THE GO-GETTER
Ask serious music fans to name a tasteful guitarist, and inevitably Steve Cropper’s name is going to come up. As a studio musician, Cropper’s work is part of the center of gravity of innumerable recordings that came out of Memphis’ Stax Records in the 1960s. With Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Cropper was responsible for some of the era’s most enduring instrumental music, from 1962’s “Green Onions” to the quartet’s immortal Beatles tribute McLemore Avenue to many other singles and albums. Now in 2021, he returns with what he likes to think of as his “second” solo album, Fire It Up.
More often than not, Steve Cropper has applied his talents to collaborative works: his co-writes with Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd and others helped gain those artists the fame they richly deserved. His songwriting prowess and memorable guitar licks put Memphis at the forefront of soul and pop. And the unassuming guitarist has long been a key part of the Blues Brothers Band, bringing classic sounds to audiences across the globe.
Less well known, though, are the clutch of albums Cropper has made under his own name. Although he was a well-established artist by the very early ’60s — and a household name among musicians — Cropper didn’t step out for a solo turn until 1969’s , an album on Volt (Stax’s “sister” label). That well-received set of reinterpretations of popular songs he helped create was joined that same year by , a guitar slinger’s triple-headliner extravaganza featuring Cropper alongside label mates Albert King (bringing the
