When I was a WNIJ blues host, I had the privilege of interviewing guitar great, Steve Cropper. Although his name may not be familiar to all, I bet some of his grooves are. And they live on after his passing last month.
At age 9 Cropper and his family moved from Missouri to Memphis, and this burgeoning musician would become truly instrumental to the sound of that city - a musical potion rising from the surrounding Delta communities with their African roots, and creating something new and old.
I’m from Memphis and have been trying to describe that sound for a long while but it keeps slipping out of reach. It’s off the beat we were used to at the time, lean and funky and surprisingly smooth. So yes, it’s soul, rhythm and blues, and… something that can make me cry and dance, simultaneously.
In the 1960’s Steve Cropper was part of the legendary Stax studio band that manifested this Memphis groove, Booker T and the MGs. He was a guitarist’s guitarist, a virtuoso, and also a writer, engineer and producer.
I was really nervous about interviewing him in 2017. But as soon as we met, he made me feel like we’d always known each other with his graciousness.
I remember him with his open smile, guitar case slung over his shoulder and know he’s still playing something soulful on our airwaves.
I’m Paula Garrett and that’s my perspective.
Enjoy some classic Cropper here.
