RIP Donald "Duck" Dunn

love this guy. RIP.

RIP, MG

Sad news -- RIP

A fantastic interview from a couple years ago: http://wfmu.org/playlists/shows/32187

Otis Redding (Pain in my heart, 1964)
Wilson Pickett (In the midnight hour, 1965)
Booker T & The MGs (Sould Dressing, 1965)
Otis Redding (Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads, 1965)
Mar-Keys (Great Memphis Sound, 1966)
Booker T & The MGs (In the Christmas Spirit, 1966)
Otis Redding (Otis blue, 1966)
Wilson Pickett (Exciting Wilson Pickett, 1966)
Otis Redding (Soul Album, 1966)
Booker T & The MGs (And Now... Booker T & The MGs, 1966)
Guitar Showdown at the Dusk 'Til Dawn Blues Festival, 1966)
Eddie Floyd (Knock on wood, 1967)
Albert King (Born under a bad sign, 1967)
Otis Redding (Live in Europe, 1967)
The Mar-Keys/Booker T & The MGs (Back to Back, 1967)
Otis Redding & Carla Thomas (King & Queen, 1967)
Various Artists (Monterrey International Pop Festival, 1967)
Booker T & The MGs (Hip Hug-Her, 1967)
William Bell (Soul of a Bell, 1967)
Albert King (Blues for Elvis, 1968)
Otis Redding (Dock of the Bay, 1968)
Otis Redding (Immortal Otis Redding, 1968)
Various Artists (Soul Christmas, 1968)
Isaac Hayes (Presenting Isaac Hayes, 1968)
Booker T & The MGs (Uptight, 1968)
Booker T & The MGs (Best of Booker T & The MGs, 1968)
Booker T & The MGs (Doin' Our Thing, 1968)
Booker T & The MGs (Soul Limbo, 1968)
The Staples Singers (Soul Folk in Action, 1968)
Johnnie Taylor (Who's Making Love, 1968)
Booker T & The MGs (The Booker T. Set, 1969)
Albert King (King of the Blues Guitar, 1969)
Delaney & Bonnie (Home, 1969)
Mitch Ryder (The Detroit Memphis Experiment, 1969)
Muddy Waters (Fathers and sons, 1969)
Eddie Floyd (Rare Stamps, 1969)
Mavis Staples (Mavis Staples, 1969)
Otis Redding (Love Man, 1969)
Booker T & The MGs (Mclemore Avenue, 1970)
Otis Redding (Tell the Truth, 1970)
Booker T & The MGs (Melting Pot, 1971)
David Porter (Victim of the Joke?: An Opera, 1971)
Rita Coolidge (Rita Coolidge, 1971)
Ronnie Hawkins (The Hawk, 1971)
Albert King (Lovejoy, 1971)
Freddie King (Getting Ready, 1971)
Herbie Mann (Push Push, 1971)
Don Nix (Living by the Days, 1971)
Bill Withers (Just as I Am, 1971)
Jesse Ed Davis (Ululu, 1972)
Rance Allen (Straight From the Heart, 1972)
Freddie King (Texas Cannonball, 1972)
Doug Clifford (Cosmo, 1972)
Mel & Tim (Starting All Over Again, 1972)
Elvis Presley (Raised On Rock/For Ol' Times Sake, 1973)
MGs (The MGs, 1973)
Duane Allman (Anthology vol. 2, 1974)
Eddie Floyd (Soul Street, 1974)
Shirley Brown (Woman to Woman, 1974)
Muddy Waters (Muddy & The Wolf, 1974)
William Bell (William Bell, 1974)
John Prine (Common Sense, 1975)
Rance Allen (Soulful Experience, 1975)
Leon Russell (Will o' The Wisp, 1975)
Rod Stewart (Atlantic crossing, 1975)
Joan Baez (Gulf winds, 1976)
Carol Grimes (Carol Grimes, 1976)
Richie Havens (End of the Beginning, 1976)
Chris Hillman (Slippin' Away, 1976)
John Prine (Prime Prine, 1976)
Rod Stewart (A Night on the Town, 1976)
Leon Russell (Best Of Leon Russell, 1976)
Manhatten Transfer (Pastiche, 1976)
Mickey Thomas (As Long As You Love Me, 1976)
Sam & Dave (Back at 'Cha!, 1976)
Ritchie Havens (End of the Beginning, 1976)
Keith Christmas (Stories from the Human Zoo, 1976)
Joan Baez (Blowing away, 1977)
Shirley Brown (Shirley Brown, 1977)
Roy Buchanan (Loading zone, 1977)
Mickey Thomas (As long as you love me, 1977)
Levon Helm (Levon Helm & The RCO All Stars, 1977)
Albert King (The pinch, 1977)
Diana Ross (Baby it's me, 1977)
Manhattan Transfer (Pastiche, 1978)
Blues Brothers (Briefcase Full of Blues, 1978)
The Emotions (Sunshine, 1978)
Bruce Roberts (Bruce Roberts, 1978)
Billy Swan (Your OK, I'm OK, 1978)
Peter Frampton (Where I should be, 1979)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Damn The Torpedos, 1979)
Leo Sayer (Here, 1979)
Steve Cropper (Playing my Thang, 1980)
Blues Brothers (Made In America, 1980)
Bob Dylan (Shot of love, 1981)
The Staple Singers (This Time Around, 1981)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Hard promises, 1981)
Stevie Nicks (Bella Donna, 1981)
Eric Clapton (Money and Cigarettes, 1983)
Eric Clapton (Behind the sun, 1985)
Wilson Pickett (Wilson Pickett's Greatist Hits, 1985)
Albert King (Best of Albert King Vol 1, 1986)
Booker T & The MGs (Best of Booker T & The MGs, 1986)
Various Artists (Atlantic Blues, 1986)
Jimmy Buffett (Hot Water, 1988)
Eric Clapton (Crossroads, 1988)
Soundtrack (The Great Outdoors, 1988)
Soundtrack (Roadhouse, 1989)
Legends Of Guitar (Electric Blues Vol.1, 1990)
Willie Dixon (The Chess Box, 1990)
Muddy Waters (Chess Box, 1990)
