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Rock Climbing: Steve Cropper

Jon Stewart, Guitarist, June 2010

GUITARIST, A&R MAN, engineer, producer, songwriter, promoter and founder member of Booker T & the MGs, Steve Cropper’s playing defines southern soul music.  Cropper listened to the Grand Ole Opry in his rural Missouri childhood, but after moving to Memphis as a pre-teen he fell under the spell of the gospel and R&B broadcast by the town’s black radio stations.  When his instinctive country style was infused with an economical syncopated feel, it created an unfussy relaxed approach that emphasised emotion rather than technique.

Total word count of piece: 654

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