6994 - STEVE CROPPER - Dedicated: A Salute To The 5 Royales (2011)

STEVE CROPPER
''DEDICATED: A SALUTE TO THE 5 ROYALES''
AUGUST 9 2011
46:11

1 /Thirty Second Lover
Gloria Paul / Lowman Pauling /feat: Steve Winwood /3:54
2 /Don't Be Ashamed
Lowman Pauling /feat: Willie Jones / Bettye LaVette /2:49
3 /Baby Don't Do It
Lowman Pauling /feat: Shemekia Copeland / B.B. King /2:51
4 /Dedicated to the One I Love
Ralph Bass / Lowman Pauling /feat: Lucinda Williams / Steve Winwood /3:14
5 /My Sugar Sugar
Lowman Pauling /feat: John Popper /3:07
6 /Right Around the Corner
Rose Marie McCoy / Charlie Singleton /feat: Delbert McClinton /2:36
7 /Help Me Somebody
Lowman Pauling /3:08
8 /I Do
Lowman Pauling /feat: Brian May /2:48
9 /Messin' Up
Lowman Pauling /feat: Sharon Jones /3:04
10 /Say It
Lowman Pauling /feat: Bettye LaVette /2:25
11 /The Slummer the Slum
Obediah Carter / Lowman Pauling /feat: Buddy Miller /3:11
12 /Someone Made You for Me
Henry Glover /feat: Dan Penn /3:38
13 /Think
Lowman Pauling /4:01
14 /Come On & Save Me
Lowman Pauling /feat: Sharon Jones / Dylan LeBlanc /2:57
15 /When I Get Like This
Otto Jeffries / Carl LeBow /feat: Lucinda Williams /2:28

Billy Block /Tambourine
Shemekia Copeland /Main Personnel, Primary Artist
Angel Cropper /Vocals (Background)
Steve Cropper /Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Horn Arrangements, Soloist, Vocals (Background)
Steve Ferrone /Drums, Percussion
David Hood /Guitar (Bass)
Beth Hooker /Vocals (Background)
Sharon Jones /Main Personnel
Willie Jones /Primary Artist
Willie Jones /Main Personnel
Steve Jordan /Drums
Keb' Mo' /Vocals (Background)
B.B. King /Main Personnel, Primary Artist
Bettye LaVette /Main Personnel, Primary Artist
Dylan LeBlanc /Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Vocals (Background)
Brian May /Main Personnel, Vocals (Background)
Delbert McClinton /Main Personnel, Primary Artist
Buddy Miller /Guitar, Main Personnel, Primary Artist, Soloist, Vocals (Background)
Spooner Oldham /Organ, Piano, Piano (Electric)
Leroy Parnell /Vocals (Background)
Dan Penn /Primary Artist, Vocals (Background)
John Popper /Main Personnel, Primary Artist
Harry Stinson /Vocals (Background)
Neal Sugarman /Horn Arrangements, Sax (Tenor), Saxophone, Soloist
Jon Tiven /Horn Arrangements,Sax (Tenor), Saxophone, Soloist, Vocals (Background)
Lucinda Williams /Main Personnel, Primary Artist
Steve Winwood /Main Personnel, Primary Artist

