Steve Cropper: The ClassicRockHistory.com Interview

Feature Photo: “Courtesy of Steve Cropper”

At 83-years-old, Steve Cropper’s effervescent personality is only matched by the smoothness of his sweet, Southern drawl. And, of course, his blues-laden licks that he’s scattered across dozens of records for over fifty years.

Indeed, there’s a reason that Cropper, a burly yet unassuming man born on a farm in Dora, Missouri, before spending his formative years in Memphis, Tennessee, is known as “The Colonel.” Iconic records recorded in support of Booker T. & the M.G.’s, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, John Prine, Rod Stewart, and Roy Orbison, to name more than a few, tell the story of a musician in total command, and always in demand.

With his beloved yet battered ’60s Fender Telecaster in hand, Cropper blazed a trail as a go-to session man for Stax and Atlantic Records via his inherent blues sensibility without ever really thinking about it, meaning it came naturally to him. “The blues ain’t nothing but a good man feeling down and out,” Cropper tells ClassicRockHistory.com. “Everybody says, ‘Oh, man, we’ve overdone the blues,’ but man, the blues don’t discriminate. Either way, if it’s black or white, it doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to playing blues.”

Cropper has a point, which is yet another reason why his “Colonel” moniker looms large. Despite his keep-it-simple mindset and low-key nature, Cropper’s resume has bloated to titanous levels as the decades have rolled on.

It’s so cavernous that it’s hard for him to pin down the definitive moments of each session. But what he does remember is how they made him feel, with one notable example being Sam & Dave’s famous 1967 cut, Soul Man. “I’ll tell you what, that session was work,” Cropper says. “At that time, I couldn’t get up and dance, and the idea was to make a song that people would want to dance to.”

He adds: “I couldn’t get up and dance, and I was worried if I followed my legs, it would be a catastrophe rather than a success. [laughs] So, I just played dead with my legs, and when it came time to record, I recorded a rhythm that always had people dashing around. I couldn’t dance or sprint, but with my guitar, I recorded something that did.”

If that’s not a plain and simple example of Cropper’s vibe, one can’t possibly know what is. It might not work for some, but looking at Cropper’s discography, which also includes a host of solo efforts, with the last being 2021’s Fire it Up, it still works damn well for him.

All these years later, despite success beyond his wildest dreams, not all that much has changed for Steve Cropper. Though he’s not quite as busy as he used to be, for someone approaching their mid-80s, Cropper’s day-to-day is downright bustling. But when he does have downtime, he still strolls into his garage, grabs his beloved Tele, and plugs directly into his well-worn Fender Tweed.

Wistful, Cropper looks back on all he’s done before breaking into laughter when asked to reveal which session means the most to him. “Probably whatever one I’m playing on,” he smirks. “It’s like, what’s your favorite song you’re listening to now? Or who’s your favorite soccer player in the world?”

He continues, “So, what’s my favorite song? Well, it’s the one that I’m writing. That’s my one answer. But really, I don’t have a favorite. I really don’t. I love sessions where you can run it back, and it’s great. Sometimes, you’ll make a new record, and it’s just incredible. That’s just how it is.”

One of your more famous sessions resulted in Booker T. & the M.G.’s song Green Onions. What’s the story behind that?

Well, that’s a good story! I was just trying to keep my chops up, and I went in on a Sunday to record something for Booker. He never showed up until later, and when he did, he showed up half-drunk because he’d been out all night long. [laughs] But as far as the song, man, we were just trying to keep our chops up, and we recorded it.

Did you know you’d stumbled upon something great?

The engineer listened back, and very quickly, he was dumbfounded. We were like, ‘You kidding?’ I just played some riffs that Booker might like and that I thought might be good, and before you knew it, we had Green Onions. I remember after the last take, we said, ‘That’s the one right there,’ but we didn’t realize that it would do so well. The Stax label had just come out, and we thought it might do awful, but it was a hit, and our phones started lighting up.

And how about the session for Eddie Floyd’s Knock on Wood? What gear did you use?

I don’t know… for Knock on Wood, I might have gone to the Telecaster. And that would have been the same guitar that I used on Green Onions. And I think I either used my old Gibson amp or a Fender Harvard Tweed from the ’50s. If I didn’t use the Gibson, I woulda went with the Harvad because it’s the next best thing. But I think I did probably go to the Telecaster; I used it quite a bit back then. And I used those amps; they were there all the time, and I’d had them since I was in my high school band.

Can you recall recording (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay with Otis Redding?

