While talking one on one with Steve Cropper during an in studio interview a few months ago, one of the first things that caught my attention was how down to earth, open and friendly he was. Like so many of the true musical greats I have had the priviledge to meet, Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is a true music man and he carries himself comfortably with the confidence of one well traveled, experienced, and exceptional at his chosen craft. The art of creating and recording music that will live forever and he does so with a big smile. A real gentleman who is known for dedicating his time, talent, and resources, to many worthwhile charities and fundraisers for worthy causes or to help folks and organizations in need. It was a lot of fun to visit with Steve and I enjoyed my interview with him very much.
  Check this out: Steve Cropper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, the Rhythm and Blues Pioneer Award in 1995, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville in 2006, and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2007 Grammy's as a member of Booker T. and The MG's. He's been making music as a pro for over 50 years. In addition to the guitar Steve also plays bass guitar, piano and organ.
  As a songwriter, Steve has written scores of hits, including "Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay" with Otis Redding, which has been played over six million times making it the sixth most played song of all time. When I asked Steve about his songwriting, this is what he said. "I kinda write all the time. I'm one of those writers, I don't write for myself. I like to have a project and if somebody called me today and said, ‘so and so needs a song and they need it by tomorrow afternoon,’ I'd go immediately home and get up in the den and I'd get my guitar and write a song. That's sorta the way I've always done it. When we were producing back in the sixties the artist would come in and we'd be writing up to that time. Sometimes we'd have a few songs but ya know it wasn't something we wrote six or eight months ago, it was something we wrote six or eight hours ago. Thatıs sorta the way we did it."
  He's been a member of three of America's most classic bands, recording and touring with The Mar-Keys, Booker T. and The MG's, and The Blues Brothers. I asked Steve how he hooked up with Booker T., "We were looking for a rhythm section. Lewie Steinberg played bass and Al Jackson was on drums and then we had the horn section. We were in dire need of a good piano player on a regular basis. So I went over to Booker's house, found out where he lived and went over there and knocked on the door. His mom came to the door and I asked to see him. He was back in the den playing guitar, believe it or not. Booker was just 16 at the time and getting ready to graduate from high school, so I told him what we needed and he said yeah, and went to work with us".
  Steve Cropper's distinctive guitar playing has been like his signature on recordings and in many instances on stage by scores of great artists records, including: Otis Redding - Jerry Lee Lewis - Aretha Franklin - Elton John - Etta James - John Lennon - Ringo Starr - Paul Simon - Bob Dylan - Richie Havens - Levon Helm - Buddy Miles - Aaron Neville - Jimmy Buffett and Wayne Newton, to name just a few. He told me his first guitar was "truck" order, ordered out of a Sears and Roebuck catalog, then delivered to his home in Memphis by a Sears truck when he was 14. It cost seventeen dollars and they charged him a quarter when they delivered it that he had to borrow from his mom.
  Steve's produced many artists ranging in many genre's, including: Jose Feliciano, John Prine, Poco, Wilson Picket and the Tower Of Power. Most recently he produced an album for Guy Sebastion, a young artist from Austrailia who has won the Austrailian "Idol" competition. Recorded in Memphis the first single of this CD went #3 on the Austrailian radio charts right out of the box. In conjunction with this release, The MGıS, (Steve, Duck Dunn and Steve Potts) just returned in late March from a month long tour in support of Guy performing concerts all over Australia.
  As an actor, he has appeared in both movies made by The Blues Brothers. The first in 1980 titled The Blues Brothers with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, and the second in 1998 with Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, and Jim Belushi, titled Blues Brothers 2000. A successful studio owner (Insomnia Studio) on Music Row in Nashville, Steve Cropper continues to make lots of music. He heads his own label, Play It Steve! Records, and his guitar playing, songwriting, and production skills are still in great demand here in the US and abroad. On Saturday, April 26, Steve will be performing at the Sommet Center in Nashville along with the trio Lady Antebellum, for the 2008 Country Music Marathon post-race concert.
  You can visit Steve Cropper on line at his web sitewww.playitsteve.com