Donald “Duck” Dunn Memphis Blues Legend
Memphis native Donald “Duck” Dunn was not only the bassist for the MGs, he took part in other Stax projects, including recording famous tunes such as Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” Otis Redding’s “Dock Of The Bay” and “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” and Wilson Pickett’s “The Midnight Hour.” He also backed Isaac Hayes in a piano/bass/drums jazz trio on Hayes’ first album, Presenting Isaac Hayes and Jerry Lee Lewis on his 1972 album, Southern Roots.
Donald “Duck” Dunn "Duck’s" Gaggle: The Basses of Donald Dunn
The revered bassist, who passed away in May of 2012, provided the groove on some of the most revered hits in the heyday of ’60s soul/R&B/pop, including Otis Redding’s “Dock Of The Bay” and “Respect,” Wilson Pickett’s “Midnight Hour,” and Sam & Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Coming.” Beyond hit singles, his resume includes stints backing Eric Clapton, John Fogerty, J.J. Cale, Albert King, Muddy Waters, Rod Stewart, Levon Helm, Bob Dylan, Tony Joe White, Freddie King, Elvis Presley, Neil Young, and Jerry Lee Lewis.
What Would Duck Do?
About 58 years ago in Memphis, Tennessee, a couple of young boys met and became friends in the 6th grade. A few years later, their hobbies would turn from riding bikes to learning how to play the guitar and listening to Hank Ballard and Bo Diddley. Though both of the boys started out on guitar, one of them decided to switch to bass soon after. A Kay bass was purchased, a band was formed, and the beginning of a musical bond was forged that would last 55 years.
Donald “Duck” Dunn: An Appreciation
There is something especially poignant about the fact that Donald “Duck” Dunn, the legendary Booker T. and the M.G.‘s bassist, who passed away yesterday in Japan, died so far from his hometown of Memphis. He had just finished playing two shows at the Blue Note in Tokyo, according to Steve Cropper, his best friend and band mate. In other words, Dunn was doing the same thing he had done nearly a half-century earlier, when he and other members of the absurdly talented Stax family set off for a tour of Europe in the late 1960s. As of this past weekend, he was still flying around the world, personally delivering deep-fried Southern soul.
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I Feel More Like I Do Now Than When I Got Here
Like most everyone, I heard Duck long before I knew who he was or had the chance to meet him. The Stax hits were in constant rotation on my parents’ turntable as a kid. After discovering his name on the back of Otis Redding’s Pain In My Heart in my Dad’s vinyl collection as a teenager, I searched out anything that had his name in the liner notes.
Stax Bassist Duck Dunn Remembered In Memphis
Donald “Duck” Dunn played bass with Booker T. and the MGs, who backed many of the hits Stax Records put out in the 1960s. He was 70 years old when he died Sunday in Tokyo. At the audio link, you can listen to a remembrance of Dunn’s life and career that aired on All Things Considered.
REMEMBERING DONALD “DUCK” DUNN
Two years ago today, legendary bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn died in his sleep at the age of 70 after playing his fifth night of double shows at the Blue Note, a nightclub in Tokyo, Japan, with his longtime Booker T. & the M.G.’s bandmate, Steve Cropper. While it’s a shame that he left us after having just confirmed to a crowd that he was still very much on his game as a musician, at least he departed with an audience’s applause still ringing in his ears.
Duck Dunn AMERICAN MUSICIAN
Duck Dunn (Donald Dunn), (born Nov. 24, 1941, Memphis, Tenn.—died May 13, 2012, Tokyo, Japan), American musician who played bass (mid-1960s–1971 and periodically thereafter) with Booker T. and the MG’s, one of the premier instrumental ensembles in soul music in the 1960s. The racially integratedgroup, which was best known for its studio work for Stax Records, not only provided backup for such superstars as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Sam and Dave but also scored some hits of its own during Dunn’s tenure, notably “Hang ’Em High” and “Soul-Limbo.”
