dAVe80 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Ah **** beans! Another of my music heroes gone. RIP Donald 'Duck' Dunn. One of the greatest musicians ever to pick up a bass. From Pitchfork The Associated Press reports that Donald "Duck" Dunn (pictured above far right), the legendary bassist for Booker T. & the MGs, the Blues Brothers band, and several others, has died. He passed in his sleep in Tokyo, where he was touring with longtime collaborator and friend Steve Cropper. He was 70. Dunn was a mainstay of Memphis's soul scene. In 1961 at the age of 20, he became a member of the Mar-Keys, an early all-instrumental Stax band. In 1965, he joined Cropper, Al Jackson, and Booker T. Jones to become the bassist for Booker T. & the MGs, Stax's house band. In addition to backing records by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, the Staple Singers, and many others, the band had hits with instrumentals like "Soul Limbo", "Time is Tight", and before Dunn joined the band, "Green Onions". In 1970, they released McLemore Avenue, an all-instrumental album covering the Beatles' Abbey Road. In the 1970s, after Booker T. & the MG's disbanded, Dunn was a sideman on records by Levon Helm, Tom Petty, Jerry Lee Lewis, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, and others. In 1978, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Paul Shaffer invited Dunn and Cropper to play in the Blues Brothers band. Dunn appeared in the 1980 movie playing bass and smoking a pipe. Dunn reunited with Booker T. & the MG's (minus Jackson, who was murdered in 1975) several times over the years. In recent years, he played bass for Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Clapton. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and in 2007, he received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Designer1 Posted May 13, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted May 13, 2012 Yeah, I posted earlier today about it in the General Chat thread. Sad news, top musician. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAVe80 Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maqroll Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 A legend and a gentleman. Sad news. RIP, Duck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Rev Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Obvious big hit time, but I bloody love this tune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmooney Posted May 14, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted May 14, 2012 Did we do a Levon Helm RIP thread? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dAVe80 Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 Indeed we did. The makings of a fantastic rhythm section gone in a couple of weeks. RIP Levon Helm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veloman Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Another classic featuring Mr Dunn ! God I used to love this stuff - played in a band that did this number - but not quite as well as this ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts