Jim,
Thanks for the post! I'm a Steve Cropper fan!
When I was a teenager I bought a USED 45 of the Mar-Keys "Last Night", for several dollars. It was the only way I could get the rare recording, and I had to have it. (The only used record I bought as a child.)
I had no idea who the guitarist was, or that he was a founder of that group, of Booker T. and the M.G.'s or that he co-wrote "Last Night", "Green Onions", "In the Midnight Hour", "Knock On Wood", or "Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay". Or that he was the "Play it Steve!" on "Soul Man"
I just liked the hypnotic groove of "Last Night". I still like it, but it is no longer an all-time favorite instrumental.
"Last Night" Mar-Keys (1961)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cv1mUNaiLaU"Baby Blue" is my favorite recording by Neil Sedaka, because of Steve Cropper.
Obviously just an mp3, but when the CD "The Hungry Years" is auditioned on a top system you can get lost in this record.
Just perfect fills, and then a guitar break that reeks of artistry. Even after 100's of listens, I marvel at the nuance in virtually every note.
"Baby Blue" Neil Sedaka (1975)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAYw3i_tXeASteve Cropper's guitar break is my 2nd favorite in any record, by any artist