Somewhere, They Must Be Starting Up.........

............one he11 of a band.

Donald “Duck" Dunn, the bassist who helped create the gritty Memphis soul sound at Stax Records in the 1960s as part of the legendary group Booker T. and the MGs and contributed to such classics as “In the Midnight Hour," “Hold On, I’m Coming," and “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay," died Sunday at 70.

Dunn, whose legacy as one of the most respected session musicians in the business also included work with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd’s Blues Brothers as well as with Levon Helm, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan, died while on tour in Tokyo. News of his death was posted on the Facebook site of his friend and fellow musician Steve Cropper, who was on the same tour. Cropper said Dunn died in his sleep.

Dunn become a session player at Stax, the Memphis record company that would become known for its soul recordings and artists such as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, and the Staples Singers. Dunn soon followed Cropper and joined the Stax house band, also known as Booker T. and the MGs.

It was one of the first racially integrated soul groups, with two white men (Dunn on bass and Cropper on guitar) and two black men (Booker T. Jones on organ and Al Jackson on drums), and the group was eventually inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The group had its heyday in the 1960s as backup for various Stax artists. Dunn played on Redding’s “Respect" and “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay," Sam and Dave’s “Hold On, I’m Coming" and Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour."
Booker T. and the MGs had its own hits as well, including “Hang ’Em High," “Soul-Limbo," and, before Dunn joined the band, the cool 1962 instrumental “Green Onions."

Charles "Skip" Pitts, the longtime Memphis guitar player for Isaac Hayes whose distinctive sound helped define soul and make "Shaft" cool, has died. He was 65 and passed after a long struggle with cancer.

Pitts was responsible for the unforgettable wah-wah pedal guitar sound on Hayes' "Theme from Shaft," the `70s Blaxploitation film that remains a memorable moment in American popular culture -- mostly due to the enduring popularity of the song. He also was responsible the guitar line from The Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing," also a distinctive, influential moment in American music.

Schooled by neighbor Bo Diddley while growing up in Washington, D.C., Pitts worked as a session musician for Stax Records where some of America's greatest music was made and logged time with many significant soul and blues acts, including Al Green, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Rufus Thomas and Albert King.