Talk:Steve Cropper

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Contents 1 "They wrote sounds" 2 Origin of the Mar-Keys name 3 nickname 4 Technique/Equipment

[edit] "They wrote sounds"

"The MGs, as instrumental artists, worked because they wrote sounds."

Could the contributor who added the paragraph beginning with this sentence please elaborate? For example you could write:

The MGs, as instrumental artists, worked because they "wrote sounds," focusing on the texture and timbre of their songs instead of melody.

Of course, that example is built on an assumption that I can't support with the existing text; it's not entirely clear what "they wrote sounds" is supposed to mean. Thanks! - Cobra libre 18:27, Dec 10, 2004 (UTC)

I think this is worth expounding upon, too. I think this paragraph has the spark of an important idea about the MGs, and I'm pretty sure it could be written better, but I'm not sure if I know enough facts do it. Someone help! Sklero 06:41, 20 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Origin of the Mar-Keys name

The Mar-Keys was a play on the marquee outside of Stax (at the time, called Satellite Records). Cropper, ever astute, figured, "People 'round here don't speak French", hence the spelling.

Peter Guralnick's Sweet Soul Music gives the origin of the name "Mar-Keys" as a play on the word marquis, as many bands at that time based their names on the titles of nobility. Steve Cropper's remark "People 'round here don't speak French" makes much more sense in this context. Is there a source for the statement that the name of the band is a pun on the Stax marquee? - Cobra libre 16:20, Feb 5, 2005 (UTC)

I found this reference: [1], and added it to the article. I have no reference to Cropper's french remark, so I removed it from the article (it seems unimportant). Please avoid adding youtube videos as external links, these links are very likely to be broken in the near future. - Fbergo 16:37, 25 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] nickname

So does anyone know the origin of his nickname? -FZ 16:11, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Yes. According to Steve in an interview:

"We were on tour with Levon Helm and the RCO All-Stars, and a lot of people may not know that the nucleus of the RCO All Stars band and The Blues brothers are much and the same, cause it's the same horn players and there's also Duck Dunn and myself. And Willie Hall was also on that tour with us. But the guys walked in one day and they said "hey Cropper we got something for you", and they threw me a package and I opened it up, it was this t-shirt that had the epaulets on it, so from that day on they called me 'The Colonel', I guess cause I boss everybody around. I come by it naturally, I spent 7 years in ROTC bossin' everybody around and so I guess no exception, even though I wasn't the band leader but I'm always telling people that I wanna do this or I wanna do that. So they nicknamed me 'The Colonel'".

(I just transcribed this from the audio clip now). --Bbcentral 07:36, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Technique/Equipment

Would this be the right place to write a little about Steve Cropper's technique and equipment? For someone who enjoys such a good reputation in the guitar world there seems to be precious little here. Does anyone have any good sources? Doozy88 15:34, 16 June 2007 (UTC)