Stevie Nicks (Timespace: The Best of Stevie Nicks, 1991)
Johnnie Taylor (Who's Making Love, 1991)
Various Artists (Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947-1974, 1991)
Albert King (The Best of Albert King, Vol 1, 1991)
Booker T & The MGs (Hip Hug-Her, 1992)
Wilson Pickett (A Man and a Half: The Best of Wilson Pickett, 1992)
Booker T & The MGs (And Now... Booker T & The MGs, 1992)
Booker T & The MGs (Doin' Our Thing, 1992)
Blues Brothers (Definitive Collection, 1992)
Roy Buchanan (Sweet Dreams: The Anthology, 1992)
William Bell (Little Something Extra, 1992)
Rufus Thomas (Can't Get Away From This Dog, 1992)
Various Artists (Blues Masters Vol 1: Urban Blues, 1992)
Various Artists (Stax/Volt Review, Vol 3: Live In Europe - Hit The Road Stax, 1992)
Blues Masters Sampler (1993)
Otis Redding (Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding, 1993)
Bob Dylan (Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert, 1993)
Various Artists (The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles Vol 2: 1968-1971, 1993)
John Prine (Great Days: The John Prine Anthology, 1993)
Albert King (The Ultimate Collection, 1993)
Wilson Pickett (In the Midnight Hour, 1993)
Roy Buchanan (Guitar on Fire, 1993)
Jerry Lee Lewis (All Killer, No Filler: The Anthology, 1993)
Otis Redding (Otis Redding Sings Soul, 1993)
Ruby Johnson (I'll Run Your Heart Away, 1993)
Freddy King (Hide Away: The Best of Freddy King)
Booker T & The MGs (The Very Best of Booker T & The MGs, 1994)
Booker T & The MGs (That's the Way It Should Be, 1994)
The Original Soul Christmas (1994)
Various Artists (Texas Music, Vol 1: Postwar Blues Combos, 1994)
Manhatten Transfer (Pastiche, 1994)
Carla Thomas (Gee Whiz: The Best Of Carla Thomas, 1994)
Bill Withers (The Best Of Bill Withers, 1994)
Sam & Dave (The Very Best Of Same & Dave, 1995)
Various Artists (Blues Masters Vol 1-5, 1995)
Various Artists (Jingle Bell Jam: Jazz Christmas Classics, 1995)
Various Artists (Original Sould Christmas, 1995)
David Porter (Victim of the Joke?, 1995)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Playback, 1995)
Muddy Waters (Goodbye Newport Blues, 1995)
Tony Joe White (Lake Placid Blues, 1995)
The Soul Children (Soul Children/Best Of Two Worlds, 1995)
Levon Helm (Levon Helm & The RCO All-Stars, 1996)
Albert King (The Blues Don't Change, 1996)
Rance Allen (Soulful Experience, 1996)
Freddie King (Getting Ready, 1996)
Taveres (Best of Taveres, 1996)
Various Artists (Mean Old World: The Blues from 1940 to 1994, 1996)
Carla Thomas (Love Means Carla Thomas/Memphis Queen, 1997)
Rance Allen (Let the Music Get Down in Your Soul, 1997)
John Fogerty (Blue Moon Swamp, 1997)
Yvonne Elliman (Best Of Yvonne Elliman, 1997)
Ray Charles (Genius & Soul: The 50th Anniversary Collection, 1997)
The Blues Brothers (Blues Brothers & Friends: Live from House of Blues, 1997)
Tinsley Ellis (Fire it up, 1997)
Boz Scaggs (My Time: The Anthology 1969-1997, 1997)
Leon Russell (Retrospective, 1997)
William Bell (Bound to Happen, 1997)
Otis Redding (Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology, 1998)
Stevie Nicks (Enchanted: The Works of Stevie Nicks, 1998)
Booker T & The MGs (Time Is Tight, 1998)
Soundtrack (Vampires, 1998)
Albert King (The Very Best of Albert King, 1999)
Eric Clapton (Clapton Chronicles: Best of 1981-1999, 1999)
Crosby Stills Nash & Young (Looking Forward, 1999)
The Soul Children (Genesis/Friction, 1999)
The Blues Brothers (The Blues Brothers Complete, 2000)
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (Anthology: Through the Years, 2000)
Don Covay (Mercy, Mercy/Seesaw, 2000)
Eric Clapton (Money & Cigarettes, 2000)
Jerry Lee Lewis (Mercury Smashes... and Rockin' Sessions, 2000)
Eric Clapton (Best Of Eric Clapton [Import Bonus Tracks], 2000)
Neil Young (Road Rock Vol 1: Friends & Relatives, 2000)
Johnnie Taylor (Lifetime, 2000)
Bill Withers (Lean on Me: The Best of Bill Withers, 2000)
Eric Clapton (Unplugged/Clapton Chronicles, 2001)
Freddie King (Ultimate Collection, 2001)
Freddie King (Texas Cannonball, 2002)
Mavis Staples (Only for the Lonely, 2002)
Albert King (Born Under a Bad Sign, 2002)
Neil Young (Are You Passionate?, 2002)
William Bell (Soul of a Bell, 2002)
Leo Sayer (Here, 2003)
Joan Baez (Complete A&M Recordings, 2003)
Booker T & The MGs (Soul Men, 2003)
Sountrack (Martin Scorsese Presents the Blues: A Musical Journey, 2003)
Jerry Lee Lewis (Southern Roots: Boogie Woogie Country Man, 2004)
Various Artists (Soul Comes Home: Celebration of Stax Records, 2004)
John Fogerty (Blue Moon Swamp, 2004)
Richie Havens (Dreaming As One: The A&M Years, 2004)

