A perfectly crafted hit record. Sadly, I don't think there is a place for master players and producers in the current pop music paradigm. What would Steve Cropper do if he was starting out today? Something else, and it would be special, but would we know?
[1] Well, its not as if Steve Cropper is actually THAT famous now, and he was near-obscure during his heyday. Yes, he wrote & played on huge hit records, but most people listening to the radio and their 45s didn't know who that guitar player was, or that he'd co-written the song. Cropper is a big name to people in the know, but he's not Mick Jagger or Paul McCartney or Stevie Wonder. That is to say, drop his name around most people and they don't know it. So Steve would be making records that sold far less and got less airplay, but I bet his own individual level of fame and recognition might not be that different.
Which is a shame...because to me he's one of the great heroes of American music.
[2] I wasn't referring to fame or mega-success. Just a place to do your craft, make a living, and be appreciated by a critical mass to sustain for a period of significance.
[3] I getcha...but I suspect he would find that, as there are great artists making great music now. It's just not reaching nearly as many people. Pop music has been Balkanized and music radio just about ruined.
That was the beauty of the era Cropper was creating hits in. I once saw Elvis Costello talking about the incredible richness and diversity of the top 40 in the mid 60s; how you could hear Dionne Warwick sing a Burt Bacharach/Hal David song, a Motown hit, the Rolling Stones, a Stax/Volt single and Bob Dylan all within a 20 minute span on the same station.
Now, you gotta know what you're looking for. You need directions or a nudge from a friend.
A perfectly crafted hit record. Sadly, I don't think there is a place for master players and producers in the current pop music paradigm. What would Steve Cropper do if he was starting out today? Something else, and it would be special, but would we know?
[1] Well, its not as if Steve Cropper is actually THAT famous now, and he was near-obscure during his heyday. Yes, he wrote & played on huge hit records, but most people listening to the radio and their 45s didn't know who that guitar player was, or that he'd co-written the song. Cropper is a big name to people in the know, but he's not Mick Jagger or Paul McCartney or Stevie Wonder. That is to say, drop his name around most people and they don't know it. So Steve would be making records that sold far less and got less airplay, but I bet his own individual level of fame and recognition might not be that different.
Which is a shame...because to me he's one of the great heroes of American music.
[2] I wasn't referring to fame or mega-success. Just a place to do your craft, make a living, and be appreciated by a critical mass to sustain for a period of significance.
[3] I getcha...but I suspect he would find that, as there are great artists making great music now. It's just not reaching nearly as many people. Pop music has been Balkanized and music radio just about ruined.
That was the beauty of the era Cropper was creating hits in. I once saw Elvis Costello talking about the incredible richness and diversity of the top 40 in the mid 60s; how you could hear Dionne Warwick sing a Burt Bacharach/Hal David song, a Motown hit, the Rolling Stones, a Stax/Volt single and Bob Dylan all within a 20 minute span on the same station.
Now, you gotta know what you're looking for. You need directions or a nudge from a friend.