Extraordinary mega-talent only begins to describe Steve Cropper who, with Booker T. & the MGs, built one of the most distinctive and enduring sounds in American music.

Steve Cropper (photo right courtesy Stax Museum) was born October 21, 1941, in Dora, Missouri. His family moved to Memphis when Cropper was 10. Interested in music, especially the gospel, R&B and new rock n’ roll that was coming over the airwaves in his new hometown, Steve purchased his first guitar at 14. He attended Messick High School, and it was at Messick High where Steve met Donald “Duck” Dunn and destiny began to unfold.

Royal Spades And Mar-Keys
While in high school, Cropper, Dunn and another buddy, Charlie Freeman, formed a band they called the Royal Spades, playing at parties for a few dollars and a few beers. Cropper and Dunn then formed the Mar-Keys around 1958. The group included guitarists Steve Cropper and Charlie Freeman, drummer Terry Johnson, pianist Jerry Lee “Smoochie” Smith, bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, trumpeter Wayne Jackson, saxophonists Packy Axton and Don Nix, and sometime vocalist Ronnie Stoots rounded out the lineup. Perhaps the band did not fully realize that fate had handed them some good fortune to include Packy Axton, an aspiring musician who also had a valuable connection—his mother (Estelle Axton) and uncle’s (Jim Stewart) business—Satellite Records.

A Little Help From Lady A
Thanks to Estelle Axton’s urging, the fledgling recording studio allowed the Mar-Keys to record the instrumental “Last Night” in 1961, and much to everyone’s surprise, it gave Satellite Record Company its first big hit: number three on the Billboard pop charts and number two R&B. During this time, Cropper spent as much time as he could around the studio and worked the counter at the Satellite Record Shop. Meanwhile, the Mar-Keys functioned as the Stax house band—the new name followed the success of “Last Night” when a company of the same name in California forced Stewart and Axton to change from Satellite Record Company to Stax Records.

Going To Church
Cropper left the Mar-Keys during their first tour. He had already become something of a studio veteran, playing at Sun and Hi Records, so when in 1962 producer Chips Moman left Stax to start his own studio, Cropper was promoted to studio supervisor at Stax. Cropper explained the meaning of that experience to historian Rob Bowman: “For me it was like going to church every day. You walked in those doors at Stax; you left everything out there behind you. I’d work eighteen hours a day and never even thought about being tired.”

Musician, Producer, Songwriter…
Cropper had a hand in a huge number of Stax compositions and greatly influenced the company’s artistic identity and business success early on. During this time period, Cropper, Booker T. Jones, Al Jackson Jr., and Lewie Steinberg formed Booker T. & the MGs. They quickly stepped into the role of Stax house band, churning out their own hits, beginning with “Green Onions,” while backing other Stax hit makers Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Sam & Dave. Cropper began to hone his songwriting skills; Wilson Pickett and Cropper co-wrote the 1965 hit “In the Midnight Hour,” which became one of many hits Cropper wrote or co-wrote.

Cranking Out Soul
Eventually Cropper, the MGs, and the Stax songwriting team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter formed a producers’ pool known around Stax as the “Big 6” and as such they collaborated in various combinations on Stax projects. Cropper also wrote with Eddie Floyd, and the pair came up with two of Pickett’s hits, “634-5789” and “Ninety-Nine and a Half (Won’t Do),” before collaborating on Floyd’s own “Knock on Wood,” (all in the first half of 1966). Cropper and Otis Redding collaborated on Redding’s masterpiece, “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay.” After Redding’s tragic and pre-mature death in December 1967, Cropper and Otis’ wife, Zelma, accepted a series of awards, including the 1968 Grammy Award for best R&B song.

The MGs Move On
Though the producer’s pool arrangement created the Stax sound and some of its best-selling examples, the members decided to move in individual creative directions and the pool was dissolved in August 1969. In early 1970, Booker T. Jones eased his way from Stax, and the MGs ceased to be an active unit. Cropper left Stax on September 20, 1970, a day he says he’ll never forget.

But Cropper Doesn’t Stop
After leaving Stax, Cropper, Jerry Williams, and former Mar-Key Ronnie Stoots started the Trans-Maximus (TMI) recording studio and record company in Memphis. Cropper produced and played in session recordings at TMI and Ardent Studio (Memphis) with a number of notable artists, including Jeff Beck, Poco, Jose Feliciano, John Prine and Tower of Power. Later production successes included Tower of Power’s 1978 LP We Came To Play and John Cougar Mellencamp’s Nothing Matters And What If It Did?

Blues Brother
In 1977 Cropper and Dunn joined Levon Helm’s RCO All-Stars, and shortly thereafter received a call from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, which resulted in the formation of the now famous Blues Brothers band. The original incarnation of the Blues Brothers band recorded three albums, including the number one “Briefcase Full Of Blues,” and also made the hilarious, and now classic, feature film The Blues Brothers. When the Blues Brothers ceased playing after the passing of John Belushi in the spring of 1982, Cropper was still in demand as a producer and session guitarist. He also found time to devote to his solo career, recording “Playing My Thang” and “Night After Night” in 1980 and 1982, respectively.

Recognition Past Due
For Cropper, the 90’s brought a full schedule. He continued to fulfill commitments to the Blues Brothers band, including playing on two CDs and performing in a second feature film released on February 1998, Blues Brothers 2000. In the late 90’s, with the publication of Rob Bowman’s Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records, Cropper and Booker T. & the MGs became enshrined in print, and finally much due credit was given to these architects of southern soul. Steve Cropper was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, and on February 10, 2007, received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award along with fellow Booker T. & the MGs band members.

Decades Of Cropp
Steve Cropper continues to be an in-demand musician and producer. As tribute to his immense contribution to popular music over the last four decades, in 1996 England’s Mojo magazine ranked Cropper as the number two guitarist of all time; Jimi Hendrix was ranked number one. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine readers voted him among the Top 100 Guitar Players of all time.