RIP to one of the funkiest cats ever.

Like the Michael Shelley playlist and need to listen to the interview but it is missing "Ninety-Nine and A Half (Won't Do)." Others should add their missing favorites.

might just be a myth, but i feel like i read that dunn *never* changed the strings on his bass.

One of my earliest musical heroes, mainly because of the Blues Brothers movie, but whatever, it set off a chain of discoveries for me.

Joe Osborn never did, nor did Ronnie Baker, nor Jamerson, I think. Don't know about Duck. Actually been meaning to start a poll about this.

RIP. Loved reading about his Stax days and of course listening to him

RIP :(

awww no. RIP

Really sad news. RIP

He never swapped out a set, but would replace them as they broke over the years. La Bella flatwounds, I think.

awwwww fuck. I was just looking at his wiki page two days ago.

very cool dude, RIP

Cropper didn't either, I recall hearing?

Did Al Jackson ever change the heads on his snare?

RIP Mr. DD

RIP. Loved reading about his Stax days and of course listening to him

Seeing and hearing the 3 surviving MGs at Bumbershoot (backing up Carla Thomas and Eddie Floyd) was one of my most heaven-on-earth concert experiences ever.

In addition to being an awesome musician, he had a great bass face imo.

http://staxrecords.free.fr/mgscarlastudio.jpg

I managed to compose myself this morning for the Mother's Day festivities after my initial reaction upon hearing about this. Just came across Booker T's statement here http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2012/05/music-world-reacts-to-passing-of-donald.html and the waterworks started again, although I tried to keep them down to a discrete Ozu-like trickle.

Guess you can go straight to Booker T's sight and bypass that feed: http://www.bookert.com/

that's a good one.
yeah, as booker t says, losing a lot of amazing musicians these days. I have a whitney balliett book of his "jazz diaries" from the 70s and pretty much every page has an obit for some great jazz musician from the 20s-30s-40s. seems like we're kind of getting to that point with the big 60s-70s people too.
i only saw duck play once, w/ neil young in 1993 or thereabouts, but i can still remember how genuinely happy the guy looked as he played. like there was nowhere better to be than onstage jamming.

