Steve Cropper passed away in December, but fans will be getting new music from the late Booker T. and the M.G.’s guitarist this summer.
Watching the Tide, the album Cropper and his band The Midnight Hour were working on prior to his death, will be posthumously released on Aug. 28. It will feature guest appearances by Eric Clapton, Queen’s Brian May, ZZ Top’s Billy F Gibbons and The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood.
The first single off the album, “Ticket First,” featuring Clapton, is available now via digital outlets.
“Making music was Steve’s greatest joy,” says songwriter/producer Jon Tiven, a close friend of Cropper’s. He adds that Cropper was “so encouraged” by his 2024 album, Friendlytown, “He was adamant he wanted to do another record.”
Tiven says 10 of the 11 tracks on Watching the Tide were finished before Cropper’s death, and he got to hear them before he passed.
“I finished the mixes about a week-and-a-half before Steve passed and we brought a CD to him at the medical facility,” he says. “He called me the night before he passed to tell me how much he loved it. He was playing it for everyone who came to visit him, telling them it was the best record he’d ever made.”
Watching the Tide, the title a nod to the Otis Redding classic “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” which Cropper co-wrote, is available for preorder now.
Here is the track list:
“Tandoori Chicken”
“Ticket First” (feat. Eric Clapton)
“My Angels Are Calling” (feat. Brian May & Billy F. Gibbons)
“Until Now” (feat. Ronnie Wood)
“Blood From A Stone”
“Here & Gone” (feat. Ana Grosh)
“It’s Gonna Get Worse”
“Down & Out”
“Stand Right Here” (feat. Billy F. Gibbons & Ana Grosh)
“Tipoff To The Ripoff”
“House Of Cards”
“Tandoori Chicken Part 2”
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