Interview a few star guitarists and you’ll soon hear the old lie: “I just play for the song (man)”. But Steve Cropper really did. Immune to egomania and content to exist at the edge of the spotlight, the Missouri-born rhythm man – who died at the age of 84 on December 3, 2025 – always weighed and measured his guitar parts to serve that day’s material, his metronomic yet soulful right hand often cited among the best in the game.
As the cornerstone of Stax Records’ house band, Booker T & The MG’s – not to mention a producer, engineer and co-writer of standards such as Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay, Wilson Pickett’s In The Midnight Hour and Eddie Floyd’s Knock On Wood – Cropper was the engine room behind soul and R&B’s golden age.
