I learned how to play guitar solos from Steve Cropper. His solos in Green Onions, Hip Hugger, Jelly Bread and others were so soulful, yet played slowly enough for me to pick up the riffs. I owe this guy.
Me too. Green Onions is still about the finest thing put on record. I've been playing guitar for over 50 years, and Croppers influence is that you do't have to play a lot of notes, just the right ones. .
@rj zander , and whenever I play that on my guitar with a backing track, I always feel compelled to add some cheesy bird sound. My band mates think I'm crazy, but it's so ingrained in my memory of that song.
Of the guitarists who are top technicians (they can play difficult things and fast things) the true artists are the ones who mix the technical in sparingly with the SOULFUL.
It's also about timing, being in the right place at the right time for your particular genre of music. The only real way for bands to make any money nowadays is to tour nonstop, and sell a ton of merchandise.
Bobby S that really says a lot. It really is all about business. If you don’t know the business, they will step all over you & leave you dry & empty in the middle of nowhere.
When the Beatles came to America, who did they want to meet? Booker T. and MGs! George Harrison wanted Steve Cropper's autograph, and so did John, Paul and Ringo. That's respect right there - when the biggest band in the world at the time wants to pay tribute!
Green Onions was one of the first songs I learned. You can't miss when playing one of Cropper's tunes. How I miss those days when new music sounded GOOD and HEART-FELT! And I was groovin when Steve picked up with the Blues Brothers, just check out "She caught the Katy". Man, that is some wicked stuff! Don't lose it on that E diminished.
One of my favorite Steve Cropper solos is on Otis Reddings "Rock Me Baby". It's were he repeats this sassy blues lick and Al Jackson does a crazy drum roll that fills up a whole bar just so they could all land on the one. It brings chills down my spine every time I hear it. And I always play it LOUD..
First saw the Blues Brothers when I was about 6-7 years old. Then learned the guys in the band were actual musicians, and then heard Booker T and MG's and I was hooked on being a musician and cool tunes before my tenth birthday. I was in a high school soul band when I was 13. I'm now 44 and play drums, keyboard, percussion, vocals and mess about on guitar. I've played in an orchestar all over the world and performed for the royal family. You can't underestimate the value of real music, because this is what inspires us!!
This guy has been such a big part of my life from Otis to Sam and Dave to backing Albert King and the solo Booker T stuff what a legacy! Thank you very much! "Play it Steve"!!! And someone pass me the green onions!!!
What "thoughts about the post" were you fishing for? You just stated the obvious, basically preaching to the choir, so not a lot of room, or need, for further embellishment.
It's been said that if you want to be successful in today's musical landscape you have to be a good and reliable PERSON. You can throw a guitar pick in any direction and hit a talented musician. Labels are looking for quality people to invest in. Your talent will take care of itself, your character will fill in the blanks when your talent doesn't carry the day.
Radio is DEAD ! Bruce Springsteen even wrote about it, "Radio Nowhere" it's very true,,,and a damn shame !!!! I don't understand it , we need to reinvent FM Again !!!!
Great question....... basically things haven’t completely changed. Today the people who are doing what radio station DJ’s use to do are called Influencers. Influencers may be people who have a large RU-vid audience and like what you do and share it with their listeners or their watchers.It’s true that you don’t have the local radio stations with the freedom to play what they want to play like it used to be. There are just a handful of people who choose what you hear on the radio for the most part but now we do have this incredible thing called the Internet that reaches across the world. I still believe that old saying “ the cream will rise to the top “ is still true and if you are lucky and diligent and keep putting yourself in front of the public just like we did locally with the DJs , you will get a following that will hopefully grow until you reach the ears of someone who can really put you where you want to be in this industry. Thanks for watching and your question.. All the best, Joe
I was 13 years old when I first heard Otis Redding sing on the radio.I begged my father to please take me to John B.Lee Music store in downtown Anderson,SC to check out his records.To this day I own everything that Otis has released.Everything !!! Thank you Steve for the work you did with Otis.
One of my very favorite museums. When I was just starting to put together the MHOF&M I went to Stax to try and figure out what made a great music museum and learned a lot. I still consider it one of the best designs. Thanks for watching.... Best, Joe
Pete “King Kong Beat” De Poe (Redbone) told me that talent has little to do with success, rather it’s “Lady Luck.” However, you have to practice, practice, practice, so that when the woman comes knockin’...you’re ready. Read his book at Amazon... www.amazon.com/King-Kong-Pete-Redbone-Beyond/dp/1981166629
Way back when A - sides and B - sides were as God damn good as each other. The first 7 inch I bough, as a ten year old was "Green Onions" It was all about the guitar from then on in. This man. Great interview.
@Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, thank God you guys are doing this series of one on one interviews. It is absolutely fascinating to hear how some of the most amazing music ever recorded came to be. Plus, the insights, stories and first person accounts of how it all happened, told by the true legends who were there, is priceless. Thank You!
Got to see him on stage with the Blues Brothers Band I believe it was '81. I was 16 the movie had been running for some time, then I heard they were going to be just down the road in Dallas. One of the best shows I've ever seen, the whole place was on their feet the entire time.