Review
by Thom Jurek (AllMusic)
Steve Cropper has said in numerous interviews that his main influence as a guitarist was Lowman Pauling, chief songwriter, arranger, and axeman of North Carolina's 5 Royales, a '50s-era group that wedded doo wop, jump blues, gospel, and jazz in an R&B style that scored them numerous hits throughout the 1950s. The 5 Royales also featured lead vocalist Johnny Tanner (and occasionally younger brother Eugene) supported by backing singers Otto Jeffries, Jimmy Moore, and Obadiah Carter. Cropper was approached by producer Jon Tiven (who he'd previously worked with on the first of his two collaborations with Felix Cavaliere) about collaborating on a tribute album to The 5 Royales, and jumped at the chance. Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales, which represents the latest chapter in a late-career resurgence for Cropper, one of the most influential soul guitarists in history, combines the talents of a red hot studio band -- Cropper, bassist David Hood, keyboardist Spooner Oldham, percussionist Steve Ferrone, drummer Steve Jordan, and Neal Sugarman and Tiven on horns. In addition, Cropper and Tiven enlisted a stellar group of vocalists to perform 5 Royales standards: Lucinda Williams, Sharon Jones, Bettye LaVette, Delbert McClinton, Willie Jones, B.B. King, Shemekia Copeland, Buddy Miller, Dan Penn, Brian May, Steve Winwood, John Popper, and Dylan LeBlanc, fronting a great cast of backing singers. Despite the historic material and arrangements, Dedicated is a decidedly contemporary recording in production, saving it from the dubious fate of numerous other tribute albums that seek to re-create the actual vibe of original recordings. It begins with an excellent rendition of "Thirty Second Lover" featuring Winwood, but, fine as it is, it's a teaser for what's to come. LaVette and Willie Jones tear up "Don't Be Ashamed." On "Dedicated to the One I Love," Williams literally sends shivers up and down the spine as she uses her gauzy, slow, emotive voice to wrench every ounce of emotion from the verses -- with Penn adding another dimension to them on the bridge. Speaking of Penn, an excellent but reluctant lead singer, his reading of "Someone Made You for Me" is one of the most unexpectedly endearing performances on the set. McClinton's "Right Around the Corner" puts these rhythm & blues in the heart of honky tonk country. The back-to-back readings of "Messin' Up" by Jones and "Say It" by LaVette come close to stealing the show -- but Williams still holds on with the title track and her searingly naked "When I Get Like This" as the closer. Cropper also takes a couple of economical but stinging instrumental breaks on "Help Me Somebody" and "Think" that reveal the depth of Pauling's genius as well as his own. Given what a mixed bag tribute albums usually are, Dedicated is not only a surprise for its consistency, but a shining example of what they can -- and should -- be.

Biography
by Cub Koda (AllMusic)
Probably the best-known soul guitarist in the world, Steve Cropper came to prominence in the early '60s, first with the Mar-Keys ("Last Night"), then as a founding member of Booker T. & the MG's. A major figure in the Southern soul movement of the '60s, Cropper made his mark not only as a player and arranger (most notably on classic sides by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett) but as a songwriter as well, co-writing the classic "In the Midnight Hour." After the breakup of the MG's, Cropper spent most of the '70s producing Jeff Beck and Mitch Ryder, among others. In the '80s, he rode the classic Stax sound (which he helped shape) back to popularity with a new audience when actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd tapped him for service in the Blues Brothers, a Saturday Night Live skit that stretched into several albums and a movie. Cropper remained in demand as a session man, producer, and collaborator into the new century, although very little appeared under his actual name as a recording artist. That changed in 2008 with the release of the affirming Nudge It Up a Notch, a project recorded with former Rascals frontman Felix Cavaliere and tracked at Jon Tiven's Hormone Studio in Nashville, on the revitalized Stax Records imprint. A second collaboration between Cropper and Cavaliere, Midnight Flyer, appeared in 2010. In 2011, Cropper released Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales on 429 Records. The concept album was an all-star celebration and acknowledgment of the influence of seminal soul guitarist Lowman “Pete” Pauling and his mid-'50s to early-'60s group the “5” Royales on his playing. Co-produced with Tiven, some of Dedicated's guests included, B.B. King, Brian May, Steve Winwood, John Popper, Bettye LaVette, Lucinda Williams, Sharon Jones, Shemekia Copeland, Delbert McClinton, Willie Jones, Buddy Miller, and 21-year-old Louisiana singer/songwriter Dylan LeBlanc.

OFFICIAL SITE

6993 - STEVE CROPPER & FELIX CAVALIERE - Midnight Flyer (2010)

STEVE CROPPER & FELIX CAVALIERE
''MIDNIGHT FLYER''
JUNE 15 2010
37:58

1 /You Give Me All I Need
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Tom Hambridge /3:35
2 /Midnight Flyer
Felix Cavaliere / Tom Hambridge /2:47
3 /Now
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Tom Hambridge /3:23
4 /When You're with Me
Felix Cavaliere / Henry Gross / Tom Hambridge /3:07
5 /I Can't Stand It
Smokey McAllister /2:30
6 /Chance with Me
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Tom Hambridge /3:22
7 /Move the House
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Tom Hambridge /3:27
8 /Sexy Lady
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Tom Hambridge /3:46
9 /Early Morning Riser
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Tom Hambridge /3:29
10 /All Night Long
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Tom Hambridge /2:57
11 /I Can't Stand the Rain
Don Bryant / Bernard Miller / Ann Peebles /2:36
12 /Do It Like This
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Jon Tiven /2:59

