@synthmans: I'd been playing piano (again, mostly self-taught) for a few years before this. And we had a little toy electric air-organ as kids. Certainly helped. I also just seem to have some natural talent for it.

If Chuck Berry forever defined the sound of rock 'n' roll with his guitar and Chet Atkins did the same for country, then we could say that soul guitar has Steve Cropper's DNA all over it.

With his role as main session guitarist, composer and producer at Stax Records, his sound has been a fundamental part of one of the most important labels of all time. With his economic and recognizable style with country and R&B influences, he is one of the fundamental elements behind great classics by Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Eddie Floyd, Otis Redding and his own group, Booker T. & The M.G.'s.

As the teenage guitarist of the band the Mar-Keys, he was instrumental in putting the young label on the map with the smash hit Last Night. Later, as a member of the legendary house band Booker T. & The M.G.'s, he provided some of the most enduring soul riffs of all time, backing artists such as Sam & Dave, the Staple Singers, and Wilson Pickett, while also influencing fellow guitar greats like Jimi Hendrix and Keith Richards along the way. As a songwriter, he helped to pen some of Stax's most quintessential hits, including Eddie Floyd’s Knock on Wood and Otis Redding’s (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay. From the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970, Steve Cropper was involved in virtually every record issued by Stax Records. In the late 1970s, Steve joined John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as a member of the Blues Brothers Band, an act that was born out of a popular Saturday Night Live skit.

Cropper continues to be an in-demand musician and producer. In 2021, he released Fire It Up, which was nominated for a Grammy in the category of best contemporary blues album.

Cropped joined us in the Gumbo Kitchen for a conversation.

Interview: Steve Cropper (2022)

Dont Wanna

Instrumental cover of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend", highlighting the Valente electric piano, and featuring the alto recorder playing of Madeleine Jane. 

Simon Beck - Valente electric piano, analogue drum machine and synth-percussion programming, double bass and Mellotron strings.
Madeleine Jane - alto recorder

The piano was played through a Sonicake 5th Dimension pedal for tremolo, with no additional processing.

You've Got a Friend - featuring Madeleine Jane

Rules For Thee (But Not for Me)

This is the very first thing I ever recorded. (Well, before this there was a few years of goofing around with cassette decks. But that was all vocal "comedy".)

Early 1983, I'm 14 or or maybe just 15 years old here. I just bought my first synth, a used Realistic/Moog MG-1 Concertmate MG-1 which had RCA inputs for letting you play along to your stereo. That was all the mixer it took to do this tape-to-tape, sound-on-sound recording (hence the incredibly high noise floor). Every instrument is the MG-1. Please forgive my playing, it's literally my first day. (I was already a self-taught piano player, so not my first day on a keyboard. But close!)

Farewell Radio Shack!

Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics cover) - My FIRST recording!

Anything 4U

recorded at Tpot Studio

robinwynnevans@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tpot-Studio/158289193540?sk=timeline


THE FERAL CHILDREN"children"

Home Sweet Home

Charlie D

iPad Musician Free App Challenge Entry
Apps Used:
- Garage Band (Free)
- Synth One (Free)
- Nebulizer (Free)
- AudioBus 3
- AudioShare

Found a wonderful patch in Synth One by Red Sky Lullaby called Ethereal Modulator Pad. That was the inspiration for the track. I ran it through Nebulizer to give it a little more warble and I knew I wanted to juxtapose it with guitar. I created two acoustic guitar tracks in Garage Band, then added an Alchemy pad a Bass, and some drums via the Smart Drums feature. I came up with two complimentary chord progressions, duplicated the tracks, and then created a build over which I played the Ethereal Modulator Pad for the entire track. I exported the track to AudioShare, trimmed it to under two minutes and put a fade out on the track.

The Adventure

Creator of world-class musical instrument and effect software plug-ins http://www.admiralquality.com

Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics cover) - My FIRST recording!

Admiral Quality

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