do what ten people tell me to”). Interestingly, the song was said to have been written on the dock of a bay, aboard a houseboat in Sausalito, Calif.
In an interview on his website, Cropper recalled collaborating on '(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay,' completed shortly before Redding´s death in a December 1967 plane crash and a No. 1 hit in 1968.
The brooding, folkish ballad was a bittersweet reflection on his triumphant appearance a few months earlier at the Monterey Pop Festival. Cropper would remember adding the final touches on the recording while still grieving for Redding.
Great insight into the song. I was a kid, living in the Bay Area in the 60's, and loved that song. I forgot Otis tragically died right after recording it. Thanks for posting the article.
He will be missed.
I never knew he was a writer.
I liked how the Blues Brothers was bringing the genre back. Last time I was on Beale St. the aging blues artist were selling papers about the dying genre. They said Rap and Hip Hop with kids was taking over.
Funny how it started as a warm up act on SNL.
Otis Redding did “Dock of the Bay” justice.
Steve Cropper also co-wrote Eddie Floyd’s oft-covered hit “Knock on Wood” in 1966.
Great songs.
He, and Duck Dunn are also on stage with Dylan, Petty, Young, McGuinn, Harrison, Clapton at Dylan’s 30 year anniversary celebration concert...
Eddie Floyd is still with us!
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