Aria Cavaliere /Duet, Vocals
Felix Cavaliere /Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Steve Cropper /Guitar
Tom Hambridge /Drums, Percussion, Producer, Vocals (Background)
Russell Hospedales /Vocals (Background)
David Lugaba /Vocals (Background)
Allison Presswood /Bass
Ray Ventura /Talk Box
Mark Williams /Vocals (Background)

Review
by Steve Leggett (AllMusic)
A second outing from 1960s icons Steve Cropper of the MG's and Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals, following 2008’s fine, Stax-grooving Nudge It Up a Notch, Midnight Flyer builds on the same retro-soul template. Again the playing is impeccable, with Cropper delivering the precise, tonally perfect guitar leads he’s done his whole impressive career, while Cavaliere still has an expressively soulful voice and a wonderfully natural and joyous sense of phrasing, and track after track here starts like it’s going to burn the house down. That the house escapes with nothing more than mild smoke damage is the real surprise. The problem is the songwriting. Most of these tracks were written by either Cropper or Cavaliere, or both together (there are a couple of covers, most notably one of Ann Peebles’ “I Can’t Stand the Rain”), and while everything sounds great, the songs shade into the generic. It’s telling that the most memorable and grooving track is the last one, “Do It Like This,” which is really an MG's-like instrumental with occasional vocal interjections. Even the version here of “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” while certainly competent and well-sung and -played, somehow doesn’t resonate like it should, lacking most of the desperate, haunting urgency of Peebles’ original. It’s frustrating, really, because both of these artists can still deliver the goods, and the assembled band has a wonderful, deep south Stax groove going for it. The songs just aren’t here. It’s as simple as that.

Biography
by Cub Koda (AllMusic)
Probably the best-known soul guitarist in the world, Steve Cropper came to prominence in the early '60s, first with the Mar-Keys ("Last Night"), then as a founding member of Booker T. & the MG's. A major figure in the Southern soul movement of the '60s, Cropper made his mark not only as a player and arranger (most notably on classic sides by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett) but as a songwriter as well, co-writing the classic "In the Midnight Hour." After the breakup of the MG's, Cropper spent most of the '70s producing Jeff Beck and Mitch Ryder, among others. In the '80s, he rode the classic Stax sound (which he helped shape) back to popularity with a new audience when actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd tapped him for service in the Blues Brothers, a Saturday Night Live skit that stretched into several albums and a movie. Cropper remained in demand as a session man, producer, and collaborator into the new century, although very little appeared under his actual name as a recording artist. That changed in 2008 with the release of the affirming Nudge It Up a Notch, a project recorded with former Rascals frontman Felix Cavaliere and tracked at Jon Tiven's Hormone Studio in Nashville, on the revitalized Stax Records imprint. A second collaboration between Cropper and Cavaliere, Midnight Flyer, appeared in 2010. In 2011, Cropper released Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales on 429 Records. The concept album was an all-star celebration and acknowledgment of the influence of seminal soul guitarist Lowman “Pete” Pauling and his mid-'50s to early-'60s group the “5” Royales on his playing. Co-produced with Tiven, some of Dedicated's guests included, B.B. King, Brian May, Steve Winwood, John Popper, Bettye LaVette, Lucinda Williams, Sharon Jones, Shemekia Copeland, Delbert McClinton, Willie Jones, Buddy Miller, and 21-year-old Louisiana singer/songwriter Dylan LeBlanc.

OFFICIAL SITE

6992 - STEVE CROPPER & FELIX CAVALIERE - Nudge It Up a Notch (2008)

STEVE CROPPER & FELIX CAVALIERE
''NUDGE IT UP A NOTCH''
JULY 29 2008
48:12

1 /One of Those Days
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Jon Tiven/4:23
2 /If It Wasn't for Loving You
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Jon Tiven/4:14
3 /Without You
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Tom Hambridge / Jon Tiven/3:48
4 /Full Moon Tonight
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Jon Tiven/4:20
5 /To Make It Right
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Jon Tiven/4:14
6 /Impossible
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Tom Hambridge / Jon Tiven/4:13
7 /Still Be Loving You
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Jon Tiven/4:14
8 /Cuttin' It Close
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Jon Tiven/4:47
9 /Make the Time Go Faster
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Henry Gross / Jon Tiven/3:24
10 /Jamaica Delight
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Jon Tiven/3:40
11 /Imperfect World
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Jon Tiven/3:48
12 /Love Appetite
Felix Cavaliere / Steve Cropper / Jon Tiven/3:03

