Steven Lee Cropper (October 21, 1941 – December 3, 2025), sometimes known as "The Colonel", was an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. You may not know his name, but you know his sound, from Dock on the Bay (which he co-wrote with Otis Redding), Soul Man, In the Midnight Hour, Knock on Wood and Ive Been Loving You Too Long.
Cropper was born in Dora, Missouri on October 21, 1941.[6] His family moved to Memphis at age 9. In Memphis, he was exposed to black church music, which had an impact on him musically.[7] By the time he was 14, he had begun to play guitar. Within a few year, he formed a dance band with guitarist Charlie Freeman called the Royal Spades. This band eventually became the Mar-Keys.[8] who in 1961 had a hit single, "Last Night". He and his band toured the Chitlin circuit behind their hit. While The Beales were trying to decide whether to stick at it and before The Rolling Stones even existed, the Mar-Keys played The Regal Theatre in Chicago (Stanley Booth, Rhythm Oil).
Cropper came off the road to play in the STAX Records* house band. He played on numerous hits, including the aforementioned Knock on Wood, Midnight Hour and Soul Man. He also collaborated with Otis Redding on Dock of the Bay and Ive been loving you too Long and with Eddie Floyd (Knock on Wood). He had hits in his own right with the Staxx house band, Booker T and the MGs on such numbers as Green Onions and Time is Tight. ‘
Cropper developed a distinctive guitar style synthesized out of black r&b and gospel. It involves the use of 3 strong chord arpegios, double stop runs and allusions to the bass line,
Said Charles Murray “It favors trills and hammer-ons, and is both delicate and punchy. It is a style costum made for accompanying vocalists”. What it doesn’t feature the kind of bent horn-line notes (what Muddy Water called the string-sqeeze sound), favored by post-BB King guitar men. Jimi Hendrix, when he played rhythm, was more in the style favored by Cropper. Part of Cropper’s signature sound was a Fender Telecaster played through a Fender Amp.
Cropper left STAX in the 1970s and continued his career as a session man and producer, laying his economic but soulful licks on records by Rod Stewart, Ringo Star, Elton John, and more dubiously, the neo-blackface Blues Brothers.
Let’s let the mans music speak for itself.
Last Night
Green Onions
Soul Man
Dock of the Bay
Rest in power.
*Edit, A word about STAX Records, The label as founded by silbings Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton (hence St-Ax). Their original intent was to record country and rockabilly acts, but successes with Rufus and Carla Thomas, and urging from producer Chips Moman (“Dark End of the Street”) created momentum in that direction. They set up shop in a former movie theater. A distribution deal with Atlantic Records (1965) introduced their records to a natioanal market. In the Midnight Hour, Soul Man and other hits soon followed. White producers making records with black musicians was not unusual, but black and white musicians playing together in the house brand was less common. Likewise was the production team of Issac Hays and David Porter or business manager Al Bell, who became a co-ownwer of STAX, New South indeed.
