12 Essential Steve Cropper Songs

Booker T.’s organ may take up a lot of space in this immortal instrumental, co-written by Cropper, but the loping rhythm part and spiky leads are the track’s backbone. The track, originally intended as a throwaway B-side, ended up as proof that Booker T and the MGs didn’t need a singer to record a hit. – B.H.

The famous intro to Pickett’s signature song came from Cropper noodling around on his guitar before a session in Memphis. “It seemed like every time that he sang lead on something, when he got down to the fadeout, he would go, oh, ‘wait till the midnight hour,’” Cropper told NPR. “I just took that right there and presented it to him with a little idea.”–J.B.

Cropper both played on and co-write this worried-about-love strut with Alabama soul singer Floyd. Cropper’s tight, economical playing again provides the bedrock. “Knock on Wood” also displays the muscular brawn of Cropper’s playing; he bares down on the chords of the song as if he’s chopping wood. -D.B.

In addition to playing guitar, Cropper co-wrote this iconic Pickett hit, which soon become an unofficial Stax anthem, at the Lorraine Motel with Eddie Floyd. The song was inspired by the Marvelettes’ “Beechwood 4-5789,” a recent hit. “How would it if we was to write a song that were all numbers?” Floyd remembered asking Cropper. The result would end up becoming a signature anthem of Memphis soul. —J.B.

“Play it, Steve!” From its ringing opening riff to the tight rhythm figure that glides under the verses to the lead counterpoint to the choruses, Cropper’s playing on “Soul Man” is an absolute masterclass in the art of R&B guitar.–B.H.

Right before his death, Redding was primed to musically branch out, and Cropper would again prove to be the perfect collaborator on Redding’s final work before the plane crash that took his life. The two not only co-wrote Redding’s folk-soul standard but Cropper also played the subtle, comforting lead behind Redding’s strums. As he discussed in a recent Stax doc, Cropper was also given the daunting task of finishing and prepping the song for release days after Redding’s death.–-D.B.

On one of the MGs’ later singles, Cropper’s tightly wound playing opens one of the MG’s’ biggest hits, and even when he switches to chords, Cropper never lets up. The extended version of the song also lets Cropper stretch out on a prickly, sprightly solo, which he wasn’t always afforded, and which also showcased the dynamics between Cropper’s guitar and Jones’ organ.–D.B.

Booker T and the MGs backed Taylor on the 1968 single that Taylor a star, and Cropper’s bedrock playing and high-pitched leads in the choruses show how much he brought to every major act on the Stax roster. Cropper would later revive the song during his stint with the Blues Brothers.–D.B.

This moving apology, written by Bell and Booker T. Jones, is a slow building tribute to a woman Bell clearly doesn’t deserve. Cropper’s understated playing highlights the tentativeness of Bell’s vocal, never taking center stage, but playing more wingman to Bell as he begs his way back into his liver’s good graces.–K.G.

Recorded by a Londoner in Muscle Shoals, “Tonight’s the Night” benefits greatly from Memphis man Steve Cropper’s swelling guitar textures (alongside Joe Walsh among others), giving cred to Rod’s seductive spiel. It was so seductive, in fact, it became Rod’s second Number One hit in the U.S.–K.G.

Big Star’s brooding cover of the Velvet Underground classic appears on their landmark album Third. The Memphis band asked local legend Cropper to play on the song and he delivered a stunning performance. Where Lou Reed played ahead of the beat on the original, Big Star lag back, allowing Cropper to find exquisite bluesy pentatonic textures in and around Reed’s sexual pathos.–K.G.

Nobody could command a minor key like Etta James, and with Steve Cropper’s moody playing on James’ rendition of “Damn Your Eyes,” she was in her element. The song is a powerhouse with each instrument playing off James’ soulful growl — the horns, the piano, and especially Cropper’s bluesy guitar — making the song a searing classic.–K.G.