Felix Cavaliere - vocals, keyboards, background vocals
Steve Cropper - guitar, percussion, background vocals
Sam "Shake" Anderson - bass guitar
Chester Thompson - drums, percussion
Mark Williams - background vocals

Review
by Thom Jurek (AllMusic)
Nudge It Up a Notch is a collaborative effort by Booker T. & the MG's/ Blues Brothers guitarist and songwriter Steve Cropper and former Rascals organist, songwriter, and frontman Felix Cavaliere. It was recorded at Jon Tiven's Hormone Studio in Nashville, and released on Stax. This trio co-wrote most all of the tunes together, then hired the great drummer Chester Thompson (who else do you know who could play drums with Frank Zappa, Genesis, and Frank Black?) and his pal, former Impressions bassist and musical director Sammy Louis "Shake" Anderson. Backing vocalists Mark Williams and N'nandi Bryant round out the band. David Z. mixed the sessions, which were co-produced by Cropper, Cavaliere, and Tiven.

So what's it sound like? It sounds like Felix Cavaliere fronting a completely killer Southern soul band! Their musical structures come from timeless sources of blues, R&B, gospel, and modern funky reggae. The opening cut, a steamy, gritty broken love song, simply choogles its way along a simple breakbeat-driven vamp in a minor key. Cavaliere's voice hasn't lost one iota of its range or its expressiveness since the Rascals disbanded 35 years ago. Here he offers a sultry, emotionally wrought call and response with his chorus. Cropper offers stunning blues fills and a solo above the B-3 and rhythm section. The tune is a signature in a sense, because the tunes themselves are solid, beautifully written, and smartly arranged. But it's not only the cookers that come off this way -- check the very next track, "If It Wasn't for Loving You," which nods to "My Girl" for its verse melody, but it's pure Cavaliere in the tag before the chorus. It's a ballad with near doo wop backing vocals and Cropper doing his slippery chord riffs to center the tune. The bassline is a tight stroll along the snare line, and Cavaliere's organ soars above the top. The instrumentals come off seamlessly as well. Check the nocturnal gritty soul-blues shuffle of "Full Moon Tonight" for proof. Cropper gets to let the high strings cut and slither. The reverbed backing chords are all played in shimmering tension as Cavaliere and the rhythm section bubble and pop underneath.

Despite each of these songs being a gem, some production elements in the sound -- in a couple of places -- are a tad strange: on "Impossible" the seemingly looped tablas pull the listener's attention a bit from Cavaliere's gorgeous vocal. The hard funky loops and rap in "Making the Time Go Faster" would have been better served without a synth and using organic hand percussion on top of Thompson's breaks. "Jamaica Delight," a Caribbean-flavored instrumental, has slightly cheesy keyboards, but the tune works anyway because of Cropper's razored guitar inventions. Yet these are minor quibbles -- this album is so groove-laden and loaded with honest, uncontrived songs that minor flubs hardly matter. Just before the record's end, "Imperfect World" uses a dubby, modern reggae cum R&B confection that's so infectious, lean, and punchy that it could make the Police turn green with envy. Nudge It Up a Notch is a top-flight collaborative effort by a veritable soul supergroup that is vital and astonishingly creative, and offers plenty of proof that soul music is very much alive as a force of 21st century musical expression. This set is one of the great surprises of 2008, and further evidence of Concord's genuine commitment to the revamped Stax imprint.