"God is calling names in the music world. He gave us these treasures and now he is taking them back."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwH4UqTJchg
this is great -- short, but very cool. playing for some groovy parisians.

been playing MG's all morning at work.

they definitely had a little bit of an edge live that doesn't come through on records. Would love to have heard them stretch out.

Do any recordings of extended jams exist? The live stuff I've heard is all like stax/volt revue stuff.

i've heard a few live green onions that could almost be mistake for the velvet underground -- definitely had an element of threat that didn't come across too much on the records.

this show has a pretty long time is tight. don't know if they ever really went nuts though in terms of length.

sorry: http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/booker-t-and-the-mgs/concerts/bottom-line-june-19-1977.html

Used to have the 8-track to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbnR4aIbRVE

Thanks for video. Speaking of groovy Parisians, this French guy has created a, um, treasure trove of bass transcriptions of famous R&B basslines by Duck and other luminaries such as Tommy Cogbill and David Hood. The ones I spot-checked seemed pretty accurate, although I'll let Three Word Username have the final say. Go here: http://freebasspart.pv24.pagesperso-orange.fr/Bass_Players.htm

There was a movie of a concert in Norway that came out on DVD a few years ago that is a must-see for exactly that live edge you are talking about.

Thing that always set them apart is that through these little ditties like Green Onions or "obvious" covers like McLemore Ave, they were just so unbelievably tight, and a huge part of that is the now-deceased rhythm section.

Steve Cropper said that there was a natural delay in that studio and they all had to watch each other to keep it tight- he would actually watch Al Jackson's hand. At some point they started exaggerating the delay for that "Jerk" effect, starting with "In the Midnight Hour."

I'm glad I got see him a couple yrs back with Booker T and Eddie Floyd, Dunn sat in a chair for the whole set but he could def still play

(xp: See or google page 62 of Soulsville, USA )

Those transcriptions are kinda lame -- just the basic bassline melody, not notations of ghost- or grace notes or playing behind the beat, so I'm not really sure what their purpose is.

Apparently I have seen a clip from that Norway concert and forgot about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_mKy-a6d1I

Hey, the Norwegians actually knew how to clap on 2 and 4 by 1967! They really are more progressive than Americans!
hurting 10 months ago 19

Ha, somebody suggested the engineer synced the clapping.

Never change, C0lin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6XPM_L7F2c&feature=fvwrel
Sounds so soulful don't you agree

another great one from that same paris show
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kgBgX5HsqU

got the boss to hook her phone up to the xm radio thing to play green onions in the store, it was way cool

all youtubes where the MGs back up otis redding - diamond classics

RIP

a true musical hero

I think my favorite MG's track is probably The Hip-Hug-Her. Epitomizes the way they were able to be super-funky by understating the funkiness. Fairly straight rhythms played super tightly with just the right accents and a little peppering of syncopation.

I watched the recent PBS documentary on Cab Calloway just a couple days ago and there's a great interview with Dunn and Cropper on the Blues Brothers filming and recording - hopefully it's up on YouTube somewhere. Say what you will about the Blues Brothers, but for a 12 year old in 1978 they were a terrific gateway to great music. I got to see Dunn play once (when Neil Young had Booker T & the MGs as his backing band) - wish there was a DVD release of that tour.

Fuck... RIP

Say what you will about the Blues Brothers, but for a 12 year old in 1978 they were a terrific gateway to great music.

OTM. also they got all those guys working again.

Say what you will about the Blues Brothers, but for a 12 year old in 1978 they were a terrific gateway to great music.

Forreals! This movie was my first intro to seeing artists do songs I knew in totally different arrangements. The version of "Think" is one in particular.

And, if nothing else, I can drop "If the shit fits, wear it." in any crowd, and instantly know who was paying attention.

RIP, Mr. Dunn. Heaven's band just got a much bigger bottom end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBkaheswX1c&feature=related

I was just talking with someone who played in a pick-up band with Duck Dunn one night, and he asked about some "Midnight Hour" mystery. Apparently, if you listen closely, there's a missing bass note somewhere in there, where during the take Dunn missed the switch to the bridge or chorus or something, but everything else was perfect, so in real time during the mix there was a guy on the boards who just zeroed the bass for that one night then faded it right back up!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ive5vGD05ek

P good. Interesting how you can hear the differences in rhythmic approach btw the MGs and Crazy Horse -- want to say the MGs play a little more on top of the beat than Crazy Horse.