Guitarist Steve Cropper has admitted that even forty years after Otis Redding's death, he still thinks about his time with the legendary singer.
Cropper, who was part of the Stax house band in Memphis recently said in an interview with Reuters that "the actual physical memory runs through my mind all the time," in reference to his first meeting with the legend.Redding had pestered (Booker T and the MGs) drummer Al Jackson to listen to him audition and right away he was signed up when he played 'These Arms Of Mine'.
He also talked about Redding's death in 1967. "When we heard about it, we were between planes in Indianapolis. We were sitting on an icy runway trying to get off the ground,"
"It was icy that morning, the whole of middle America was iced in, David [Porter] came back and I swear to God he was as white as that piece of paper right there."
Steve Cropper was recently given a Lifetime Achievement Grammy for his contribution to music. He has played guitar on sessions with Wilson Pickett, Sam and Dave, Otis Redding and was a member of Booker T and the MGs, who's biggest hit was the instantly recognizable 'Green Onions'.
In 1980, when soul music had hit a lull after it had been crushed by disco and p-funk, Cropper, together with former Booker T and the MGs muso Donald "Duck" Dunn, signed on for the Blues Brothers band and starred in the movie.
It was one of the first times a slick horn section synonymous with New York had been placed with a gritty Memphis sound.
Cropper currently lives in Nashville, TN.