Biography
by Cub Koda (AllMusic)
Probably the best-known soul guitarist in the world, Steve Cropper came to prominence in the early '60s, first with the Mar-Keys ("Last Night"), then as a founding member of Booker T. & the MG's. A major figure in the Southern soul movement of the '60s, Cropper made his mark not only as a player and arranger (most notably on classic sides by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett) but as a songwriter as well, co-writing the classic "In the Midnight Hour." After the breakup of the MG's, Cropper spent most of the '70s producing Jeff Beck and Mitch Ryder, among others. In the '80s, he rode the classic Stax sound (which he helped shape) back to popularity with a new audience when actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd tapped him for service in the Blues Brothers, a Saturday Night Live skit that stretched into several albums and a movie. Cropper remained in demand as a session man, producer, and collaborator into the new century, although very little appeared under his actual name as a recording artist. That changed in 2008 with the release of the affirming Nudge It Up a Notch, a project recorded with former Rascals frontman Felix Cavaliere and tracked at Jon Tiven's Hormone Studio in Nashville, on the revitalized Stax Records imprint. A second collaboration between Cropper and Cavaliere, Midnight Flyer, appeared in 2010. In 2011, Cropper released Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales on 429 Records. The concept album was an all-star celebration and acknowledgment of the influence of seminal soul guitarist Lowman “Pete” Pauling and his mid-'50s to early-'60s group the “5” Royales on his playing. Co-produced with Tiven, some of Dedicated's guests included, B.B. King, Brian May, Steve Winwood, John Popper, Bettye LaVette, Lucinda Williams, Sharon Jones, Shemekia Copeland, Delbert McClinton, Willie Jones, Buddy Miller, and 21-year-old Louisiana singer/songwriter Dylan LeBlanc.

OFFICIAL SITE

6991 - STEVE CROPPER, POP STAPLES, ALBERT KING - Jammed Together (1988)

STEVE CROPPER, POP STAPLES, ALBERT KING
''JAMMED TOGETHER''
1988
40:16

1 /What'd I Say
Ray Charles/5:31
Guitars: Albert King, Pops Staples, Steve Cropper
Vocals: Albert King
2 /Tupelo
John Lee Hooker/6:03
Guitars: Albert King, Pops Staples, Steve Cropper
Vocals: Pops Staples
3 /Opus de Soul
Alvertis Isbell / Carl Thomas/5:33
Guitars: Albert King, Pops Staples, Steve Cropper
4 /Baby, What You Want Me to Do
Jimmy Reed/3:33
Guitars: Albert King, Pops Staples, Steve Cropper
5 /Big Bird
Eddie Floyd / Booker T. Jones/3:16
Guitars: Albert King, Pops Staples, Steve Cropper
6 /Homer's Theme
Homer Banks / Raymond Jackson/2:13
Guitars: Albert King, Pops Staples, Steve Cropper
7 /Trashy Dog
Terry Manning/3:03
Guitars: Albert King, Steve Cropper
8 /Don't Turn Your Heater Down
Steve Cropper / Alvertis Isbell/3:18
Guitars: Albert King, Pops Staples, Steve Cropper
9 /Water
Steve Cropper / Eddie Floyd/3:09
Guitars: Albert King, Pops Staples, Steve Cropper
Vocals: Steve Cropper
10 /Knock on Wood
Steve Cropper / Eddie Floyd/5:02
Guitars: Albert King, Steve Cropper

Biography
by Cub Koda (AllMusic)
Probably the best-known soul guitarist in the world, Steve Cropper came to prominence in the early '60s, first with the Mar-Keys ("Last Night"), then as a founding member of Booker T. & the MG's. A major figure in the Southern soul movement of the '60s, Cropper made his mark not only as a player and arranger (most notably on classic sides by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett) but as a songwriter as well, co-writing the classic "In the Midnight Hour." After the breakup of the MG's, Cropper spent most of the '70s producing Jeff Beck and Mitch Ryder, among others. In the '80s, he rode the classic Stax sound (which he helped shape) back to popularity with a new audience when actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd tapped him for service in the Blues Brothers, a Saturday Night Live skit that stretched into several albums and a movie. Cropper remained in demand as a session man, producer, and collaborator into the new century, although very little appeared under his actual name as a recording artist. That changed in 2008 with the release of the affirming Nudge It Up a Notch, a project recorded with former Rascals frontman Felix Cavaliere and tracked at Jon Tiven's Hormone Studio in Nashville, on the revitalized Stax Records imprint. A second collaboration between Cropper and Cavaliere, Midnight Flyer, appeared in 2010. In 2011, Cropper released Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales on 429 Records. The concept album was an all-star celebration and acknowledgment of the influence of seminal soul guitarist Lowman “Pete” Pauling and his mid-'50s to early-'60s group the “5” Royales on his playing. Co-produced with Tiven, some of Dedicated's guests included, B.B. King, Brian May, Steve Winwood, John Popper, Bettye LaVette, Lucinda Williams, Sharon Jones, Shemekia Copeland, Delbert McClinton, Willie Jones, Buddy Miller, and 21-year-old Louisiana singer/songwriter Dylan LeBlanc.