A promotions guy who did work for Ardent, and, was featured in the great Big Star doc. John King, i think, is the fellas name. Would really like to hear more about the Memphis scene in the seventies.. Really digging these interviews.. Thank you for archiving and preserving rock n roll, and all music history in general..
dan delcastillo It is crazy different isn’t it. I don’t make my living in music but I can certainly see how much it’s changed, especially since the 70s and 80s
A true gentleman, an incredible musician and guitar slinger. Thank you Steve!
4 года назад
It does tick me off that damn DJ’s radio station owners etc had to be paid. Ultimately it’s like lobbyist in Washington but for a DJ to hold back a record for money bothers me. Listen and see what the feedback is but hey the BEATLES went through hell until Epstein took over and my understanding is Taylor Swift’s old man bought half the sales of her first album... should have grown up int the city😖
You can listen to a brilliant jimi Hendrix guitar solo and then listen to the guitar riff for time is tight it's just as great without anything being complicated Steve was and is musically smart as any guitar players who wow everyone with their dexterity
Check out "Dedicated-A Salute to the Five Royales"...Steve plays and co-produces, and a who's who of incredible singers performing some fantastic material.
Now you can't make it unless you have the looks to go with a minimal amount of talent, soon the old industry is going to have to die for places like the one label The Black Keys started or the one the White Stripes has but is smaller making less. If not that then the smaller labels that are owned by the big companies that are run like a side label. nobody unless you want to do the same few song styles just tweaked a tad since 2013 in female or male to make a song that is either all pop no rock or some soft rock thing.
Steve produced the great unknown Iron City Houserockers third album “Blood On The Bricks” in 1981. A great lost album. That bands second was co-produced by Ian Hunter/Mick Ronson and Miami Steve Van Zant in 1980. Also worth seeking out.
I would love to hear what Steve Has to truthfully say about the late great Jimi Jamison. Jimi spent alot of devoted time at Stax * loved everybody there.
I was at Otis Redding’s last show. It was at Leo’s Casino in Cleveland. He flew out of there with his band heading west and the plane went into the water. I saw the paper the following morning I couldn’t believe it I was saying. Heartbreaking…
Ah, yes. The old Leo's Casino - 55th and Euclid in Cleveland, OH. My aunt used to work there as a server, part-time, and actually got us (my cousin and I) in every now and then to see some shows. Some great memories. Besides the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in '64, seeing those old soul and r&b acts really inspired me to be a musician.
@@maxdakota111 Me too. I put away the Martin and got an old Tele and started listening to any and all Stax-Volt records. Steve was my hero -- still is.
Joe Chambers hesitated, in respect for the tragedy of Otis' plane going down in Lake Monona, Madison, Wisconsin - saying he hated to bring up a 'bummer'. Terrible tragedy for sure. The band that was to open for Otis and the Bar-Kays that night was the Grim Reapers from Rockford, Illinois, an hour south of Madison. The Reapers were up and coming. Their leader? A young Rick Nielsen, who later formed Cheap Trick. Both bands were to play at Ken Adamany's club on State Street, The Factory. Oddest of coincidences, the Grim Reapers, on that fateful day. I believe it was Rick who took the stage to tell the audience about the tragedy. Adamany had scrambled to find a replacement band at the last minute. I don't think the show was cancelled, which seems really odd.
Booker T and the Mgs where the original salt and pepper of 60s Stax Soul Men! First I heard Green Onions Steve cropper guitar, Booker's Hammond organ ,wow! I bought that 45 record! As a kid! Steve a true musician ,artist,writer, producer and lay back gentleman!
Giulio.... I swear every time someone like you makes such a kind comment it makes the time and effort put forth by myself and everyone involved at the museum making these interviews worthwhile. Of course I enjoy the interviews too but there’s a lot that goes on before and after the actual interview to make them happen. It’s all in house so we’ve had growing pains along the way learning by trial and error to get things sounding and looking right. Hopefully we’re getting more consistent as we go. I for one certainly was not a experienced interviewer but I to hopefully am getting better. Again, thank you very much for your support. Best.... Joe
Otis Redding released 45s on several labels before recording for Stax. To my ears there were indeed some gems that The Big O recorded for Stax but much filler. Really dreary, plodding stuff. Listen and you might agree. It's akin to Elvis's movie crap, like Do The Clam (oh, you like that...)
The great ones are always modest.His early work with Wlilson Pickett is prolific.He's sneaky clever guitarist 634-5789 - Ninety-nine and one-half won;" do are good are good example.And as a songwriter he's truly one of a kind when you consider his body of work.He is "the Soul Man' but would never say it.
With all due respect to a legend, the times have changed considerably. Business is business and good music is art. Good music doesn't really sell anymore.
@@kevingoins9858 Dude I'm sorry but a simple google check of this decades top selling artists should be enough to show you musicality has nothing to do with it. Not sure what planet you're on but currently what sells is not the music. It's the image or the look or the sale pitch or something in half the cases. It's got just about nothing to do with the music in some. I mean Drake doesn't enough have a melody of notes. It's the equivalent of an author writing a book that goes The the the the the the the the two two two one, one one one two. And then getting famous for being original.
