One of the legends of rock'n'roll, STEVE "THE COLONEL" CROPPER
(Lead Guitar) has collaborated with Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Booker
T. Jones, Eddie Floyd, Nashville's Razzy Bailey, Rod Stewart and Isaac Hayes,
among others.
He won a large following during his years at Stax Records where, in addition
to being house producer, he was lead guitar for Booker T. and the MGs. Instrumental
in developing the "Memphis Sound," Cropper helped create such
records as Green Onions, Doin' Our Thing, McLemore Avenue, Hip Hug-Her,
Booker T. and the MGs' Greatest Hits, Universal Language, Jammed Together
and Melting Pot. In 1992, Cropper and the rest of the MGs were inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Cropper, who has more than 400 BMI-registered songs recorded for which he
has received 23 BMI Awards, co-wrote such classics as "(Sitting On)
The Dock of the Bay," "Fa-Fa-Fa," "634-5789," "Green
Onions," "In The Midnight Hour," "Time is Tight,"
"Knock on Wood," "See-Saw" and "Don't Fight It."
He has also scored several motion pictures.
Cropper was born in Willow Springs, Missouri. While still in high school
in Memphis, he and fellow Blues Brothers Band member, Donald "Duck"
Dunn, formed The Mar-Keys and toured with their first hit for Stax Records,
"Last Night." These days, Cropper continues to tour with The Blues
Brothers Band and work in all aspects of the music business. Most recently,
he toured with Dave Edmunds, Jimmy Buffet, Neil Young, the reunited MGs
and the Northwest All Stars, including Mark Farner, Lou Graham, Billy Preston
and Felix Cavaliere.
Rock and Roll Hall of Famer DONALD "DUCK" DUNN (Bass Guitar)
was the bass player for Booker T. and the MGs at Stax Records where he helped
create such hits as "Soul Limbo," "Hip Hug-Her" and
"Time Is Tight."
During his time at Stax, Dunn became known as one of the major architects
of the classic Memphis sound, playing on such hits as "I've Been Loving
You Too Long," "Respect" and "(Sitting On) The Dock
Of The Bay" for Otis Redding, "In The Midnight Hour" for
Wilson Pickett, "You Don't Know Like I Know," "Hold On, I'm
Comin" and "Soul Man" for Sam and Dave, as well as three
albums for Albert King.
Most of Dunn's work mentioned above was done with Steve Cropper. Their musical
collaboration and friendship dates back to their high school days in Memphis
where they had their first hit, "Last Night," as members of The
Mar-Keys.
Other artists Dunn has accompanied include Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Elvis
Presley, Levon Helm, Rod Stewart, Joan Baez and Leon Russell.
MURPHY DUNNE (Keyboards) began his career in the early 1970s as the
accompanist for the famed Chicago theatre troupe, Second City. He joined
the company as an actor soon afterward and spent the next five years performing
with them in Chicago and on tour. It was during this time that he met John
Belushi and also co-produced the first Chicago free blues festival with
blues legend Willie Dixon (1976). The following year, while producing the
first free R&B fete, he met "his heroes" Duck Dunn and Steve
Cropper.
Appearing in more than 20 films, Dunne is best known for his unctuous lounge
lizard pianist introduced in The Big Bus, refined in High Anxiety and brought
to full smarm in The Blues Brothers. A veteran of over 50 television shows
and 100 commercials, he has also received laurels for his frequent theatre
appearances. He made his directorial debut in 1996 with the short comedy
The Lawyer, which has been honored by the BBC and selected for several film
festivals, including a special screening by Sundance.
He lives in Southern California with his wife Kristine and their daughter
Veronica.
WILLIE "TOO BIG" HALL (Drums) began his career as a drummer
in 1965, while still in high school. He played with the Bar-Kays band and
later joined Stax Records where he performed with Steve Cropper and Donald
Dunn on Booker T. and the MGs' records Universal Language and Hip Hug-Her.
As part of the Stax-Volt Recording Section Team from 1968-77, Hall accompanied
and/or produced such artists as The Emotions, Little Milton, Carla and Rufus
Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, The Staple Singers, Albert King and Isaac Hayes.
