On Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 11:08:33 PM UTC-7, treg@iwvisp.com wrote:
> On May 12, 10:19 pm, "t...@iwvisp.com" <t...@iwvisp.com> wrote:
> > On May 12, 10:16 pm, "t...@iwvisp.com" <t...@iwvisp.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Unconfirmed but listed on Wikipedia and Billy Vera's Facebook B Page,
> > > Donald "Duck" Dunn died late Saturday night or early Sunday
> > > morning.
> >
> > > From Wiki: He was an American bass guitarist, record producer, and
> > > songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. &
> > > the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax Records, which
> > > specialized in blues and gospel-infused southern soul and Memphis soul
> > > music styles. Dunn also performed on recordings with The Blues
> > > Brothers, Muddy Waters, Freddie King, Albert King, Neil Young, Jerry
> > > Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, Creedence Clearwater Revival,
> > > Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Guy Sebastian, Rod Stewart, Bob Dylan, Roy
> > > Buchanan and Arthur Conley.
> >
> > > Ray Arthur
> >
> > Bio from his website...
> >
> > As a member of Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Famers Booker T. & The MGs, Donald
> > "Duck" Dunn was house bass player at the legendary Soul/R'n'B label,
> > Stax, where his meaty playing helped define one of the most
> > distinctive and enduring sounds in popular music. Among the timeless
> > recordings Dunn held down the bottom end of, are Respect, Dock Of The
> > Bay and I've Been Loving You Too Long, by Otis Redding, Wilson
> > Pickett's In The Midnight Hour, and Hold On I'm Coming by Sam and
> > Dave, not to mention sessions with Neil Young, Eric Clapton and Jerry
> > Lee Lewis.
> >
> > Dunn kept the classic Stax sound alive and kicking as part of The
> > Blues Brothers Band. Originally hand picked by John Belushi and Dan
> > Aykroyd - the Jake and Elwood characters in cult film, The Blues
> > Brothers.
> >
> > "I like to keep things spontaneous," said Dunn of their live show.
> > "That's my way of playing. Even though we were playing the same songs
> > every night I like to think I can change it a little bit and use my
> > input or creativity or whatever in any way that makes the band feel
> > better. If I make the band smile, I make everybody smile."
> >
> > Born in Memphis in late November, 1941, Dunn was given his nickname by
> > his father as the two watched a Donald Duck cartoon on TV. "It was
> > just one of those things that stuck," he recalls. "Most of my school
> > friends and even a few of my teachers called me Duck."
> >
> > Although a grandfather he never knew played fiddle, there was no music
> > in Duck's immediate family. "My father was a candy maker. He made
> > peppermints and hard candies. He didn't want me to go into the music
> > industry. He thought I would become a drug addict and die. Most
> > parents in those days thought music was a pastime; something you did
> > as a hobby, not a profession." Duck tried to conform: "I worked for my
> > dad in the candy factory for a while. I also had a job with an
> > electrical company repairing long range air raid sirens." In his
> > heart, though, Dunn always knew where his talents lay. I picked up a
> > ukulele when I was about 10 and I started playing bass when I was 16.
> > I tried the guitar but it had two strings too many. It was just too
> > complicated, man! Plus, I grew up with Steve Cropper. There were so
> > many good guitar players another one wasn't needed. What was needed
> > was a bass. I mostly learned just by listening to records. I don't
> > know how to explain it but I knew if I could do it, I'd be good at it!
> > My first bass was a new Kay, one of the cheaper models."
> >
> > And, of course, it was slightly less than Duck wanted. Smiling at the
> > memory, he adds: "When I used to look in the music store windows and
> > see the Fenders hanging there, I was like a kid at Christmas. The Kay
> > was fine but you knew if you could get your hands on a Fender you
> > would do better. I bought my first Fender in '58 and I still have it
> > at home. I lost it once and I got it back," he pauses. "It's a
> > Precision, with a maple neck. I just always took it for granted, never
> > worried about the setting or action. It was a Fender, man, I didn't
> > care!"
> >
> > Influenced by blues and R&B stars like BB King and Ray Charles, Dunn
> > and Cropper formed their first band, The Royal Spades, in high school.
> > "The name came from poker; a royal spade flush," explains Duck. "We
> > played anything from Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard to Chuck Berry
> > and Bo Diddley stuff. We were a white band trying to play rhythm and
> > blues music, kinda the first in Memphis to do that. We used to play
> > for, like, five dollars and a few free beers. It was just a joy to
> > play."
> >
> > The Royal Spades evolved into the Mar-Keys, who had a hit with Last
> > Night soon after Dunn graduated from high school. Cropper subsequently
> > left the band to become a full-time session musician at the Stax
> > studio. He urged Dunn to follow him and the two became part of Booker
> > T's MGs, which in turn become the house band at Stax.
> >
> > "I would have liked to have been on the road more but the record
> > company wanted us in the studio. Man, we were recording almost a hit a
> > day for a while there. But I never knew how popular that music was
> > until I came to England with Otis Redding in 1967." He adds with a
> > chuckle: "I think most of the English people thought I was a pick-up
> > bass player. Without being racist they probably thought that being
> > affiliated with that music, Donald 'Duck' Dunn was black!"
