“Gonna be a long night (gonna be all right)
It’s gonna be all right on the night shift (on the night shift)
You found another home
I know you’re not alone on the night shift.”
– lyrics from a 1985 song by The Commodores about some of the great soul artists who left us
A Few Words of Tribute to Steve Cropper from Doug Draper, a long-time fan
Posted December 5th, 2025 on Niagara At Large
Soul music guitarist, composer and producer Steve Cropper
One by one, and far more frequently by the year, the great music artists from the golden age of Rock, Folk, Soul, and R&B are passing on to that great stage in sky where you want to believe they can all go on making those oh so sweet sounds on the night shift.
The latest great one to pass on to that stage is Steve Cropper, soulful guitarist extraordinaire who was a member of Booker T. and the M.G.’s and who backed up everyone from Stax and Atlantic Records hit makers Wilson Picket, Sam & Dave and Otis Redding, just to name a few, to the hugely popular R & B band The Blues Brothers, featuring Saturday Night Live regulars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, in the late 1970s.
Steve Cropper, recording with Felix Cavaliere of Rascals fame (left) in 2010. They made two great albums together.
Steve Cropper, who is on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of top 100 guitarists of all time and is responsible for arguably responsible for one of the catchiest, most memorable introductory guitar riffs (for the song ‘Soul Man” recorded over the last 60 years, went on to record with many other artists right up to a few years ago, including one of my favourites, Rascals lead singer and keyboard player Felix Cavaliere of ‘Good Lovin’, ‘Groovin’ and ‘People Got To Be Free’ fame.
Here he is performing on guitar live with Booker T. and the M.G.s on a song called ‘Time Is Tight’ that they had a hit with in the late 1960s, with members of the group Creedence Clearwater Rival looking on from backstage in a video you can watch by clicking on the screen immediately below –
Last but not least, here is Steve Cropper playing guitar with the The Blues Brothers on Saturday Night Live in the late 1970s. The song is ‘Soul Man’. Watch on the screen below and dig that opening guitar riff –
-
R.I.P Steve Cropper, from Doug Draper at Niagara At Large
A Quick P.S. – At least some of you may know that Steve Cropper co-wrote and recorded the classic hit song ‘(Sittin On) The Dock Of The Bay’ with Otis Redding in 1967. It was recorded just a few days before Redding lost in his life in an airplane crash and the song went on to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts and it remains one of those that continues to get airplay, somewhere around the world, every hour of the day.
NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below and by sharing the Niagara At Large site at www.niagaraatlarge.com with all of your friends and associates.
“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders
Niagara At Large 