Steve Cropper’s first reaction when Eddie Floyd said he wanted to write something about superstitions was rather circumspect: “Doesn’t Stevie Wonder already have a song about that?” You May Also Like: ‘Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos’ (2023) Yes, That’s Stephen Stills on One of the Bee Gees’Read More

Largely self-taught, Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones learned most of his early craft on the bass from listening to albums from the Stax and Motown legacy. You May Also Like: Durand Jones – Durand Jones and the Indications: Deluxe Edition (2018) Rickie Lee Jones – ‘Kicks’ (2019) How Rickie LeeRead More

As part of Booker T. and the MGs, Steve Cropper played on countless hits, though often the record-buying public had no idea of their involvement. The guitar legend explains why that never mattered. You May Also Like: How Booker T. and the MGs Defined Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary Concert OnRead More

Joey Molland returns for his first solo album since 2001’s This Way Up, and it’s unlike anything from the guitarist’s seminal power pop work with Badfinger.

For Stax Records executive Al Bell, the label’s focus on personalized arrangements was what made its stable of stars into timeless figures. Unlike some of their competitors, he says no two of their records sounded exactly alike. You May Also Like: How Booker T. and the MGs Defined Bob Dylan’sRead More

A trick of fate launched Otis Redding’s career. He was, in 1962, working with a flamboyant guitarist named Johnny Jenkins, who had some unused studio time at Stax Records. Up to the mic stepped Redding. You May Also Like: How Booker T. and the MGs Defined Bob Dylan’s 30th AnniversaryRead More

Booker T. and MGs were pioneers of funky-cool soul and Civil Rights-era forward thinking. But it might not have happened, but for a chance meeting at a local Memphis record shop. You May Also Like: How Booker T. and the MGs Defined Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary Concert For ELO’s JeffRead More

Otis Redding’s 1965 No. 11 R&B hit “I Can’t Turn You Loose” was aptly named, considering that he refused to leave for his next show until guitarist Steve Cropper laid down the song’s famous lick. You May Also Like: How Booker T. and the MGs Defined Bob Dylan’s 30th AnniversaryRead More

You know Steve Cropper from his legendary work with Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas, William Bell, Johnnie Taylor — and, of course, with Booker T. and the MGs. His beginnings with the Stax Record label, however, were decidedly less glamorous. You May Also Like: How Booker T. and the MGs DefinedRead More

Steve Cropper, the ace producer and sideman at Stax Records, ended up playing with most every one he’d ever admired over the years — except for one person You May Also Like: How Booker T. and the MGs Defined Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary Concert Noel Redding’s Fat Mattress – FatRead More