> >
> > What else does he remember of that visit? "Otis would follow Sam and
> > Dave and he would peak through the curtain during their set, worried
> > as he could be, to see if he could outdo Sam and Dave. I used to watch
> > him do that every night! Before that tour, though, we were all in
> > admiration of Motown. We were thinking why don't our records sound
> > like Motown? Now we listen to them and they hold up real well today."
> >
> > Like many recognisable sounds from Sun to Motown, the Stax sound
> > evolved by happy accident from a blend of musicians who worked well
> > together. "Everyone contributed," remembers Duck. "Sometimes, if I
> > couldn't find something to play maybe Booker found the bass line. Or
> > maybe Steve Cropper. It was a real family-orientated company. No one
> > had any particular ego. We were a
> > real team."
> >
> > In many instances, plenty of song riffs and rhythms famously emerged
> > from spontaneous jam sessions on the play-out of the previous
> > recording. "When we came to the fade-outs, almost everyone would
> > change their rhythm or the notes they were playing. That was the fun
> > part of it. When we got to the end we all knew we could relax and do
> > what we wanted to do."
> >
> > In common with most musicians from that era, the people who created
> > the Stax sound came away with less money than they deserved. "I always
> > look back and say I should have made more," sighs Duck, slowly. "It
> > should have been more lucrative, but it wasn't. We were cheated a
> > little bit. But with the music and what I learned... it doesn't
> > matter. I have no regrets."
> >
> > One session that stands out for Dunn was backing Jerry Lee Lewis on
> > his early '70s soul slanted album, Southern Roots. The sessions have
> > passed into rock lore as a four day drug-soaked party with hangers-on
> > passing out on the studio floor and the world and his wife sitting in.
> >
> > "It was just craziness!" concurs Duck. "All it needed was Keith
> > Richard! One song I particularly remember was When A Man Loves A
> > Woman. If you listen to that record, he's incredible. And that was one
> > take. Jerry Lee is crazy, he's outrageous, but I think he's the best
> > rock'n'roller that ever lived."
> >
> > Dunn's greatest pleasure, however, came from the music he created with
> > the MGs. Dunn joined the MGs when bassist Lewis Steinberg left the
> > band after having scored a million seller with the instrumental Green
> > Onions in 1962. The MGs continued to hit the charts well into the
> > '70s. Among their biggest successes were Hang 'Em High and Time Is
> > Tight, both from movie soundtracks, also Soul Limbo, a Caribbean-
> > styled number later to become very familiar as the cowbell-intro'd
> > theme tune of the BBC's test cricket coverage.
> >
> > When Booker T. disbanded the MGs and left Memphis for California, Dunn
> > and drummer Al Jackson, Jr., kept the band's name afloat with an
> > album, MG's, although it was released to little interest. In autumn
> > 1975, Jackson was shot dead when he disturbed an intruder in his home.
> > The incident left a deep impression on Dunn, who today opines: "I
> > think the gun issue is the biggest issue. When I came to England in
> > 1967 and saw the bobbies, as they used to call them, with no
> > firearms... That's the way it should be. I'm really a firm believer in
> > no guns."
> >
> > 1977 saw the first of several reunions of Booker T. Jones, Dunn and
> > Cropper and the band recorded two more albums during the next 20
> > years, eventually receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1995
> > Rhythm & Blues Pioneer Awards. Since his appearance in the hit 1980
> > movie The Blues Brothers, Dunn has also been part of popular R'n'B
> > revue, The Blues Brothers Band, which also featured Steve Cropper. Of
> > his lifelong musical relationship with Cropper, Dunn says: "Steve and
> > I are like married people. I can look at him and know what he'll order
> > for dinner. We don't hang out as much as we used to. I moved to
> > Florida and he moved to Nashville. We used to play a lot of golf
> > together and we've kind of separated. But when we play music together
> > we both know where we're going."
> >
> > A new chapter in Duck's life began in 2005 as he celebrated the
> > arrival of his first grandchild, Michael in October.
> >
> > Though semi-retired Duck continues to do shows with Booker T & the MGs
> > at clubs and music festivals around the U.S.
> >
> > In 2007 Duck and Booker T. & the MGs members Lewie Steinberg, Booker
> > T. Jones, Steve Cropper, and wife of deceased member Al Jackson -
> > Barbara, were awarded a Lifetime Achievement Grammy during a Special
> > Merit Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles.
> >
> > Ray Arthur
> From www.ultimateclassicrock.com...
>
> Donald “Duck” Dunn, who played on hundreds of rock and soul classics
> as the bassist for Booker T. and the MGs, and later as a session
> player, passed away Sunday morning at the age of 70. Steve Cropper,
> the MGs guitarist, broke the news on his Facebook page at
> approximately 12:30AM Eastern time.
>
> “Today I lost my best friend, the World has lost the best guy and bass
> player to ever live,” Cropper, his lifelong friend, wrote. “Duck Dunn
> died in his sleep Sunday morning May 13 in Tokyo Japan after finishing
> 2 shows at the Blue Note Night Club.”
>
>
> Ray Arthur