Donald "Duck" Dunn Found Dead
Legendary musician Donald "Duck" Dunn, the pioneering bass player whose bass lines were the driving force behind Booker T and the MGs and big hits like Otis Redding's Respect has died in Tokyo at the age of 70.
"Duck" was in Tokyo, Japan for a few shows.
News of his death was broken on Facebook by one of his friends and fellow musician Steve Cropper, who was also in Japan touring. Cropper posted that Dunn died in his sleep.
"Today I lost my best friend, the world has lost the best guy and bass player to ever live," wrote Crooper.
The spokesperson for Tokyo Blue Note, Miho Harasawa from the last venue Dunn had played, confirmed he died early on Sunday morning.
Dunn was born in Memphis, Tennessee, USA in 1941, he performed on recordings alongside Eric Clapton, Neil Young and many other famous musicians.
Donald "Duck" Dunn specialized in gospel, blues, and soul.
[caption id="attachment_251" align="alignright" width="300" caption="He was given the nickname Donald Duck Dunn by his father when they were watching Donald Duck the cartoon."][/caption]
In the 1980s, Dunn played himself in the comedy musical "The Blues Brothers". Donald "Duck" Dunn was given his great nickname by his father from watching the Donald Duck cartoon on Televison as a child.
"It was just one of those things that stuck," he said. "Most of my school friends and even a few of my teachers called me Duck."
Dunn and Crooper met at high school where they formed their very first band, The Royal Spades.
It was Cropper who gave Dunn his first big break when he called him in 1962 to join the famed record label Stax's house band Booker T and the MGs.
Stax records musician's were tightly knit, racially varied band of musicians.
Dunn played with big music stars including Isaac Hayes and Wilson Pickett as they broke down musical barriers to reach the mainstream audience.
Dunn played the famous bass lines to hits including Albert King's Born Under a Bad Sign and Sam and Dave's Hold On, I'm Coming. He toured around the world playing with Stax's stars and was on stage with Otis Redding in 1967 at the Monterey Pop Festival, which was seen as instrumental in introducing the black star to white audiences.
Dunn didnt make too much money from all of his success during his time with Stax.
"I always look back and say I should have made more," he said in an interview. "It should have been more lucrative, but it wasn't.
"We were cheated a little bit. But with the music and what I learned, it doesn't matter. I have no regrets."
In the 70s Dunn became a session musician, playing with artists like Rod Stewart, Tom Petty, Robert Palmer, among others.
Donald Duck Dunn received the most publicity in his career when Dan Ackroyd & John Belushi picked him up to play in The Blues Brothers. He also appeared in the sequel, Blues Brother 2000.
Dunn received a lifetime achievement Grammy award in 2007 for his work with Booker T and the Mgs.
