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Tributes are paid to the bass guitarist Donald Duck Dunn

Tributes are paid to the bass guitarist Donald Duck Dunn

TRIBUTES have been paid to the bass guitarist Donald “Duck” Dunn who played with Booker T and the MGs. He passed away suddenly in Tokyo where he had been performing in concerts. He was 70.

The nickname Duck was given to a young Dunn by his father and it stuck for the rest of his life.

Although he will always be remembered for his key role with the MGs, Mr. Dunn performed on various recordings by many other singers and musicians including Otis Redding, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Wilson Pickett and Eric Clapton.

He also appeared as himself in the The Blues Brothers movies, having been invited to appear in the band by actors Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi.

Mr. Dunn was recruited into Booker T and the MGs by his friend Steve Cropper with whom he had formed a band while at High School. The MGs became the house band at the famous Stax records.

While the MGs enjoyed success in their own right, the band would find themselves taking part in recordings of many other of Stax’s clients.

Mr. Dunn was to recall in an interview: “We were recording almost a hit a day for a while there. But I never knew how popular that music was until I came to England with Otis Redding in 1967”.

The MGs were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Mr. Dunn received a lifetime achievement Grammy award in 2007.

To see Donald “Duck” Dunn perform with Booker T and the MGs, click here.

 

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