Donald 'Duck' Dunn dies at 70

If anyone could put a groove to life, it was Donald “Duck” Dunn.

The legendary bass player, who helped create the Memphis soul music produced in the 1960s by Stax Records and played alongside musical greats such as Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and Neil Young, among others, died May 13 while on tour in Tokyo.

Born in Memphis, Tenn., Dunn spent much of his life in Bradenton, purchasing a home in the East County several years ago.

“He was larger than life,” said Brian Johnson, lead singer for the rock band AC/DC and one of Dunn’s closest friends. “Everybody who met him never forgot him. He was a tremendous man.”

Dunn had a personality that put people at ease and made them feel like longtime friends. He loved a good barbecue with friends, “cussed brilliantly” in a light-hearted way, loved a good story and, of course, loved music, friends said.

“The thing that always got us was he could never finish a joke,” Johnson said. “He would start laughing, and you couldn’t help but follow him. He would laugh at the ending (of the joke) before he would tell (it to) you. He had the most infectious chuckle.”

Johnson said he was shocked by the news of his friend’s death.

“We were going to dinner (Tuesday) night, as soon as he got back from Japan,” Johnson said. “I’ve been getting calls (about his passing) from (people) all over the world. I think that gives you the measure of the man.”

Dunn and childhood friend and famed guitarist Steve Cropper were in a band together in high school, and Dunn eventually joined Cropper, after he left to become a session player for Stax Records in the 1960s. The two were part of the Stax house band, also known as Booker T. and the MGs, one of the first racially integrated soul groups.

The group produced hit songs such as “Hang ’Em High” and “Soul Limbo,” and Dunn also played on Otis Redding’s “Respect” and “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” and Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour,” among other hits.

Although Cropper and Dunn drifted apart in the 1970s, they reunited when they joined Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi’s Blues Brothers band and appeared in the 1980 “Blues Brothers” movie.

“Today I lost my best friend; the world has lost the best guy and bass player to ever live,” Cropper said in a Facebook post.

Dunn received a lifetime achievement Grammy award in 2007. He and his wife, June, were married more than 50 years and had known each other since childhood, Johnson said.

Dunn is survived by his wife, June; a son, Jeff; and a grandson, Michael.