“The world didn’t need another BB King, Chet Atkins or Les Paul”: Why Steve Cropper wanted to be his own guitar player
Steve Cropper has done pretty well for himself in the world of the guitar, and perhaps the secret to his success was his drive to be unique.
Cropper began his music career in the 1960s, when he began playing in Booker T. & the M.G.’s as they served as the house band for Stax Records. He has also released a number of solo albums, with his latest – Friendlytown, made with his Midnight Hour band – landing back in August 2024.
READ MORE: “I feel so removed from it”: Steve Cropper admits he only plays Green Onions at shows to keep fans happy
Cropper has recorded with artists such as Queen’s Brian May, John Lennon, and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. He even co-composed (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay with Otis Redding, which won the first Grammy Award for Best R&B Song in 1969, and the famed instrumental song, Green Onions.
In the latest and final print edition of Total Guitar, Cropper explains that when starting out as a musician, he didn’t want to be the ‘next’ anybody, he just wanted to be the first Steve Cropper. Of his first guitar, he recalls: “It was a Country Western, a big round-hole, flat-top guitar. I’d sit on the porch waiting for that guitar to be delivered every weekend, waiting for the truck to turn the corner. And then it finally arrived.
“The strings were loose and the bridge needed fixing, and they wanted a 25 cent delivery fee – 25 cents. My mom said, ‘I’ll lend you that quarter if you become a guitar player’. She’s not around to defend herself anymore, but I think I did!”
He later adds, “In the early days when I was playing guitar, I knew the world didn’t need another B.B. King, Chet Atkins or Les Paul. So, what are you gonna do now? I thought, ‘Just be yourself and do your thing. Don’t go changing.’”
In a recent interview with Guitar World, Cropper also admitted that he always felt his playing “sucked”, but that its simplicity was what worked: “My playing has always sucked, but it sells, because I keep it simple, I guess. I’m not a guitar player, I never took the time.
“I use it as a tool. I couldn’t afford to hire another guitarist on a lot of Stax records, so I learned to play rhythm and lead at the same time so when I was soloing the rhythm wouldn’t drop out.”
Steve Cropper’s latest record, Friendlytown, is available to buy or stream now.
The post “The world didn’t need another BB King, Chet Atkins or Les Paul”: Why Steve Cropper wanted to be his own guitar player appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