OFFICIAL SITE

6990 - STEVE CROPPER - Night After Night (1982)

STEVE CROPPER
''NIGHT AFTER NIGHT''
1982
39:54

1/Night After Night /5:00
Bill Quatman
2/Let The Good Times Roll /3:25
George Jackson, Jones III
3/Sad Eyes /4:59
Steve Cropper
4/There Goes My Baby /3:10
Nelson-Patterson-Treadwell
5/634 - 5789 /4:15
Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper
6/Heartbeat /3:45
K. Paul Compton, Wayne Crook
7/Can't Break The Habit /5:00
George Jackson (3), Raymond Moore
8/Love's Sweet Sinsation /3:33
Eddie Floyd, Steve Cropper
9/Hold Your Fire /5:00
Richard Wolf, Wayne Perkins

Jeff Baxter /Guitar
Barry Beckett /Keyboards
Bonnie Bramlett /Vocals
Steve Cropper /Guitar
Burton Cummings /Vocals
Scott Edwards /Bass
Charles Fearing /Guitar
Russell Ferrante /Keyboards
Chuck Findley /Horn
Steve Forman /Percussion
Ray Griffin /Drums
Roger Hawkins /Drums
David Hood /Bass
Jim Horn /Horn
Clayton Ivey /Keyboards
Clydene Jackson /Vocals
Jimmy Johnson /Guitar
Bobby Kimball /Vocals
Wayne Perkins /Guitar
Bruce Robb /Vocals
Timothy B. Schmit /Vocals
William D. "Smitty" Smith /Keyboards
Julia Tillman Waters /Vocals
Maxine Willard Waters /Vocals

Biography
by Cub Koda (AllMusic)
Probably the best-known soul guitarist in the world, Steve Cropper came to prominence in the early '60s, first with the Mar-Keys ("Last Night"), then as a founding member of Booker T. & the MG's. A major figure in the Southern soul movement of the '60s, Cropper made his mark not only as a player and arranger (most notably on classic sides by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett) but as a songwriter as well, co-writing the classic "In the Midnight Hour." After the breakup of the MG's, Cropper spent most of the '70s producing Jeff Beck and Mitch Ryder, among others. In the '80s, he rode the classic Stax sound (which he helped shape) back to popularity with a new audience when actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd tapped him for service in the Blues Brothers, a Saturday Night Live skit that stretched into several albums and a movie. Cropper remained in demand as a session man, producer, and collaborator into the new century, although very little appeared under his actual name as a recording artist. That changed in 2008 with the release of the affirming Nudge It Up a Notch, a project recorded with former Rascals frontman Felix Cavaliere and tracked at Jon Tiven's Hormone Studio in Nashville, on the revitalized Stax Records imprint. A second collaboration between Cropper and Cavaliere, Midnight Flyer, appeared in 2010. In 2011, Cropper released Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales on 429 Records. The concept album was an all-star celebration and acknowledgment of the influence of seminal soul guitarist Lowman “Pete” Pauling and his mid-'50s to early-'60s group the “5” Royales on his playing. Co-produced with Tiven, some of Dedicated's guests included, B.B. King, Brian May, Steve Winwood, John Popper, Bettye LaVette, Lucinda Williams, Sharon Jones, Shemekia Copeland, Delbert McClinton, Willie Jones, Buddy Miller, and 21-year-old Louisiana singer/songwriter Dylan LeBlanc.

OFFICIAL SITE

6989 - STEVE CROPPER - Playin' My Thang (1980)

STEVE CROPPER
''PLAYIN' MY THANG''
1980
35:01

1 /Give 'Em What They Want
Steve Cropper/4:20
2 /Let the Good Times Roll
Leonard Lee/3:57
3 /Playin' My Thang
Steve Cropper/4:43
4 /Fly
Steve Cropper/3:10
5 /Sandy Beaches
John Jarvis / Delbert McClinton/3:35
6 /With You
Steve Cropper / John Jarvis/3:25
7 /Feet
Danny Kortchmar/2:58
8 /Why Do You Say You Love Me
Steve Cropper/4:53
9 /Ya Da Ya Da
Steve Cropper / Donald "Duck" Dunn/4:00

