One cannot talk of the birth of Soul Music without mentioning Stax Records and one cannot talk of Stax Records without mentioning Booker T, and the MG's;  and just as importantly one cannot talk of Booker T, and the MG's without paying due regard to rhythm guitarist extraordinaire Steve Cropper.

As a guitarist, A & R man, engineer, producer, song-writing partner of Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd and a dozen others and founding member of  both Booker T. and the MG's and The Mar-Keys, Cropper was literally involved in virtually every record issued by Stax from the autumn of 1961 through year end 1970. Such credits assure Cropper of an honoured place in the soul music hall of fame. As co-writer of (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay, Knock on Wood and In the Midnight Hour, Cropper is in line for immortality.

Booker T. & the MG's were born when Cropper, keyboardist Booker T. Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg were hired for a session in late summer 1962 at the then-fledgling Stax Records. When the rockabilly singer the quartet was ostensibly hired to accompany finished early, the four musicians whiled away their time jamming on a blues. Unbeknownst to any of them, Stax co-owner and erstwhile engineer Jim Stewart turned on a tape deck. Satisfied with the results, the four newly constituted band members worked up a second side which came to be known as Green Onions. A dynasty had begun.

Green Onions became an instrumental anthem for both black and white America, peaking at number One on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues charts and number three on the pop charts. Mo' Onions  soon followed, as did Soul Dressing, Boot-leg, My Sweet Potato, Hip Hug-Her, Groovin', Soul Limbo, Hang 'Em High, Time Is Tight, Mrs. Robinson, Something  and Melting Pot

Cropper left the Stax label in the autumn of 1970 to start up, with Jerry Williams and former Mar- Key Ronnie Stoots, the Trans-Maximus (TMI) recording studio and record company. In the first half of the 1970s, Cropper produced and played on sessions recorded at TMI or Ardent by the likes of Poco, Jeff Beck, Jose Feliciano, Yvonne Elliman, John Prine, Dreams and Tower Of Power. Later production successes included Tower of Power's 1978 LP We Came To Play and John Cougar's 1980 release Nothing Matters And What If It Did

In 1977, with Stax alumni Willie Hall filling in for the late Al Jackson, the MG's briefly reunited to record the Universal Language LP for Asylum. Shortly thereafter Cropper and Dunn joined Levon Helm's RCO All-Stars and then received a call from John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd which resulted in the formation of the Blues Brothers Band. The original incarnation of the Blues Brothers recorded three albums, including the number one Briefcase Full of BIues, and made a hilarious eponymously-titled feature film: When the Blues Brothers ceased active duty after the passing of Belushi in the spring of 1982, Cropper continued to be in constant demand as both a producer and session guitarist. He also found time to resume his solo career, recording two albums for MCA in 1980 ( Playin' My Thang) and 1982 ( Night After Night). His first solo album, With a Little Help From My Friends, had been recorded for Stax back in 1969.

Perhaps the ultimate testament to Steve Cropper's immense contribution to popular music over the last four decades was his ranking by England's Mojo Magazine in 1996 as the number two guitarist of all-time (Jimi Hendrix was number one). And in 2003, Rolling Stone magazine readers voted him among the Top 100 Guitar Players of all-time.

Cropper also continues to be an in-demand musician and producer. His string-bending talents being most recently showcased on the latest Paul Simon, Ringo Starr, Buddy Guy (Heavy Love) and Johnny Lang (Wander This World) albums. He also contributed his talents to efforts from Elton John and Steppenwolf. 

In the producer's chair, he has most recently piloted Joe Louis Walker's last three albums: 1995's The Blues Of The Month Club, 1997's Great Guitars and Preacher And The President (Verve).

As impressive as that is, Steve Cropper's legacy as a solo artist, member of Booker T. and the MG's and the Blues Brothers, session musician and producer is far from complete.