Steve Cropper


  • Diving into Disco, Part 4 โ€” Funk and Memphis Soul

    Born in Barnwell, South Carolina, James Brown had to hustle his way up and out from extreme poverty. Partly raised by a mostly-absent mother and abusive father-husband, young Brown bore the brunt of a rough, tough childhood, shining shoes for less than a dime, and living with one of his aunts in a brothel; his…

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  • Diving into Disco, Part 3 โ€” The Motown years

    Blues migrated towards the urban centres, along its way electrifying guitars and gigs, as black musicians fleeing southern racial segregation strived for more economic opportunities and a better life in places like Detroit, Chicago, and New York City.

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  • Groovinโ€™ with Booker T. & the M.G.โ€™sโ€”beginning of an homage

    I was born in the โ€˜60s, a decade when records and radio waves were in perfect sync. You could hear every kind of music, at any time of day or night; all you had to do was cruise up and down the AM dial. We had a station in Chicagoโ€”WVONโ€”that played great urban music. My…

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