RIP Donald "Duck" Dunn

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.