Acoustic Guitar – Trevor Veitch (track 7)
Backing Vocals – Bobby Kimball (tracks 1, 4), Bruce Robb (track 1), Joe Robb (track 1), Steve Robb (track 1)
Bass – Duck Dunn (tracks 2 to 4, 7 to 9), Neal Stubenhaus (tracks 1, 5, 6)
Drums – Craig Krampf (tracks: A2), Rick Schlosser* (tracks: A1, A3, A4, B1 to B3), Willy Hall (tracks 8, 9)
Electric Piano – Bill Payne (tracks 8, 9)
Flute – Jim Horn (track 5)
Horns – Memphis Horns, The (tracks 1 to 3, 7, 9)
Keyboards – David Paich (tracks 1, 3), John Jarvis (track 6)
Organ – David Paich (track 9), William D. Smith (track 7)
Percussion – Steve Cropper (tracks 1, 5, 7), Steve Forman (tracks 4, 9)
Piano – David Paich (track 2), John Jarvis (track 5)
Rhythm Guitar – Dan Ferguson (track 4)
Saxophone – Andrew Love (tracks 1 to 3, 7, 9), James Mitchell (tracks 1 to 3, 7, 9), Jim Horn (tracks 1 to 4, 7 to 9)
Strings [Fake] – Kron (track 6)
Trombone – Jack Hale (tracks 1 to 3, 7, 9)
Trumpet – Jerry Hey (tracks 1 to 3, 7, 9)
Vocals, Guitar – Steve Cropper

Review
by Eugene Chadbourne (AllMusic)
The man whose reputation is well established as a stellar guitar sideman has a big challenge stepping out front, especially considering the decision to take on lead vocal responsibilities. As a result, Playing My Thang is not so much about Steve Cropper's guitar playing as his singing, the obvious reason the early-'80s release hasn't exactly achieved classic status.

Not that he is a bad singer, not by any means. The title track manages to merge a story told by the singing voice with lead guitar playing, along the lines of the classic "Guitar Man" song and others of its ilk. "Give 'Em What They Want" is a surprising, thought-provoking opener, although it also presents the first ample evidence that this is going to be a dull album. The cynicism of the lyrics, as well as a somewhat morose groove, make it seem like a self-confessional opus from a singer/songwriter is underway -- basically the truth, since Cropper wrote or co-wrote many of these titles. In that case, are the musings of a jaded session man really such an attractive basis for lyrical philosophy? Certainly whoever designed the album cover didn't think so -- Cropper's axe is given priority. "Fly" is a bit more of a Stevie Wonder thing; which, along with an aggravated and strange brass arrangement of "Let the Good Times Roll," are examples of material related to, but not exactly in, what is considered to be Cropper's forte.

A Delbert McClinton cover, entitled "Sandy Beaches," complete with Jim Horn on flute, brings to mind the Herbie Mann Memphis Underground recordings as well as the prospect that a guitarist could take advantage of such a setting for some picking. Cropper's main business seems to be trying to pull off the vocal, complete with "I'll be loving you, loving you" chorus. Any chord Cropper played on any Booker T. & the MG's album is better than this entire album -- a realization that, although highly complimentery to the genius of Steve Cropper, is of little help when it comes to concieving just how he could have made a better solo album.

Biography
by Cub Koda (AllMusic)
Probably the best-known soul guitarist in the world, Steve Cropper came to prominence in the early '60s, first with the Mar-Keys ("Last Night"), then as a founding member of Booker T. & the MG's. A major figure in the Southern soul movement of the '60s, Cropper made his mark not only as a player and arranger (most notably on classic sides by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett) but as a songwriter as well, co-writing the classic "In the Midnight Hour." After the breakup of the MG's, Cropper spent most of the '70s producing Jeff Beck and Mitch Ryder, among others. In the '80s, he rode the classic Stax sound (which he helped shape) back to popularity with a new audience when actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd tapped him for service in the Blues Brothers, a Saturday Night Live skit that stretched into several albums and a movie. Cropper remained in demand as a session man, producer, and collaborator into the new century, although very little appeared under his actual name as a recording artist. That changed in 2008 with the release of the affirming Nudge It Up a Notch, a project recorded with former Rascals frontman Felix Cavaliere and tracked at Jon Tiven's Hormone Studio in Nashville, on the revitalized Stax Records imprint. A second collaboration between Cropper and Cavaliere, Midnight Flyer, appeared in 2010. In 2011, Cropper released Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales on 429 Records. The concept album was an all-star celebration and acknowledgment of the influence of seminal soul guitarist Lowman “Pete” Pauling and his mid-'50s to early-'60s group the “5” Royales on his playing. Co-produced with Tiven, some of Dedicated's guests included, B.B. King, Brian May, Steve Winwood, John Popper, Bettye LaVette, Lucinda Williams, Sharon Jones, Shemekia Copeland, Delbert McClinton, Willie Jones, Buddy Miller, and 21-year-old Louisiana singer/songwriter Dylan LeBlanc.

