Steve Cropper Reflects on a Legendary Career, 2025 GRAMMY Nomination, and the Legacy of Stax Records
May 18, 2025
Steve Cropper, the iconic guitarist, songwriter, and producer whose riffs helped shape the sound of soul and blues music, is enjoying yet another career high. At 83, Cropper has been nominated for a 2025 GRAMMY Award in the Best Contemporary Blues Album category for his latest project, Soul Revival. The nomination marks a new chapter in a decades-spanning career that began in the heart of Memphis at the legendary Stax Records and continues to inspire generations of musicians.
Speaking from his home in Nashville, Cropper reflects on the honor with characteristic humility. “It never gets old,” he says with a chuckle. “Every time you get recognized by your peers, it’s special. I’ve been doing this for over 60 years, and I still feel like a kid when I hear I’ve been nominated.”
Soul Revival, his first solo album in over a decade, is a gritty, groove-filled return to form that pays homage to the sound he helped pioneer at Stax in the 1960s. Featuring collaborations with contemporary blues artists and longtime friends alike, the album merges classic soul structures with modern blues storytelling.
Cropper, best known as the guitarist for Booker T. & the M.G.’s and the co-writer of timeless hits like “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” “In the Midnight Hour,” and “Knock on Wood,” says the album was inspired by a desire to bridge past and present. “I wanted to make something that sounded like it could have come out of Stax in ’68 — but still speak to people in 2025,” he explains.
The Stax Sound and Legacy
Stax Records, the Memphis label that served as ground zero for southern soul in the 1960s and ’70s, has always loomed large in Cropper’s story. As a founding member of Booker T. & the M.G.’s — the house band for Stax — Cropper was at the center of a musical revolution, playing on and producing countless records for artists like Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Carla Thomas.
“Stax was like a big family,” Cropper recalls. “There was no blueprint. We were just making the music we loved. That honesty and spontaneity — you can still hear it in those records.”
Today, that sound remains a touchstone for soul and blues artists around the world. The rough-edged warmth of the recordings, the interplay between horns and rhythm section, and the emotional depth of the performances defined a genre and transcended racial and cultural barriers during one of America’s most tumultuous eras.
Cropper believes the spirit of Stax still lives on, not just in the music, but in the ethos. “It was about collaboration, about groove, about making something that moved people,” he says. “That’s still the goal every time I pick up a guitar.”
A Lifetime of Recognition
Cropper’s career has already earned him a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. But for Cropper, the greatest reward has always been the ability to keep making music.
“It’s not about awards,” he insists. “It’s about touching people, making them feel something. If a kid listens to this record and picks up a guitar because of it, that’s the best kind of recognition there is.”
As he prepares for the GRAMMY Awards ceremony in Los Angeles this February, Cropper remains grounded. He’s not expecting to win — though fans and critics alike consider Soul Revival a frontrunner — but he’s thrilled to be in the room.
“At this point, I’m just grateful to still be doing what I love,” he says. “If the music still connects, that means I did something right.”
And after six decades of defining the sound of soul, blues, and American music itself, there’s no doubt Steve Cropper has done a lot right.
