Donald "Duck" Dunn - who helped create the gritty Memphis soul sound at Stax Records in the 1960s - has died at the age of 70.
The
bassist played with legendary group Booker T And The MGs and
contributed to soul classics such as In the Midnight Hour, Hold On I'm
Coming and Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay.
Dunn, whose legacy as
one of the most respected session musicians in the business also
included work with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's Blues Brothers as well
as with Levon Helm, Eric Clapton, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, died while
on tour in Tokyo, Japan.
News of his death was posted on the
Facebook site of his friend and fellow musician Steve Cropper, who was
on the same tour. "Today I lost my best friend, the World has lost the
best guy and bass player to ever live," Cropper wrote on Twitter.
Dunn
was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1941, and according to the biography
on his official website, was nicknamed after the cartoon character by
his father, who did not want him to be a musician.
"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,"
Dunn said. But by the time Dunn was in high school, he was in a band with Cropper.
Cropper
left to become a session player at Stax. Dunn soon followed and joined
the Stax house band, also known as Booker T And The MGs.
"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," Dunn said.
Dunn received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2007. He is survived by his wife, June, son Jeff and grandson Michael.
Source
Posted 05/2012
Channel Sponsor