OFFICIAL SITE

6988 - STEVE CROPPER - With A Little Help From My Friends (1971)

STEVE CROPPER
''WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS''
1971
44:46

1 /Crop Dustin'
Steve Cropper / Buddy Miles /2:58
2 /Land of 1000 Dances
Fats Domino / Chris Kenner /5:30
3 /99 1/2
Steve Cropper / Eddie Floyd / Wilson Pickett /3:20
4 /Boo-Ga-Loo Down Broadway
Jesse James /4:28
5 /Funky Broadway
Arlester "Dyke" Christian /4:49
6 /With a Little Help from My Friends
John Lennon / Paul McCartney /5:31
7 /Oh, Pretty Woman
A.C. Williams /3:32
8 /I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water
Eddie Miller /3:10
9 /The Way I Feel Tonight
Steve Cropper /3:00
10 /In the Midnight Hour
Steve Cropper / Wilson Pickett /3:36
11 /Rattlesnake
Steve Cropper / Wilson Pickett /4:52

Review
by Cub Koda (AllMusic)
After years of being a team player, Steve Cropper got to make a solo album for the label he helped put on the map, Stax Records (actually their Volt subsidiary). As you might figure, it turned out as an instrumental soul album, and a darn good one, too. It's a bona fide Telecaster-soaked dance workout, with Cropper turning in signature versions of "Land of a Thousand Dances," "99 1/2," (which features a particularly nasty period fuzz guitar), "Funky Broadway," "Boo-Ga-Loo Down Broadway," "In the Midnight Hour," and original instrumentals like "Crop Dustin'" and the closer "Rattlesnake." A solid and soulful little side project that holds up quite well years later.

Biography
by Cub Koda (AllMusic)
Probably the best-known soul guitarist in the world, Steve Cropper came to prominence in the early '60s, first with the Mar-Keys ("Last Night"), then as a founding member of Booker T. & the MG's. A major figure in the Southern soul movement of the '60s, Cropper made his mark not only as a player and arranger (most notably on classic sides by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett) but as a songwriter as well, co-writing the classic "In the Midnight Hour." After the breakup of the MG's, Cropper spent most of the '70s producing Jeff Beck and Mitch Ryder, among others. In the '80s, he rode the classic Stax sound (which he helped shape) back to popularity with a new audience when actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd tapped him for service in the Blues Brothers, a Saturday Night Live skit that stretched into several albums and a movie. Cropper remained in demand as a session man, producer, and collaborator into the new century, although very little appeared under his actual name as a recording artist. That changed in 2008 with the release of the affirming Nudge It Up a Notch, a project recorded with former Rascals frontman Felix Cavaliere and tracked at Jon Tiven's Hormone Studio in Nashville, on the revitalized Stax Records imprint. A second collaboration between Cropper and Cavaliere, Midnight Flyer, appeared in 2010. In 2011, Cropper released Dedicated: A Salute to the 5 Royales on 429 Records. The concept album was an all-star celebration and acknowledgment of the influence of seminal soul guitarist Lowman “Pete” Pauling and his mid-'50s to early-'60s group the “5” Royales on his playing. Co-produced with Tiven, some of Dedicated's guests included, B.B. King, Brian May, Steve Winwood, John Popper, Bettye LaVette, Lucinda Williams, Sharon Jones, Shemekia Copeland, Delbert McClinton, Willie Jones, Buddy Miller, and 21-year-old Louisiana singer/songwriter Dylan LeBlanc.

OFFICIAL SITE