Thank you Steve Cropper, this was one of the first songs I ever learned how to play on the guitar, a true masterpiece that Steve wrote and produced with the Big O. Memphis music is everything, all roads lead to Stax and it’s colonel, long may it reign... Maton Guitars Stax Records | Scott Sharrard

Steven Lee Cropper (October 21, 1941 – December 3, 2025), widely known as “The Colonel,” was an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. As the guitarist for the Stax Records house band Booker T. & the M.G.’s, he helped shape the sound of artists like Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Carla and Rufus Thomas, and Johnnie Taylor, often producing their sessions as well. He later joined the Blues Brothers band, further cementing his influence on American music. Rolling Stone listed him

Stax Icon Steve Cropper Remembered As "Green Onions" Guitar Genius Dies at 84 Steve Cropper, the iconic guitarist of Booker T. & the M.G.'s and Blues Brothers, passed away at 84 in Nashville after a recent fall at a rehab center. A Stax Records pioneer from age 20, he crafted timeless riffs on "Green Onions," which topped R&B charts, and hits like Otis Redding's "The Dock of the Bay" and Sam & Dave's "Soul Man," where Sam Moore shouts "Play it, Steve!" As house band for the racially integrated S