And here I thought he was just a guitarist for the Blues Brothers....
Posted on 06/10/2005 12:41:35 PM PDT by Liberty Valance
NEW YORK -- Steve Cropper knew "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" and "Knock On Wood" had the potential to be monster hits as soon as he penned them. But executives at the legendary Stax Records saw them as recording session outtakes.
"(`Knock on Wood') literally got thrown off the session, because they didn't think it was good enough and they thought it sounded too much like `Midnight Hour,'" the renowned songwriter/guitarist recalled Thursday. "It sat on the shelf for like nine months."
Both songs, which Cropper co-wrote, went on to become pop classics. And on Thursday, Cropper was an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
And here I thought he was just a guitarist for the Blues Brothers....
Gosh, I didn't even know Les Paul was still around.
Major congrats to him...and Mr. Cropper as well.
Play it, Steve.
And Sam & Dave.
"Besides Cropper, other inductees included John Fogerty, Isaac Hayes and David Porter, Richard and Robert Sherman, and Bill Withers. Smokey Robinson, a previous inductee, was picked to get the Johnny Mercer Award, while relative newcomer Alicia Keys was selected for the Starlight Award, given to accomplished young songwriters."
I knew Mr. Cropper was a guitarist...didn't know he was a songwriter of such magnitude.
I learn a lot from Freepers. :)
Booker T & the MGs
Now that's quite a crew.
I get to see Fogerty when he comes to town with Mellencamp in July. Hadn't seen him perform in a long time.
"Cropper, a member of Booker T & the MGs and an integral part of the Stax Records legacy, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But he said the songwriters' honor was special."
Start humming the "Green Onions" tune.
Thank you for posting that picture of Steve. :o)
The only people in the Blues Brothers who came close to being "just" anything are Akroyd and Belushi. They really did assemble an all around awesome band with lots of impressive credits. Though I didn't realize Steve was that far removed from "just".
Cropper's a great actor too!
Remember his famous line in The Blues Brothers: "Why? What do you mean?"
Why?
SITTIN' ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY / Otis Redding
KNOCK ON WOOD/ Eddie Floyd
GREEN ONIONS/ Booker T. & The MG's
SOUL MAN/ Sam & Dave
TIME IS TIGHT/ Booker T. & The MG's
IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR/ Wilson Pickett
634-5789/ Wilson Pickett
SEE SAW/ Don Covay
MR.PITIFUL/ Otis Redding
THE HAPPY SONG (DUM DUM)/ Otis Redding
FA-FA-FA-FA-FA (SAD SONG)/ Otis Redding
HIP-HUG-HER/ Booker T. & The MG's
SOUL LIMBO/ Booker T. & The MG's
MELTING POT/ Booker T. & The MG's
CRUISIN'/ Booker T. & The MG's
NINETY-NINE AND ONE-HALF (WON'T DO)/ Wilson Pickett
DON'T FIGHT IT/ Wilson Pickett
SOOKIE SOOKIE/ Don Covay
As a fellow Memphian (by birth) I'm really happy to hear this news. Cropper's work at Stax and most notably coupled with the great Otis Redding is among classic pop music's finest moments.
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