Hall produced Hayes' last Stax album and later did percussion on Hayes'
popular Shaft album and Hayes' Oscar - winning score for the hit film.
Hall has toured the world and recorded with a variety of artists, including
Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, K.C. and the Sunshine Band,
Bonnie Raitt, Earl Scruggs, Charlie Daniels and Buffy Saint Marie, Charlie
Daniels Band, Todd Rundgren and Roger McGuinn, among others.
LOU "BLUE LOU" MARINI (Saxophone) has performed, toured
and recorded with such diverse artists as Stevie Wonder, Thad Jones-Mel
Lewis Orchestra, Woody Herman, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Dr. John, Frank Zappa,
The Band, The Supremes, Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin, Sinead O'Conner,
Frank Sinatra, Maureen McGovern, Elton John, Donald Fagan, Eric Clapton
and many more.
Although originally a student of the clarinet, at an early age, Marini was
encouraged by his father, a saxophonist, and he soon nurtured a love of
jazz, discovering Stan Getz and the likes.
It was not until he attended North Texas State University in Dallas that
his inherent love affair with rhythm and blues began to flourish. He loved
"the grooves" and the audience reaction.
In 1972, Marini then moved to New York City and soon became a sought-after
session player, writer/arranger/ performer and eventually became a mainstay
of the Saturday Night Live Band for nine years. It was here that Marini
would brush shoulders with co-performers John "Jake Blues" Belushi
and Dan "Elwood Blues" Aykroyd and as a result be chosen as saxophonist
for The Blues Brothers.
Currently, while fostering a solo career with the release of his first album
Soul Serenade, Marini continues to participate in all aspects of the music
business including studio, television and film soundtracks when he's not
touring with The Blues Brothers Band.
TOM "BONES" MALONE (Trombone) has, since 1993, been a member
of the CBS Orchestra and can be seen nightly on the Late Show with David
Letterman playing trombone, trumpet, bass trombone, tenor sax, baritone
sax, flute, piccolo and alto flute. Since joining the orchestra, he has
contributed over 100 arrangements to the Late Show.
Malone has performed and recorded with James Brown, Frank Zappa, Blood,
Sweat and Tears, The Band, Miles Davis, Steve Winwood and others. As a studio
musician, he has played on over 350 records and more than 3,000 radio and
television commercials.
A member of the original Saturday Night Live Band for ten years, Malone
was their musical director from 1981-85. He has also played on network themes
for shows such as CBS This Morning, Murder, She Wrote and the 1992 Olympic
Winter Games theme on CBS.
Malone is originally from Sumrall, Mississippi. He currently lives in Manhattan.
The first musician hired by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi to play in The
Blues Brothers Band, MATT "GUITAR" MURPHY (Guitar) is no
less than one of the greatest blues guitar players ever.
Born in the Mississippi Delta, raised in Memphis and musically bred in post-war
Chicago, Murphy has played with such stellar talent as Howlin' Wolf, Willie
Dixon, Etta James, Sonny Boy Williamson, Memphis Slim, Chuck Berry, James
Cotton and others.
In addition to touring with The Blues Brothers Band, Murphy also records
and performs with his own band, the Matt "Guitar" Murphy Band.
ALAN "MR. FABULOUS" RUBIN's (Trumpet) acerbic wit and sizzling
trumpet licks are legendary around New York recording studios. A gifted
trumpet, flugelhorn and piccolo trumpet player, Rubin is one of the most
prolific players in the business. He has performed and recorded with everyone
from Frank Sinatra to Frank Zappa, from Duke Ellington ("Newport Suite")
to Blood, Sweat and Tears (lead trumpet on "Spinning Wheel"),
from Sting to Aerosmith to the Rolling Stones, as well as with Paul Simon,
James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Peggy Lee, Aretha Franklin, James Brown and
Dr. John.
At age seventeen, Rubin entered the prestigious Juilliard School of Music
on a scholarship. He was the original trumpet player with the Saturday Night
Live Band and performed at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Olympics with
Paul Shaffer and the Late Night Band.
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