WOW. Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour, feat. Billy Gibbons - Friendlytown

[highplainsdem]

Steve Cropper - who'll be 83 next month - has put together a new band named after the song he cowrote with Wilson Pickett 59 years ago. And they're amazing. Excerpt from Blues Rock Review below the video.

https://bluesrockreview.com/2024/08/steve-cropper-and-the-midnight-hour-friendlytown-review.html

Steve Cropper was born in 1941 and formed the “Mar-Keys” while still in high school in the late 1950s. The band became Booker T and the MG’s in the early 1960s and ascended to the position of being the STAX Records house band. They had their own radio hit record with Green Onions which influenced the maturing baby boomer generation in both America and Europe. The Beatles confessed after they came to America that they were influenced by Cropper’s guitar prowess. Over the past seven decades, Steve Cropper has played with, produced, and written songs for a myriad of performers that have earned him two Grammy Awards out of seven nominations. He’s been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Booker T. & the M.G.’s and was a member of Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s Blues Brothers band.

At 82 years of age, Cropper put together a new band named “Midnight Hour” after the 1960’s hit song that he co-wrote with Wilson Picket. The band is comprised of Steve Cropper on lead and rhythm guitars, Roger C. Reale as lead vocalist, John Tiven on bass guitar/Hammond organ, Piano, Sax and vocal harmonies, Nioshi Jackson on drums and percussion, Eddie Gore on Hammond organ, tambourine and vocal harmony along with Billy F. Gibbons of ZZ Top on lead guitar. The subject matter of the album explores personal relationships from a seasoned perspective.

“Friendlytown,” the title song was co-written by the quartet comprised of Steve Cropper, Billy F. Gibbons, Roger C. Reale, and Jon Tiven. The song begins with Cropper’s guitar producing a throbbing melodic riff that drives the beat. The song is further embellished by Gibbons’ guitar peals and Reale’s “throaty growl,” singing about a place that is welcoming to the down and out.

-snip-

Friendlytown is a remarkable collection of songs that are a testament to Steve Cropper’s enduring ability to consistently push into new musical territories. Even in his 80s he is able to collaborate with an impressive musical lineup to both help compose and ultimately perform the music on an album. He still remains a formidable force in music by producing an album filled with a rich blend of blues, rock, and soul anchored by his guitar collaborating with Gibbons, May, and Montana.

Much more at the link...and their reviewer gives the album 9/10.

[ProfessorGAC]

1. Man Does Billy Have His Prints On This Tune!

His guitar sound is so characteristic.
I am always a little surprised when i see Billy playing a Tele as the photos/video clips show him.
I always think of him as a Gibson style guy.

[highplainsdem]

2. Yep. And I love that sound.