That was a good deal for me because I played both acoustic and electric guitar. The acoustic was a [Gibson] B-25, and the electric was one of my Telecasters, I guess. And for the overdubs, I guess I pulled out the Telecaster again. But as far as the actual session, I don’t remember all the much; it was a long time ago!

Do any moments stick out from the session where you recorded Under a Bad Sign with Albert King?

Well, that was interesting because Albert was deaf and dumb; he couldn’t read and write. I didn’t know that, and eventually someone told me, ‘Hey, you know that guy can’t read or right, don’t you?’ I said, ‘No,’ and we ended up staying there all night long to record most of the songs because if you changed one note of the song, Albert would have to relearn all that. And the lyrics were actually written by William Bell, and the music was by Booker T. I was really proud when that song was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

What gear did you use during the session?

For that one, I used my Fender Vibro Champ. I remember wanting to cry because I needed an amp that was warm, but louder. [laughs] And to this day, I still have one of those ’60s Vibro Champs in my garage. Everybody loves it. You just plug into it, and it’s always ready to go until you turn it off.

How did you end up working on John Lennon’s Rock’ n’ Roll album

I have no idea. [laughs] I know I did it, but I don’t know how or why I did. I remember I got there, and I said, ‘What the hell is going on here?’ But it didn’t matter; I went in, and I played guitar, and it was great. And John was a gentleman, and a great guy.

Did he give you any direction as far as what he wanted?

Between recording Side One and Side Two, John Lennon grabbed me, pulled me into the hall outside of A&M [Studios], and said, ‘Wow. You don’t really plan?” I said, ‘No, not really.’ He was working with this producer, Phil Spector, and it was interesting. But what can I say? When John Lennon calls you and says, ‘Can you play on my record,’ what do you do? You play. [laughs]. I don’t know… I had played on Ringo Starr’s album Ringo a couple of years before, so maybe that’s how he had heard of me.

Speaking of Ringo’s album, was your gear pretty static between that and John’s record?

For John’s record, I used one of my Teles, and I’m sure I did on Ringo’s, too. That was just the guitar that felt best. And I don’t know… John would say, ‘I’ve had this lick in my head for a while. Can you play that?’ I’d take his lick home to my back to hear, work on it, and that’s what we did.

With Ringo, was your approach much different than with John?

No, not really. We’d work on the song, listen to it for a few minutes, and I’d just be grooving. Basically, the idea was to just track what sounded right. But during those sessions, the producer, Richard Perry was my friend because he would really help me get the best guitar sound and get the mix right. He’s been my friend forever and ever; I’ve watched him do more drugs than I ever heard about again. [laughs]

Can you recall your sessions alongside John Prine for Common Sense?

Yes, but I have no idea how I ended up there! [laughs] My guess is Atlantic [Records] instigated that one. But one time, I saw an interview with John, and they asked him about that record, and he said it was one of the ones he was most satisfied with, so I was proud of that. I was glad to have that credit on my resume.

You worked on Rod Stewart’s Foot Loose & Fancy Free. What was that like?

Well, I played on that album, but maybe not all of it. I played on every track of Atlantic Crossing; that was the first album I did with Rod. But with Rod, it was sort of country, but not all the way. I was kind of trying to sound country, but also rock, so I had to come up with some almost new rules for myself. But in the end, I played like myself, which was the blues.

So, that’s the sensibility you ultimately applied to Rod’s music?

Yeah, I guess I’d say so. But Rod came later on in the game for me, so I’d already been doing that for a long time. I’d have to say that Atlantic Crossing is my favorite album I did with Rod. I actually ran into him after not seeing him for years, and we ended up emailing back and forth. Rod is one of the best I’ve ever worked with and one of the best there is.

You were present for Roy Orbison’s Mystery Girl sessions. That must have been interesting.

It was. Oh, man, that was a good one. I know I played on it, but I don’t know what song I played on [Cropper played on track eight, The Only One]. But I do remember seeing Roy in the hallway, and he stopped to talk to me. He said, ‘I just want to tell you, man, that was great.’ And I probably brought one of my Telecasters to the session; I almost always use one of my Teles.

Your Telecasters have come up several times now. Do you remember how you initially came upon the Fender Telecaster and why you stuck with it?

Well, I just fell in love with it. Let’s put it that way. I just always played that guitar a lot when I was on the road or in the studio. My main Tele is from ’66 or ’67, and I’ve worn the finish off it pretty good. [laughs] I don’t think I paid more than $100 for that guitar or any guitar in my life because I’ve had some of them for so long. When you find a guitar that you know is good and it feels good, you keep using it because it is good.

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